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PowerLattice Raises $25 Million to Break the AI Power Wall

Business

PowerLattice Raises $25 Million to Break the AI Power Wall
Business

Business

PowerLattice Raises $25 Million to Break the AI Power Wall

2025-11-17 22:00 Last Updated At:11-18 13:34

VANCOUVER, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 17, 2025--

PowerLattice, the company reimagining power delivery for next-generation AI accelerators, today announced its emergence from stealth with $25 million in Series A funding jointly led by Playground Global and Celesta Capital. The company’s breakthrough power delivery chiplet tightly couples power and compute, reducing total compute power needs by more than 50%, effectively doubling performance. PowerLattice has raised $31 million in funding to date.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251117032701/en/

“Power is the defining challenge for AI’s future,” said Peng Zou, Co-Founder, CEO and President of PowerLattice. “Data centers are already starting to hit a power wall and the problem is only going to get worse if we don’t rethink how chips are powered. By bringing power directly into the processor package, we’re delivering the performance and efficiency AI needs to keep scaling beyond today’s limits.”

“AI is not constrained by capital, it’s constrained by power,” said Pat Gelsinger, General Partner, Playground Global. “PowerLattice represents a dramatic breakthrough in the efficiency and scale of power delivery. This is the kind of generational leap Playground backs: technology that doesn’t just advance chips, but reshapes the entire trajectory of computing.”

“PowerLattice is delivering a truly scalable solution to attack the cost-performance, reliability and cooling bottlenecks throttling AI data centers,” said Dr. Steve Fu, Partner, Celesta Capital. “I know exactly how tough this problem is, having previously led power device and system incubation at global semiconductor leaders and watching two decades of attempts fall short of the real potential. It is why we zeroed in on this opportunity in our thesis at Celesta – and why we believe PowerLattice’s solution is the unlock the industry has been waiting for.”

Reimagining Power for AI

AI accelerators and GPUs are pushing past 2 KW per chip, straining data centers that already consume as much energy as mid-size cities. Conventional power delivery forces very high electrical current to travel long, resistive paths before reaching the processor, wasting energy and limiting performance. Without a new approach, data center energy use could triple by 2028, consuming up to 12% of U.S. power supply and creating a barrier for AI to scale.

PowerLattice is breaking through this power wall by delivering power much closer to where compute happens. The company has developed the industry's first power delivery chiplet, bringing power directly into the processor package. Combining proprietary miniaturized on-die magnetic inductors, advanced voltage control circuit innovations, a vertical design and a programmable software layer, PowerLattice’s chiplet tightly couples power and compute, delivering power precisely where and when it’s needed.

Impact and Readiness

PowerLattice’s chiplet integrates easily into existing system-on-a-chip (SOC) product designs, shrinking the overall processor footprint and dramatically shortening the power path. As a result, PowerLattice:

With silicon already in hand and engineering samples in progress for 1 KW+ GPUs, CPUs and accelerators, PowerLattice is delivering the performance, efficiency, and reliability that next generation AI and data center infrastructure demands.

A Founding Team with Decades of Expertise

PowerLattice was founded by Peng Zou, Gang Ren, and Sujith Dermal, who together bring decades of engineering leadership in integrated magnetics, analog IC, power management and system design, with experience at Qualcomm, NUVIA, Intel, and a portfolio of issued and pending patents. Joining the board are Pat Gelsinger, General Partner at Playground Global, and Dr. Steve Fu, Partner at Celesta Capital, underscoring the strategic importance of PowerLattice’s technology to leaders across the semiconductor ecosystem.

About PowerLattice

PowerLattice is reimagining power delivery for next-generation AI accelerators with the industry's first power delivery chiplet. PowerLattice tightly integrates power and compute, delivering power precisely where and when it’s needed to achieve the breakthrough performance, efficiency and reliability that next-generation AI and data center infrastructure demands. The company is backed by Playground Global and Celesta Capital and is headquartered in Vancouver, WA, with additional offices in Chandler, AZ. PowerLattice has raised $31M in funding to date.

About Playground Global

Playground Global is a deep tech venture capital firm with $1.2 billion under management, backing early-stage startups tackling foundational challenges in next-generation compute, automation, energy transition, and engineered biology. Founded in 2015 and based in Palo Alto, Playground partners closely with technical and scientific founders to turn breakthrough ideas into enduring companies. The firm’s portfolio includes PsiQuantum, MosaicML (acquired by Databricks), d-Matrix, Agility Robotics, Ideon, Ultima Genomics, and Strand Therapeutics. Learn more at www.playground.vc.

