C2i Semiconductors builds power delivery chips and control systems for AI servers. The latest C2i Semiconductors funding update takes its Series A to $16.7 million after TDK Ventures added fresh capital to the round on May 28, 2026, a few months after Peak XV Partners led the original $15 million close in February. The startup is chasing a hard infrastructure problem: AI racks keep getting denser, but moving electricity efficiently from the grid to the GPU core still wastes power, creates heat, and can even hurt compute performance. Founded in 2024 by Ramprasad Ananthaswamy — better known as Ram Anant — with Preetam Charan Anand Tadeparthy and Vikram Gakhar, the Bengaluru company is trying to rebuild that power stack from the ground up.
What does C2i Semiconductors actually build?
C2i is building a software-defined voltage regulator platform for AI and high-performance computing systems. In practical terms, that means designing the silicon and control logic that takes power coming into a server platform and turns it into tightly regulated, low-voltage power that advanced processors can actually use. Its first-generation chip focuses on the last stage of that chain — the step that takes board-level power down to the sub-1-volt rails used by GPUs and accelerators. The longer roadmap stretches across the full “grid-to-core” path.
Here’s the workflow C2i is targeting. Today, a lot of AI server designs still rely on a multi-stage conversion path: roughly 400V to 48V, then to 12V or 6V, then down again to processor core voltage. C2i says that final stage is where huge current, board losses, and control latency start to bite. Its architecture uses proprietary control and power-conversion IP to cut stages where it can. It also switches faster and keeps regulation tighter as GPU loads jump between sleep and full-throttle modes.
That matters because old-school designs pile on regulators and inductors. Routing complexity and heat follow. C2i’s pitch is that a processor-agnostic platform can scale from about 100W systems to several kilowatts, fit into tighter board real estate, and deliver better thermal behavior without locking the customer into one compute vendor. The founders say those design choices can translate into around 10% more queries per watt at the system level, with longer server life as a side effect. Ambitious? Definitely. But that’s the level of improvement hyperscalers care about.
Who founded C2i Semiconductors and why?
The founding story
C2i started in 2024 in Bengaluru, and the name is short for conversion, control, and intelligence. That’s not just branding fluff. It’s basically the company’s thesis: power electronics for AI infrastructure shouldn’t be treated as a pile of isolated components. They should work as one coordinated system spanning conversion, regulation, and embedded intelligence. The founders set out to build a product-led semiconductor company from India for global data center and AI infrastructure customers, not another engineering services outfit.
Why this team fits the problem
This isn’t a first-time hardware team learning on the fly. Ram Anant is founder and CEO, with 35 years in power semiconductor systems and technical management. Preetam Tadeparthy, the CTO and VP of engineering, brings 24 years in mixed-signal design and system architecture plus 70+ US patents. Vikram Gakhar, who leads mixed-signal work, has 24 years in analog and control-loop design and 16+ US patents. Across the leadership group, C2i has more than 100 years of combined semiconductor experience and over 100 US patents. ET also described the company as the brainchild of former Texas Instruments executives.
Early signals from the company
The clearest recent proof point came on May 28, 2026, when C2i taped out its smart power stage chip for AI infrastructure. That matters because tape-out is the moment a chip design is finalized and sent to the fab for manufacturing. In other words, the company has moved from architecture talk into actual silicon execution. The chip was designed end-to-end in India. For a fabless startup targeting a hard semiconductor problem, that stands out.
There are other signs the company isn’t just building in a vacuum. The founders say they’ve filed 9 patents so far, with more on the way. They’ve also said they’re in discussions with 3 to 4 enterprise server customers on next-generation platforms. One product is being manufactured at Tower Semiconductor, while another is planned at GlobalFoundries. It’s still early. But for a 2024 startup, it’s more concrete than a lot of deeptech pitch decks ever get.
C2i Semiconductors funding and market position
The money has come in stages. C2i raised $4 million from Yali Capital in November 2024. Then it closed a $15 million Series A in February 2026 led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from TDK Ventures and Yali Capital. On May 28, 2026, TDK Ventures added more capital in an extension that brought the full round to $16.7 million. The stated use of funds is straightforward: speed up development of high-density, ultra-reliable power delivery systems for AI computing.
