The burgeoning demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products has created an urgent need for increased compute capacity, leading to a significant expansion of data centers and, consequently, a heightened demand for power. Against this backdrop, energy efficiency has rapidly ascended to a critical priority for semiconductor manufacturers. Addressing this pressing issue, PowerLattice, a startup founded in 2023 by a team of veteran electrical engineers hailing from Qualcomm, NUVIA, and Intel, has emerged from stealth with a claimed groundbreaking approach capable of reducing the power needs of computer chips by more than 50%.

On Monday, PowerLattice announced a successful $25 million Series A funding round, led by prominent venture capital firms Playground Global and Celesta Capital, bringing its total funding to an impressive $31 million. A significant endorsement for the startup comes from Pat Gelsinger, a general partner at Playground Global and the former CEO of Intel, who possesses substantial authority within the semiconductor industry. Gelsinger lauded the PowerLattice team, remarking, "This is the hard stuff: How do you get power into the device? There are very few teams and people that can do it." He further praised them as the "dream team of power delivery," an assessment that underscores the high regard for the company's technical expertise.

PowerLattice's innovative technology, while conceptually simple, holds profound implications: a tiny power delivery chiplet engineered to bring power closer to the main processor. This proximity significantly minimizes energy loss, directly contributing to the remarkable efficiency gains. After two years of intensive development, PowerLattice has achieved its initial key milestone: its first batch of chiplets is currently being produced by TSMC. This production is part of a partnership with an unnamed manufacturer, which is actively testing the startup's functionality.

Looking ahead, PowerLattice plans to make its product available for testing by a broader range of customers in the first half of 2026. The potential customer base is extensive, encompassing major chip manufacturers such as Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD, alongside specialized AI chip developers including Cerberus, Grok, and Playground-backed startups d-Matrix and NextSilicon. While every chip company maintains internal teams dedicated to enhancing energy efficiency, Gelsinger expresses optimism that PowerLattice's distinct approach will capture their interest, suggesting that manufacturers may allocate production volume to both traditional methods and PowerLattice's innovative solution, anticipating rapid market share capture.

PowerLattice is not alone in its quest to assist chip manufacturers with the energy challenge. The company faces competition, most notably from Empower Semiconductor, a startup that successfully raised a $140 million Series D funding round in September, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. However, Gelsinger remains confident in PowerLattice's unique advantage, asserting that their reported 50% energy efficiency gain is an "extraordinary" achievement. He projects that the company will soon secure a much larger funding round to fuel expanded production, emphasizing that the bold idea and substantial benefits will likely inspire others to follow suit.