Semiconductor startup C2i Semiconductors raises $15 Mn led by Peak XV

Semiconductor startup C2i Semiconductors has secured $15 million in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from Yali Deeptech and TDK Ventures.

The Bengaluru-based startup had previously raised $4 million from deeptech venture fund Yali Capital in November 2024.

The proceeds will be used to support global expansion, set up a US office to be closer to customers and key decision-makers, and later build an applications and systems engineering team in Taiwan, the company said in a press release.

Co-founded in June 2024 by Ram Anant, Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Tadeparthy, Dattatreya Suryanarayana, Harsha S B, and Muthusubramanian N V, C2i Semiconductors is developing power management solutions for AI data centres and cloud infrastructure. The company is targeting system-level innovations that rethink how power flows from the grid to the processor core.

C2i plans to move quickly from design to silicon. Its first product is scheduled for tapeout in April, followed by a second product in July. One chip will be manufactured at Tower Semiconductor in Israel, while the other will be fabricated at GlobalFoundries, either in Singapore or Dallas.

According to market research, AI infrastructure capex is expected to reach $500–600 billion over the next 12–18 months and could grow to $1 trillion by 2030.

C2i claims its system-level architecture can recover 8–10% efficiency, improve GPU performance by about 3%, and significantly extend server lifetimes. A 10% efficiency gain can translate into nearly 1 kW saved per server tray, adding up to hundreds of kilowatts across large deployments, directly improving return on investment for operators.

The company said it is already in discussions with three to four enterprise server customers to define components for their next-generation platforms and is targeting global enterprise players.