Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD), a semiconductor company formed in 2016 at the University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering, has raised $19 million in funding. The investment was led by Parkwalk Advisors and BGF, with participation from IQ Capital, CIC, Foresight Williams Technology, and Martlet Capital. The investment will enable CGD to begin mass production of its range of GaN transistors for power applications.
Giorgia Longobardi, Co-founder and Ceo of the company, commented, "As we move toward a zero-carbon society with rapidly increasing levels of electrification, we need clean, renewable sources of electricity and more efficient conversion methods. GaN technology provides the optimal conversion solution, reducing power losses by more than 50 percent and increasing power conversion efficiency to more than 99 percent. To give just one application example, if all data centers were to adopt GaN, this would save 12.4 TWh of electricity per year, or 9 million tons of CO2, the equivalent of taking 1.9 million internal combustion engine vehicles off the road for one year. Our ICeGaN™ GaN transistors are among the most efficient devices of their kind on the market and are also the easiest for designers to use."
CGD has already made significant progress, developing new intellectual property and bringing to market its new ICeGaN™ family of gallium nitride transistors, which targets a $50 billion global power semiconductor market. The company has gained market attention and is currently leading a $10 million EU-funded project to develop GaN-based modules for low- and high-power applications (GaNext). It is also participating in a U.K. supply chain initiative for power systems integrated into PCBs with GaN devices (P3EP) and recently launched a project to develop highly reliable GaN transistors and ICs to reduce data center emissions (ICeData).
"This latest round of investment, " Longobardi continued, "is a great recognition of our success to date, with new and existing investors confirming the strength of our technology. Since 2016, CGD has been on a mission to enable greener electronics and shape the future of power electronics by providing the most efficient and easy-to-use transistors. We are excited to be able to move into mass production and global supply, providing devices where our unique technology can have the greatest impact."
Ian Lane, of CIC, adds, "The commercialization of CGD's technology comes at an important time as we look for technology-enabled solutions to reduce power consumption among applications as diverse as phone chargers and data centers. Cambridge (UK) is a globally important hub for semiconductor design, and Cambridge Gan Devices is a great example of the innovation being developed in the cluster."
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