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 become a critical priority for semiconductor manufacturers. Addressing this pressing challenge, PowerLattice, a startup founded in 2023 by a team of veteran electrical engineers from Qualcomm, NUVIA, and Intel, has emerged from stealth with a groundbreaking approach claimed to reduce 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 $31 million. A notable endorsement comes from Pat Gelsinger, general partner at Playground Global and former CEO of Intel, a respected authority in the semiconductor industry. Gelsinger lauded the PowerLattice team, stating: "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 described them as the "dream team of power delivery," underscoring the high regard for the company's technical expertise.

PowerLattice’s innovative technology, while conceptually simple, has profound implications: a tiny power delivery chiplet engineered to bring power closer to the main processor. This proximity minimizes energy loss, directly contributing to the remarkable efficiency gains. After two years of intensive development, PowerLattice has achieved its first major milestone: its initial batch of chiplets is currently being produced by TSMC. Production is part of a partnership with an unnamed manufacturer, which is actively testing the chiplets’ 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, including major chip manufacturers such as Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD, alongside specialized AI chip developers like Cerberus, Grok, and Playground-backed startups d-Matrix and NextSilicon. While all chip companies maintain internal teams focused on energy efficiency, Gelsinger is optimistic that PowerLattice’s unique approach will capture their attention, suggesting that manufacturers may allocate production volumes to both traditional methods and PowerLattice’s solution, anticipating rapid market share growth.

PowerLattice is not alone in its mission to help chip manufacturers address the energy challenge. The startup faces competition from Empower Semiconductor, which raised $140 million in a Series D funding round in September, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. However, Gelsinger remains confident in PowerLattice’s unique advantage, asserting that the reported 50% energy efficiency gain is an "extraordinary" achievement. He predicts that the company will soon secure a much larger funding round to support expanded production, emphasizing that the bold concept and substantial benefits will likely inspire others to follow suit.