Nexperia expands GaN portfolio with ultra-low-resistance power devices - New Electronics

Nexperia's push into ultra-low-RDS(on) GaN power devices is a cost-structure play, not a technology breakthrough. By leveraging its discrete-semiconductor volume engine, it is directly attacking the 650-900V profit band where EPC and Infineon have built premium pricing. The real technical ripple: tighter on-resistance forces gate-driver redesigns and pulls the GaN-over-SiC substitution window forward in 800V data-center PSUs and EV on-board chargers. On supply-chain risk, Nexperia's fab footprint sits heavily in mainland China while GaN epi-wafer supply remains concentrated among a handful of players. For Western OEMs, this creates a spec-compliant-but-origin-sensitive procurement headache—precisely the narrative Infineon and ST can weaponize through compliance-driven sourcing mandates. EPC's likely counter within 12 months: vertical integration from substrate through device, plus bespoke AI-server power modules. Nexperia, by contrast, will probably grind down ASPs in industrial and consumer long-tail segments. Expect 15-20% price erosion in GaN discretes within 18 months. The decisive variable is not the ohm value—it is who locks design-in first in the 800V AI data-center architecture. That is where the next two years of margin will be made or lost.