Navitas Expands its AI Power Architecture With Solid-State Transformers
Power bottlenecks are occurring across the AI architecture. At the rack, as the number of GPUs increases, legacy silicon power chips are reaching their efficiency limits. Upstream, legacy transformers are also reaching their efficiency limits in delivering electricity to AI data centers. Navitas Semiconductor addresses these legacy transformer efficiency limits by extending its silicon carbide (SiC) power chip technology, previously used to optimize rack power delivery, further upstream into data center power infrastructure. This expansion broadens NVTS’s power architecture beyond the rack and further upstream.
How data center power infrastructure works today
Most data centers still rely on legacy data center power infrastructure, where electricity enters from the grid and passes through transformers that step down high AC voltage. The electricity then moves through power conversion systems that convert it to the lower DC voltages required by the racks.
This infrastructure was designed for conventional data center power requirements and becomes increasingly inefficient as AI data center power demands rise. The reliance on multiple transformers and power conversion systems introduces energy losses that become increasingly significant as power demand increases. As a result, data center operators are deploying more efficient power infrastructure.
Why AI data centers are shifting toward 800V DC
Before data center operators deploy new power infrastructure, they must consider how it will align with future voltage architectures inside AI data centers, as this will ultimately determine what types of power infrastructure can be deployed.
One voltage architecture gaining attention is higher voltage direct current distribution, including emerging 800V DC distribution systems. Higher voltage DC allows power to be delivered at lower current, reducing resistive losses and improving the efficiency of power distribution before electricity reaches the racks.
While legacy data center power infrastructure can handle 800V DC, it was not designed for it and may require upgrades. As a result, data center operators are increasingly evaluating more efficient transformers and power conversion systems compatible with 800V DC.
Solid-state transformers as an emerging technology
One technology capable of supporting 800V DC is the solid-state transformer (SST). Unlike legacy iron-core transformers that step voltage down through passive magnetic components, solid-state transformers use power chips and high frequency power electronics to actively convert and control voltage. As a result, solid-state transformers can step voltage down more efficiently than legacy transformers. This makes them particularly relevant for AI data centers evaluating 800V DC.
Navitas’ solid-state transformer strategy
At the Applied Power Electronics Conference 2026, Navitas introduced a 250 kilowatt solid-state transformer designed specifically for AI data centers, developed in collaboration with École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
For operators evaluating 800V DC, Navitas’ solid-state transformer architecture offers efficiency advantages. It integrates digital control modules with its SiC power chips, allowing the power conversion system to be integrated directly within the transformer. This further improves efficiency by enabling AC to DC conversion, voltage regulation, and power management to be digitally controlled within a single integrated data center power infrastructure.
Extending Navitas’ AI power architecture
NVTS’s solid-state transformer announcement expands its AI power architecture further upstream within the data center power delivery stack. Its SiC power chips address higher voltage rack level power conversion. Extending its SiC power chips into solid-state transformer infrastructure pushes Navitas’ efficient power architecture beyond the rack and into data center power infrastructure. This makes Navitas relevant to operators seeking more efficient infrastructure, particularly as they explore 800V DC.
Disclosure: This article reflects the author’s personal analysis and opinions and is not investment advice. The author holds shares in Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS) at the time of writing. Images used are independent illustrative renderings and are not official Navitas Semiconductor promotional materials.
RISK PROFILE
Transformer Adoption: NVTS’s expansion into solid-state transformer architecture built around its silicon carbide (SiC) power chips depends on AI data center operators deploying solid-state transformers as part of the transition toward 800V DC distribution systems.