Navitas and Microchip collaborate on 800V reference design for AI data centers - Semiconductor Today

This is not a 'collaboration announcement' — it is a positioning war over the 48V-to-800V power architecture shift in AI data centers. Technical cascade: An 800V DC bus fundamentally restructures server PSU topologies. Navitas' GaN HEMTs dominate at high switching frequencies; Microchip's isolated gate drivers and digital controllers close the system loop. The ripple hits upstream — GaN epi-wafer capacity at X-Fab and GlobalFoundries tightens — and downstream, where PDU and BBU designs must be re-engineered. Copper losses drop roughly 60%, but insulation and EMC thresholds climb sharply. Compliance exposure: 800V DC crosses UL 3200 and IEC 62368-1 safety thresholds, forcing operators through re-certification. If this reference design penetrates AI clusters in mainland China, export-classification risk on GaN devices and entity-list exposure on Microchip's control ICs could inflate BOM costs by 15–25%. Competitive chess: Infineon will likely ship a SiC+GaN hybrid 800V module by Q3, leveraging automotive-grade reliability narratives. TI counters with a single-chip integration play. The real arbiter is NVIDIA — whoever locks into its 800VDC power-design guide first captures the next-gen AI cluster power entry point. Forward look: Within 18 months, 800V moves from reference design to hyperscaler pilot deployment. GaN's share in data-center PSUs breaks past 15% from under 5%. The 48V camp faces a 3–5-year displacement window — a replay of the 2015–2020 SiC-over-Si IGBT substitution in EVs.