About Celesta Capital

Celesta Capital is a global deep tech venture firm backing the breakthroughs that will power the next decade of technology advancement, including semiconductors and intelligent systems, next-gen infrastructure software, and bio-convergence. Led by operator-investors with decades of company building experience, Celesta partners early to help founders turn deep tech ideas into generational companies. Founded in 2013, the firm has made more than 100 investments across strategic deep tech corridors in North America, Asia, and the Middle East. Learn more at http://celesta.vc.

PowerLattice founders Gang Ren (Head of Engineering), Dr. Peng Zou (CEO & President), and Sujith Dermal (Head of Systems & Apps) are reimagining power delivery for next-generation AI accelerators with the industry's first power delivery chiplet.

PowerLattice founders Gang Ren (Head of Engineering), Dr. Peng Zou (CEO & President), and Sujith Dermal (Head of Systems & Apps) are reimagining power delivery for next-generation AI accelerators with the industry's first power delivery chiplet.

In a matter of hours Sunday, what had appeared to be a year no teams with losing records would be needed to fill out the bowl schedule suddenly changed when Notre Dame, Iowa State and Kansas State announced they would decline bids despite being eligible.

There are 41 bowls this year, and 82 teams won the necessary six games to be eligible. But Iowa State and Kansas State teams going through coaching changes almost simultaneously said they were hanging up their cleats for the season. Notre Dame, the first team left out of the College Football Playoff, followed a few hours later.

Mississippi State and Rice, both 5-7, swooped in to accept bids because they were among the first in line based on their Academic Progress Rate. The Bulldogs will play Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Owls will face Texas State in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Birmingham Bowl was still searching Sunday evening for an opponent to play Georgia Southern, according to On3.

Iowa State, Kansas State and Notre Dame weren't going to play in any of those lower-level bowls, but their decisions altered the order of selections and presumably allowed three lesser teams to move up and bowls at the bottom to scramble.

Notre Dame's decision to shut down for the year came after it was announced as the first team left out of the playoff.

“As a team, we've decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” the Fighting Irish said in a statement on social media. “We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we're hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”

Notre Dame won its last 10 games following a three-point loss to Miami and a one-point loss to Texas A&M. The Fighting Irish, which lost to Ohio State in the national championship game last season, finished 10-2 and ranked No. 9 on Sunday in The Associated Press poll and No. 11 in the CFP rankings.

Miami got into the playoff as an at-large selection after moving from No. 12 to No. 10 in the final rankings. Notre Dame dropped a spot and will now stay home for the postseason for the first time since 2016.

The Big 12 Conference said it will fine Iowa State and Kansas State $500,000 each for opting out of bowl participation. Both schools are going through coaching transitions with Matt Campbell leaving Iowa State for Penn State and Chris Klieman announcing his retirement.

“While the conference acknowledges the difficult timing around coaching changes, the Big 12 is responsible for fulfilling its contractual obligations to its bowl partners,” the Big 12 said in a statement.

Iowa State announced its players voted to not play in a bowl because the team doesn't have healthy players to safety practice and play. ISU did not mention the coaching change from Campbell to Jimmy Rogers in its statement.

The Cyclones sustained numerous injuries this season while going 8-4, and members of the athletics administration and the previous coaching staff met Sunday with the players to gauge their interest in a bowl.

“The administrative staff and coaches respect and support the players decision,” athletic director Jamie Pollard said. “Our student-athletes have had an incredible season and we are grateful for their leadership as we worked through this process with them today.”

K-State athletic director Gene Taylor said he had conversations with players and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark before deciding to decline a bowl bid. The Wildcats were 6-6 after beating Colorado at home in their final home game.

“This decision was not taken lightly, but with our coaching staff transition and several uncertainties regarding player availability, I felt it was not in our best interest to try to field a team that was not representative of Kansas State University," Taylor said. "We applaud this group for fighting back from a 2-4 record to lead us to bowl eligibility yet again, and we are happy that our seniors were able to go out on top with a victory inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium.”

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Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to pass against the Oklahoma State during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stillwater, Okla. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to pass against the Oklahoma State during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Stillwater, Okla. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)

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