23 June 2011

Transphorm’s $25m Series D round raises funding to $63m

Transphorm Inc of Goleta, CA, near Santa Barbara, CA, USA has raised its total capital funding to $63m after completing a $25m Series D financing round with Quantum Strategic Partners Ltd (a private investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management LLC) and its existing venture capital investors.

Transphorm emerged from stealth mode on 23 February at an event at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View in Silicon Valley. Backed by $38m in funding from Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Foundation Capital and Lux Capital, Transphorm was co-founded in 2007 by CEO Umesh Mishra, a professor of electrical & computer engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), together with his former student Primit Parikh as president. 

Transphorm aims to solve the multi-billion dollar problem of power waste whenever electricity from the grid is converted into usable electric power. Existing silicon-based power converters are only 85–90% efficient, so 10% of energy is lost (e.g. as waste heat). Transphorm says that the hundreds of terawatts of lost energy across the US electrical grid is equivalent to more than 300 coal-fired power plants and costs the US economy $40bn annually. The world’s power infrastructure must become radically more efficient to meet the energy and environmental challenges of the future, the firm says.

In February, Transphorm released what it claims to be the first complete solution to eliminate such power waste, based on replacing legacy silicon-based power conversion technology with high-voltage normally-off gallium nitride (GaN)-based power conversion modules. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) had awarded Transphorm $2.95m to invent normally-off GaN switches while moving their GaN platform to low-cost silicon substrates. “Through ARPA-E funding, innovation in next-generation power electronics has put the US in a leadership position with GaN-on-Si and motor control,” comments Rajeev Ram, program director at ARPA-E. “Efficient electronically controlled motors can save over $13bn annually in the US with enough energy savings to power 13 million homes,” he adds. 

Transphorm says that its Total GaN solution can reduce the 10% of power that is wasted by as much as 90% (boosting efficiency into the upper 90% range), as well as simplifying the design and manufacturing of a wide variety of electrical systems and devices (including motor drives, power supplies and inverters for solar panels and electric vehicles).

At March’s Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC 2011) in Fort Worth, TX, Transphorm launched its first product: a power diode based on its patented EZ GaN technology. To demonstrate the performance of its patented GaN-based technology, Transphorm showcased a Total GaN based DC-to-DC Boost Converter running at more than 99% efficiency. At May’s PCIM Europe 2011 conference in Nuremberg, Germany, Transphorm unveiled its 600V EZ-GaN transistor, which is intended to displace legacy silicon-based power conversion technology and reduces switching losses by up to 95%. The firm also demonstrated a 100kHz 3-phase 2kW inverter, showing what is claimed to be the highest efficiency in its class. Transphorm claims to be the only firm currently offering a Total GaN solution for highly compact and efficient electric power conversion.

“Transphorm will use the new funding to continue our expansion and scale up to meet growing customer demand for our products,” says Parikh. In recent months Transphorm has increased its customer set by 50%, and expanded its operations by 30% to accommodate demand. “The Series D financing enables us to grow our facilities, accelerate product development, and deepen engagement with customers,” he adds. “Above all, it allows us to execute rapidly on our customers’ roadmaps.”

“This investment from our top-tier investor partners is a testament to the achievements of the Transphorm team commercializing a Total GaN solution for next-generation power conversion,” reckons Mishra. 

See related items:

Transphorm emerges from stealth mode prior to launching GaN power modules

Tags: Transphorm GaN power modules GaN

Visit: www.transphormusa.com