Transphorm Announces New $70 million Investment
Transphorm, an early stage Californian semiconductor company focused on GaN-based power conversion chips, has announced a $70 million investment round led by investment firm KKR.
KKR's investment follows initial rounds of funding led by funds affiliated with Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Foundation Capital, Google Ventures, Soros Quantum Strategic Partners, INCJ, Fujitsu, Transphorm will use this funding to support its growth, product innovation and expansion.
Umesh Mishra, chairman of Transphorm Inc, stated: "Transphorm was launched to address the urgent and important problem of losses in power conversion, a process that converts electricity from the form it is delivered to the form that is ultimately used. We are delighted KKR has chosen to invest in Transphorm. By merging the technological leadership of Transphorm with the semiconductor business expertise of KKR, we are taking a major step forward in solving the global problem of energy wasted in power conversion."
Transphorm believes that there is a very large market for its products as its ultra-efficient power devices and modules can eliminate more than 40 percent of all electric conversion losses by using GaN.
Transphorm has established strategic partnerships with a number of companies. Yaskawa Electric Corporation, a motion control, robotics and systems engineering firm, launched the first GaN-based commercially produced solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter, powered by Transphorm GaN, in the Japan market earlier this year. Transphorm's products enable approximately 50 percent smaller PV inverters in residential and small commercial installations up to 5kW, resulting in lower system, installation, and service costs while at the same time delivering more energy per solar panel to the grid.
Tata Power Solar, India's leading power conversion player, has also teamed with Transphorm to develop PV inverters. In order to provide customers with high quality volume production, Transphorm partnered with Fujitsu Semiconductor, to produce its products in Fujitsu's automotive-class wafer fabrication facility in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan.
"Transphorm's technology is paving the way for a revolutionary change in energy efficiency. Right now, Transphorm is the only place where customers can acquire reliable, production volume GaN products that meet or exceed required performance specs for commercial products. Long term, we believe this has the potential to replace all of the existing silicon-based technology used in high voltage products, and wide adoption of this technology will dramatically reduce the amount of energy that is wasted by electric devices," David Kerko, senior advisor of KKR, said.
For KKR, the investment is part of the firm's growth equity strategy, which is focused on market-leading, high-growth companies for which KKR can be a unique partner in helping reach scale and the next level of growth. KKR is funding the investment from the balance sheet of KKR & Co. LP.
As part of the transaction, KKR's David Kerko, Brittany Bagley and Eiji Yatagawa will join Transphorm's Board of Directors, and KKR has also nominated semiconductor industry veterans Mario Rivas and Michael White to the Transphorm board.
KKR is a global investment firm that manages investments across multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds.
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