Shaping the future of power electronics with GaN– An interview with VisIC Technologies

The GaN power semiconductor device market is set to exceed $2.5 billion by 2030, underscoring its rapid adoption across a wide range of industries. This growth is primarily fueled by GaN’s unique ability to deliver superior efficiency, compact size, and high-power density, positioning it as a disruptive alternative to traditional silicon-based devices. Consumer fast-charging applications remain the largest driver of this market and are projected to represent over 60% of total revenues by 2030, as demand for more compact and efficient chargers and adapters continues to rise globally.

Yole Group remains deeply committed to the power GaN industry, delivering renowned analyses that explore both innovation and business strategy. Each year, the market research and strategy consulting firm conducts in-depth investigations of this sector, providing precise and insightful assessments through its comprehensive collection of power GaN market reports (Full collection). Continuing this tradition, Yole Group’s analysts are once again preparing to release the much-anticipated Power GaN 2025 report (See Power GaN 2024 report, still available now!)

In the short to mid-term, however, other segments are emerging as powerful growth engines. The automotive and mobility sectors are accelerating as carmakers push forward with electrification and require high-performance solutions for traction inverters, onboard chargers, and DC-DC converters. Similarly, the telecom and infrastructure market is expanding, with GaN’s high efficiency and reduced footprint. Looking further ahead, the datacenter segment is expected to take off by 2027, catalyzed by NVIDIA’s announcement of its new high-performance computing architecture and strategic agreements with leading chipmakers to deploy wide-bandgap solutions. This marks a pivotal step for GaN, which will play a critical role in the next-generation datacenters.

As the market grows, the competitive landscape is also becoming increasingly dynamic. Innoscience currently leads with approximately 30% market share in 2024, thanks to its strong position in fast chargers and ongoing expansion into the automotive and datacenter sectors. Infineon, a long-standing leader in power electronics, is investing heavily in GaN and is the first to introduce a 300mm GaN-on-Si technology platform, reinforcing its scale-up capability. Renesas, following its acquisition of Transphorm, is building a diversified portfolio spanning both low-voltage and high-voltage GaN products and is on track to achieve $100 million inGaN revenues by 2026. Power Integrations and Navitas remain leading players, though their market shares have stabilized.

Within this evolving ecosystem, VisIC Technologies is positioning itself as a key innovator. Its proprietary D³GaN™ technology addresses critical challenges in automotive power electronics and covers power traction inverters, onboard chargers, and DC-DC conversion. Collaborations with industry leaders, such as AVL, have validated the company’s approach, with inverter prototypes demonstrating efficiencies of up to 99.8%.

Backed by a global supply chain with 8-inch manufacturing capacity and a pipeline of new products, VisIC Technologies aims to shape the next phase of the GaN revolution. In the next Q&A session, we will dive deeper into VisIC Technologies’ unique D³GaN™ technology and explore its long-term vision. While the company is firmly focused on the automotive sector today, its roadmap extends well beyond, with ambitions to expand into datacenters, solar, and industrial power applications.

Yole Group’s analysts had the opportunity to speak with Tamara Baksht, CEO and founder of VisIC Technologies Ltd (ViSiC). In this interview, Ezgi Dogmus, PhD Compound Semiconductors & Radio Frequency Director at Yole Group, delves into ViSiC’s business strategies, technological innovations, and product roadmap for the rapidly expanding power GaN market.

Ezgi Dogmus (ED): Please briefly introduce VisIC Technologies and its core mission in the power electronics industry.

Tamara Baksht (TB): VisIC Technologies is a global leader in high-voltage GaN (Gallium Nitride) power semiconductors, with a core mission to revolutionize power conversion systems in electric vehicles (EVs). Our proprietary D³GaN™ (Direct Drive D-Mode GaN) technology is engineered to deliver unmatched efficiency, power density, and thermal performance. With deep roots in semiconductor R&D, the VisIC team is committed to enabling cleaner, more compact, and more efficient products for the automotive industry. We develop our own D-Mode chips using a proprietary PDK and integrate them into discrete and power modules to replace silicon or silicon carbide products. Our technology meets the customer requirement of silicon carbide performance at silicon cost, making it ideal for any switching power supply application

ED: VisIC is a pioneer in GaN-based power devices. What are the key advantages of your D³GaN™ technology compared to traditional silicon or SiC solutions? And compared to other GaN players?

TB: D³GaN™ stands out due to its unique use of D-mode (depletion-mode) GaN-on-Silicon, optimized for high-current, high-efficiency power stages in EV applications. Compared to Si and SiC, D³GaN™ offers:

Compared to enhancement-mode (E-mode) GaN competitors, VisIC’s D³GaN™ enables simpler gate drive circuits and improved robustness under automotive-grade stress. Our ability to scale to 8-inch wafers and deliver devices with resistance <5mΩ per chip further positions us uniquely in terms of manufacturability and cost-effectiveness. Our upcoming Gen 3 chips will revolutionize the power semiconductor power industry with unmatched performance.

