Vertical Semiconductor Raises $11 Million for GaN Power Chips

MIT spin-out Vertical Semiconductor has raised $11 million in seed funding to advance its vertical gallium nitride (GaN) transistor technology, reports Data Center Dynamics. The round was led by Playground Global, with participation from JIMCO Technology Ventures, Milemark Capital, and Shin-Etsu Chemical.

Founded in 2024 by Josh Perozek, Cynthia Liao, and Tomas Palacios, the company is based on research from MIT’s Palacios Group. Vertical’s GaN-based chips aim to improve power efficiency in AI data centers by supporting direct and high-efficiency power conversion. The startup has demonstrated its design on eight-inch wafers using standard silicon CMOS manufacturing.

Vertical plans to begin early sampling of its packaged devices by the end of the year, with a fully integrated solution targeted for 2026. Its prototype covers devices ranging from 100 volts to 1.2kV, designed for real-world deployment in high-power computing environments.