If you listen to the leading tech giants discussing AI, a recurring theme emerges: they are facing a shortage of computing resources. This shortage means that the advanced language models powering today’s AI tools require even more data centers for both training and inference, which in turn drives up energy demands. In this context, improving energy efficiency has rapidly become a top concern for chipmakers.
PowerLattice, a company established in 2023 by experienced engineers from Qualcomm, NUVIA, and Intel, asserts that it has created a revolutionary method to cut chip power consumption by over half. On Monday, the startup exited stealth mode, announcing a $25 million Series A investment round led by Playground Global and Celesta Capital, bringing its total raised capital to $31 million.
“This is a tough challenge: How do you deliver power into the device? Only a handful of teams and individuals have the expertise,” said Pat Gelsinger, general partner at Playground Global. “I believe we’ve brought together what could be called the ultimate team for power delivery.”
As Intel’s former CEO, Gelsinger’s reputation in the semiconductor industry is substantial, making his involvement a strong endorsement for PowerLattice.
In fact, when CEO Dr. Peng Zou and the founding team presented their concept at Playground’s offices in March, they were so impressed by Gelsinger’s stature that they requested a selfie with him, Gelsinger shared with TechCrunch. The admiration was mutual, as Gelsinger left the meeting genuinely enthusiastic about PowerLattice’s innovation.
The company’s solution is straightforward in theory: a compact power delivery chiplet engineered to bring energy closer to the processor, which greatly reduces power loss.
After two years of development, PowerLattice has reached its first significant achievement: TSMC is manufacturing its initial batch of chiplets, in collaboration with an undisclosed partner currently evaluating the technology, according to Gelsinger.
Looking beyond its first client, the startup intends to offer its product for trials to additional customers in the first half of 2026. These pilot programs are expected to be insightful, as PowerLattice’s potential clients include major chipmakers like Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD, as well as specialized AI chip startups such as Cerberus, Grok, and Playground-backed d-Matrix and NextSilicon.
While all major chip companies have internal teams focused on boosting energy efficiency, Gelsinger believes PowerLattice’s novel solution will attract their attention.
“They might decide, ‘I’ll allocate some production to this new method, and some to our established process’,” he said. “But we’re confident that our approach will quickly secure a significant market share.”
PowerLattice is not alone in its mission to help chipmakers tackle energy challenges. Its closest competitor is Empower Semiconductor, which secured $140 million in Series D funding, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, last September.
Nevertheless, Gelsinger is convinced that PowerLattice’s 50% boost in energy efficiency is a remarkable achievement, and he anticipates the company will soon pursue a much larger funding round to scale up production.
“It’s a daring concept with substantial advantages, and I expect others will soon say, ‘That’s a brilliant idea. I want to try it too,’” Gelsinger remarked.