ED: Which specific applications and market segments are you currently targeting with your D³GaN™ technology? What is VisIC Technologies’ unique added value in the GaN power market?

TB: Our primary focus is the automotive market, particularly traction inverters, onboard chargers (OBC), and DC-DC converters. We also serve industrial segments such as data centers, solar inverters, and power supplies.

VisIC’s unique value lies in:

ED: At PCIM 2025, you showcased your latest GaN power module. Could you tell us more about the target applications for this module and your timeline for moving into volume production?

TB: Indeed, at PCIM 2025, we presented our latest 650V GaN half-bridge power module, developed for high-current electric vehicle traction inverters. This module integrates VisIC’s D³GaN™ technology in a fully isolated package, designed to meet the rigorous demands of automotive powertrains.

In a recent collaboration with AVL, our inverter prototype (400V/750A), powered by VisIC’s GaN-on-Silicon devices and controlled via AVL’s SOP eDrive algorithm, achieved benchmark inverter efficiencies:

These efficiency gains translate into over 60% reduction in energy losses, setting a new standard in power conversion for e-mobility.

The power model has a stray inductance of below 4nH and can deliver up to 400A with our Gen 2 Chips and will be scaled to our Gen 3 chips in early 2026, which will boost the current capabilities to over 500A

Production ramp-up with our foundry partners has begun, and we expect to support customer evaluations and design-ins throughout 2025, with volume production aligned to automotive platform cycles beginning in early 2027.

ED: Looking ahead, in which applications or industries do you believe GaN technology will see the most significant penetration over the next five years, and why?

TB: At VisIC, we believe that we are just seeing the start of penetration into new applications. Market acceptance started with mobile phone fast chargers and has now spread into higher semiconductor-volume applications, such as solar inverters, onboard chargers, bi-directional disconnectors, and ultimately the high-volume, high-value drive train inverter market. The next largest emerging market will be data center power supply, where D³GaN™ technology is best positioned among all GaN flavors, enabling high power with high efficiency and at low manufacturing cost.

Looking at the big picture, the technology is scalable from 30V to 1700V and in the future could replace Silicon in many applications.

ED: TSMC recently announced its exit from GaN activities. How does this development impact the GaN ecosystem? What are the implications for VisIC Technologies and its supply chain?

TB: TSMC’s exit from GaN was anticipated. VisIC had already diversified its supply chain and initiated partnerships with alternative foundries to ensure long-term resilience and scalability. Our proactive move to 8-inch wafer production not only safeguards our capacity but also strengthens our cost structure and ability to support mass-market EV programs. We also work with our partners on 12” wafer for GaN-on-Silicon to ensure future cost advantages.

ED: What trends or innovations in power semiconductors are you most excited about right now?

TB: We’re particularly excited about:

These innovations are shaping a future where power systems are significantly smaller, lighter, and more efficient.

ED: What’s next for VisIC Technologies?  Are there any upcoming innovations, product releases, or technical milestones we should be watching for?

TB: 1350V Generation 4 will be a significant milestone.

Also, we’re scaling production of our top-side cooled isolated V22TG leadless package for OBC and upcoming AI datacenter power supply needs, and co-developing inverter reference designs with key automotive Tier-1s and OEMs. We’re also preparing new high-current variants and exploring integration with wide-bandgap gate driver ICs. Expect more design wins and demonstrations in 2025–2026, especially as our foundry and packaging ecosystem matures.

We are shaping the ecosystem around D-Mode D³GaN™ to implement solutions by multiple partners from the power module and gate driver points of view, which are easy to integrate and feature exceptional cooling. Our approach is, therefore, to give customers complete reference designs, including DC Capacitors and cooling and gate drivers to simplify development and speed up their design cycles.

The release of our 750V Gen 3 Chip by the end of the year will be a breakthrough in power density and will improve Rdson over temperature to just 1.6x from 25C to 175C and we may extend usage up to 200C for a limited operating lifetime based on customer demand.

ED: From a strategic standpoint, what is the long-term vision for VisIC Technologies, and where do you see the company evolving over the next five to ten years?

TB: Our long-term vision is to be the leading GaN power semiconductor provider for high-voltage applications, especially in EVs. We aim to expand into multi-chip modules, intelligent power stages, and AI-optimized energy management systems. VisIC will continue to drive innovation in GaN-on-Silicon, delivering efficient, sustainable, and scalable solutions that reshape the power electronics industry.

Source: www.yolegroup.com