$9.5m Series A funding will power Cambridge GaN Devices growth
Cambridge GaN Devices has raised $9.5million in a Series A funding round to accelerate the deployment of energy-efficient devices reshaping the future of power electronics.
The University of Cambridge spinout’s latest funding round will be used to double staff and expand its GaN product portfolio following decades of research in power devices.
The investment was co-led by IQ Capital, Parkwalk Advisors and BGF, and includes investment from Foresight Williams, Cambridge Enterprise, Martlet Capital, Cambridge Angels and Cambridge Capital Group.
GaN power devices are significantly higher performing than state-of-the-art silicon-based devices, enabling significant reductions in the size and weight of power converters, while producing energy efficiencies higher than 99 per cent. Cambridge GaN Devices’s range of GaN transistors are customised for key applications in market segments such as consumer and industrial switch mode power supply (SMPS), lighting, data centres, and automotive HEV/EV. The higher efficiency of Cambridge GaN Devices products, combined with the unique ease-of-use introduced by the company’s proprietary IP, will allow GaN to easily replace silicon in key applications. They will also enable more compact power systems and better use of energy resources.
Giorgia Longobardi, CEO and founder of Cambridge GaN Devices, and a co-winner of the Cambridge Enterprise’s Postdoc Business Plan competition 2016, said: “This latest round of investment is a great recognition of our success to date, with new and existing investors confirming the strength of our technology. Since 2016, Cambridge GaN Devices has grown significantly and we are thrilled to be in a position to deliver several products to market, following decades of industry-leading research in reliability of power devices.
“This investment will allow us to supplement our experienced team with additional experts and expand our markets globally, creating more sustainable electronics worldwide.”
Cambridge GaN Devices was spun out of the renowned power device group at the Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge in 2016 to exploit a revolutionary technology in power devices, a market worth $30bn. The company’s core business is to design, develop and commercialise power transistors and integrated circuits based on the most energy-efficient material available, gallium nitride (GaN).
Tim Rea, investor at BGF, said: “Clean tech and sustainable investments are at the heart of BGF’s growth strategy for 2021 and beyond. CGD’s technology has the power to make a significant impact on power consumption. Its founders are second-to-none and we look forward to working with them, and a cohort of brilliant co-investors, to bring this product to market.”
The company is currently leading a $10million European-funded project with 13 industrial and academic partners across Europe, GaNext, developing GaN-based modules for low and high-power applications.
