Vertical Semiconductor, a startup spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has raised $11 million in funding to develop gallium nitride (GaN) chips designed to make artificial intelligence (AI) servers more energy efficient. According to Reuters, the investment will help the company advance next-generation power conversion technology that minimizes energy loss and heat in large-scale data centers.
Revolutionizing Data Center Power Efficiency
Data centers supporting AI workloads consume vast amounts of electricity, with energy efficiency emerging as one of the industry’s biggest challenges. Vertical Semiconductor’s GaN-based chips are engineered to convert power more efficiently than traditional silicon components, reducing wasted energy and lowering cooling costs.
MIT Innovation Driving Sustainable AI Infrastructure
The startup’s founders, who developed the underlying technology at MIT, highlight that gallium nitride materials can handle higher voltages and frequencies while maintaining compact and durable designs. These attributes make GaN chips particularly suitable for AI servers, data centers, and high-performance computing environments, where energy demands are surging.
Green Computing as a Competitive Edge
As global investment in AI infrastructure accelerates, innovations that improve energy efficiency are becoming a major differentiator. Analysts predict that companies pioneering sustainable chip technologies like Vertical Semiconductor’s GaN designs could significantly reduce the carbon footprint of AI operations and play a key role in shaping the future of green computing.