Synopsis
Founded in 2024 by Ram Anant, Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Tadeparthy and Dattatreya Suryanarayana, along with Harsha S. B and Muthusubramanian N.V as cofounders, C2i Semiconductors is the brainchild of former Texas Instrument executives.
Semiconductor startup C2i Semiconductors has raised $15 million in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from Yali Deeptech and TDK Ventures. Placed at the intersection of growing industries, the startup aims to develop power management solutions for AI data centres and cloud infrastructure. The company is targeting system-level innovations that rethink how power flows from t...
Founded in 2024 by Ram Anant, Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Tadeparthy and Dattatreya Suryanarayana, along with Harsha S B and Muthusubramanian N V as cofounders, C2i Semiconductors is the brainchild of former Texas Instrument executives.
“The core idea behind C2i is power management. Without clean, reliable power, there is no GPU and no AI,” cofounder and CEO Ram Anant told ET. The company is building what it calls “grid-to-core” power delivery platforms that address power challenges end-to-end across enterprise server architectures.
In November 2024, the company secured $4 million in a Series A funding round led by Yali Capital and semiconductor industry veteran and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
C2i plans to move quickly from design to silicon. Its first product is scheduled to go for tapeout in April, followed by a second product in July. One chip will be manufactured at Tower Semiconductor in Israel, while another will be fabricated at GlobalFoundries, either in Singapore or Dallas, the founders said.
The startup’s focus comes at a time when power consumption in AI systems has surged. “Power used to be treated as basic infrastructure, but GPU power consumption has grown exponentially,” said CTO Preetam Tadeparthy. “GPUs that earlier consumed a few hundred watts now consume several kilowatts, and hyperscale data centres operate at megawatt levels.”
At the heart of the problem is efficiency, the founders say. Power entering a data centre at around 800 volts must be converted into a stable 800 millivolts for GPUs. Today, that conversion process results in 15-18% energy loss, while instability in power delivery can shave off nearly 10% of GPU performance, Tadeparthy explained.
C2i claims its system-level architecture can recover 8-10% efficiency, improve GPU performance by about 3%, and significantly extend server lifetimes. “A 10% efficiency gain can translate into roughly 1 kW saved per server tray, adding up to hundreds of kilowatts across large deployments that will directly improve return on investment for operators, " as per a statement.
Currently, the company is already in talks with three to four enterprise server customers to define parts for their next-generation platforms. “India’s data-centre ecosystem will mature later, around 2028-2030,” Anant said, adding that the company is currently targeting global enterprise players.
Tadeparthy said AI infrastructure capex is expected to reach $500-600 billion over the next 12–18 months and could grow to $1 trillion by 2030. Of this, power-related semiconductors represent a $50-75 billion opportunity, with the grid-to-core segment C2i is targeting estimated at $5-8 billion.
The fresh capital will also be used to expand C2i’s global footprint. The startup plans to set up a US office to be closer to customers and decision-makers, and later build an applications and systems engineering team in Taiwan to support Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) and protect design wins.
Rajan Anandan, managing director at Peak XV Partners, said, “Power has become a major bottleneck in scaling AI. Addressing this challenge requires deep expertise across hardware and systems.” He added that the C2i approach to power management can significantly extend GPU longevity and unlock billions of dollars in savings for the industry.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
Founded in 2024 by Ram Anant, Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Tadeparthy and Dattatreya Suryanarayana, along with Harsha S. B and Muthusubramanian N.V as cofounders, C2i Semiconductors is the brainchild of former Texas Instrument executives.
Semiconductor startup C2i Semiconductors has raised $15 million in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from Yali Deeptech and TDK Ventures. Placed at the intersection of growing industries, the startup aims to develop power management solutions for AI data centres and cloud infrastructure. The company is targeting system-level innovations that rethink how power flows from t...
Founded in 2024 by Ram Anant, Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Tadeparthy and Dattatreya Suryanarayana, along with Harsha S B and Muthusubramanian N V as cofounders, C2i Semiconductors is the brainchild of former Texas Instrument executives.
“The core idea behind C2i is power management. Without clean, reliable power, there is no GPU and no AI,” cofounder and CEO Ram Anant told ET. The company is building what it calls “grid-to-core” power delivery platforms that address power challenges end-to-end across enterprise server architectures.
In November 2024, the company secured $4 million in a Series A funding round led by Yali Capital and semiconductor industry veteran and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
C2i plans to move quickly from design to silicon. Its first product is scheduled to go for tapeout in April, followed by a second product in July. One chip will be manufactured at Tower Semiconductor in Israel, while another will be fabricated at GlobalFoundries, either in Singapore or Dallas, the founders said.
The startup’s focus comes at a time when power consumption in AI systems has surged. “Power used to be treated as basic infrastructure, but GPU power consumption has grown exponentially,” said CTO Preetam Tadeparthy. “GPUs that earlier consumed a few hundred watts now consume several kilowatts, and hyperscale data centres operate at megawatt levels.”
At the heart of the problem is efficiency, the founders say. Power entering a data centre at around 800 volts must be converted into a stable 800 millivolts for GPUs. Today, that conversion process results in 15-18% energy loss, while instability in power delivery can shave off nearly 10% of GPU performance, Tadeparthy explained.
C2i claims its system-level architecture can recover 8-10% efficiency, improve GPU performance by about 3%, and significantly extend server lifetimes. “A 10% efficiency gain can translate into roughly 1 kW saved per server tray, adding up to hundreds of kilowatts across large deployments that will directly improve return on investment for operators, " as per a statement.
Currently, the company is already in talks with three to four enterprise server customers to define parts for their next-generation platforms. “India’s data-centre ecosystem will mature later, around 2028-2030,” Anant said, adding that the company is currently targeting global enterprise players.
Tadeparthy said AI infrastructure capex is expected to reach $500-600 billion over the next 12–18 months and could grow to $1 trillion by 2030. Of this, power-related semiconductors represent a $50-75 billion opportunity, with the grid-to-core segment C2i is targeting estimated at $5-8 billion.
The fresh capital will also be used to expand C2i’s global footprint. The startup plans to set up a US office to be closer to customers and decision-makers, and later build an applications and systems engineering team in Taiwan to support Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) and protect design wins.
Rajan Anandan, managing director at Peak XV Partners, said, “Power has become a major bottleneck in scaling AI. Addressing this challenge requires deep expertise across hardware and systems.” He added that the C2i approach to power management can significantly extend GPU longevity and unlock billions of dollars in savings for the industry.
Intel CEO-backed startup C2i Semiconductors raises $15 million from Peak XV Partners, others - The Economic Times
Founded in 2024 by Ram Anant, Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Tadeparthy and Dattatreya Suryanarayana, along with Harsha S. B and Muthusubramanian N.V as cofounders, C2i Semiconductors is the brainchild of former Texas Instrument executives.