Competition is where the story gets interesting. Legacy server power still leans hard on conventional 12V multi-phase regulator architectures, which get bulky and lossy as current rises. Vicor attacks that problem with factorized power architecture and power-on-package approaches that move conversion closer to the processor. That reduces “last-inch” losses on AI accelerator cards. Monolithic Power Systems is pushing its own AI server modules and says it already has 100+ AI power products, with a target of 120 kW-per-rack solutions by 2027. C2i’s bet is different: a software-defined, processor-agnostic platform that spans more of the stack instead of selling only a point solution. That broader system view is probably what Peak XV and TDK are paying for.
Why does this C2i Semiconductors funding round matter?
Timing. That’s the whole thing.
An extension round landing right as the company announces a tape-out is exactly the kind of sequencing you want in semiconductors. Designing a chip is expensive. Validating first silicon, fixing whatever comes back broken, packaging it, building reference boards, and getting customers comfortable enough to design it into servers is where a lot of startups burn cash. This round gives C2i a better shot at surviving that awkward middle stretch between prototype and production.
It also supports the company’s push beyond India. The founders have said they want a US office to stay close to customers and decision-makers. Then they want a Taiwan applications and systems engineering team to work with ODMs and protect design wins. That isn’t optional in this part of the chip business. AI power silicon doesn’t sell like software. It gets sold through painstaking customer engagement and board-level validation. Then come the multi-year platform cycles.
Investor mix matters here too. Peak XV brings venture scale. Yali has deeptech focus. TDK adds something more tactical — real power and component expertise. A follow-on check from an existing semiconductor investor usually means the company hit enough technical and commercial milestones to justify more capital.
How big is the AI data center power market?
Pretty big already. And still getting bigger.
One useful benchmark: the global data center power market was estimated at $22.77 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $71.76 billion by 2033, with a 15.7% CAGR from 2026 to 2033. The core driver is simple — hyperscale, cloud, and AI workloads keep pushing power density higher. That forces operators to rethink UPS systems, distribution, monitoring, and board-level power conversion. C2i is going after a narrower slice than that total market, but it sits inside a category that’s expanding fast.
India’s setup helps too. Yali notes that about 20% of the global chip design workforce is in India, and C2i is trying to turn that talent base into a globally relevant fabless company. At the policy level, the Indian government has been leaning harder into semiconductor design and manufacturing through India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and the Design Linked Incentive program. The DLI scheme currently supports 24 startups, with a target of enabling at least 50 fabless semiconductor companies in the next phase.
Capital is starting to follow that shift. Indian semiconductor startups raised about $50 million in 2025, up from more than $28 million in 2024, based on Inc42’s startup trends report cited in the source material. Recent deals for companies like Sophrosyne Technologies and Morphing Machines show that investors are willing to back hard-tech businesses before they become revenue machines. It’s still a small market by global standards. But it’s no longer fringe.
Where could C2i Semiconductors go next?
C2i isn’t interesting because it raised money. Plenty of startups do that.
It’s interesting because C2i Semiconductors funding is now tied to a real technical milestone, a very specific AI infrastructure bottleneck, and a founding team that looks built for the job. The next thing to watch is brutally practical: whether the taped-out chip comes back clean, whether customer evaluations turn into design wins, and whether C2i can move from smart architecture story to shipping semiconductor product.
Read how Thea Energy raised a $100M Series B led by Thomas Tull’s U.S. Innovative Technology Fund to build software-controlled stellarator fusion reactors using flat superconducting magnets instead of complex twisted coils.
FAQ
– What is the latest C2i Semiconductors funding update?
The latest update is that C2i’s Series A has reached $16.7 million as of May 28, 2026. The round was first announced at $15 million in February 2026 with Peak XV Partners as lead investor, and TDK Ventures later extended the round with fresh capital.
– How does C2i Semiconductors’ product work for AI servers?
C2i builds power delivery silicon and control software that help convert incoming server power into the tightly regulated, very low-voltage rails used by AI processors. Its first chip targets the final conversion stage near the GPU, where current is huge and board losses are painful. Better control can improve efficiency and thermal performance.
– Who founded C2i Semiconductors?
C2i was founded in 2024 by Ramprasad Ananthaswamy, also known as Ram Anant, together with Preetam Charan Anand Tadeparthy and Vikram Gakhar. The leadership team brings decades of power semiconductor and mixed-signal design experience, and official company material lists more than 100 combined years in the field.
– Is C2i Semiconductors an AI company or a semiconductor company?
It’s a semiconductor company serving the AI infrastructure market. More specifically, it’s building power management and voltage regulation technology for AI data centers and high-performance computing systems, which puts it in the fabless semiconductor category with an AI infrastructure focus.
