PowerLattice, an emerging technology company specializing in advanced power management with its modular chiplets, has recently disclosed a power management breakthrough with novel chiplets. The company claims that these new chiplets can reduce power usage by as much as 50 percent. This novel improvement, perhaps the most significant to date, has drastically increased the compute power of graphics processing units (GPUs). PowerLattice is in the process of miniaturizing and repackaging high-voltage regulators. This breakthrough technology achieves 2X the performance per watt and addresses the rapidly increasing power requirements of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
This new technology adds a special approach to voltage regulation. PowerLattice was able to accomplish drastic improvements in efficiency by shrinking the voltage conversion process and placing it in closer proximity with processors. The company says their new chiplets occupy less than 1/20th the area used by conventional voltage regulators. Furthermore, they work at a hundred times the frequency of traditional solutions.
Innovative Design and Performance
PowerLattice’s chiplets have a thickness of around 100 micrometers, about the size of a human hair. This space-saving design ensures more efficient power delivery, lowering losses that are often seen with a longer distance between components. The company’s double-layered, custom-designed inductors, built from a proprietary magnetic alloy, maximize high-frequency operation and contribute to overall performance.
To illuminate why proximity is important for power delivery, let’s refer back to Hanh-Phuc Le, a lead engineer at PowerLattice. He described that the closer one is to the processor, the shorter the distance on this very high current goes. With this modification, we’re able to save twice as much power as we lose.
PowerLattice’s approach is a pretty big departure from the tactics employed by incumbents such as Intel. PowerLattice provides a scalable and cost-effective alternative to Intel’s existing, proprietary systems. For reliability reasons, Intel forces customers to adopt proprietary power supply management chips. With PowerLattice, users have more freedom of choice.
“From a market position perspective, we are quite a bit different,” – Peng Zou
Addressing Market Needs
This rapid surge in power consumption caused by AI data centers has created a critical demand for new, creative solutions. This is where PowerLattice’s chiplets offer a plausible answer, as they can power the entire lattice at exactly half the operator’s power budget. Through this method, they say that energy performance can be doubled at half the energy use.
Le noted the trend towards chiplet implementation as an integral part of modern technology: “There’s a trend of what we call chiplet implementation, so it is a heterogeneous integration.” This growing trend is indicative of a wider shift in the industry towards a modular design that enables functional flexibility to meet varied operational priorities.
Zou emphasized the urgency of addressing power consumption issues in today’s technological landscape. “This has almost become a show-stopping issue today.” He pointed out PowerLattice’s determination to address this issue with their state-of-the-art technology.
Competitive Landscape
Even with the intense competition in the small space, Zou sees Intel as a non-competitor in the field. He noted that Intel’s unwillingness to share its technology with competitors would make for a markedly different market landscape. This approach provides PowerLattice with enough of a unique focus that they won’t necessarily go head-to-head with the larger companies.
Le elaborated on the collaborative nature of tech startups in this landscape: “That’s how the market is. We have a startup working with a startup doing something that actually rivals, and even competes with, some large companies.” This sentiment reflects the innovative spirit within the industry, where new ideas can disrupt established norms.
PowerLattice’s unique solutions provide meaningful benefits compared to legacy approaches. Their lighting technology reduces energy consumption while providing bright, uniform illumination typically found in larger fixtures. This strategy is going to change what high-performance looks like in all applications.