XMax Inc. has agreed to acquire Hexa Creation Inc., a US-based developer of 1200V vertical gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductor devices, in a move to expand its technology footprint into high-voltage artificial intelligence computing infrastructure. The transaction provides XMax with proprietary compound semiconductor architecture engineered to meet the power delivery demands of high-performance compute clusters and industrial electrification.
Commercial GaN power devices have achieved widespread commercial adoption primarily in consumer electronics and telecom power stages operating at 650V and below. However, high-density AI data centers are transitioning from legacy alternating current feeds toward direct 800VDC power distribution buses to reduce intermediate conversion losses. Operating at these voltages requires power switches rated at 1200V with high breakdown fields and minimal conduction loss. Hexa Creation’s development roadmap focuses on native 1200V vertical GaN trench MOSFETs. Unlike conventional lateral GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs), which consume substantial die area as breakdown voltages increase, vertical architectures conduct current through the bulk substrate. This orientation delivers higher breakdown ratings, smaller die footprints, superior current density, and better thermal dissipation without requiring oversized silicon real estate.
Hexa Creation supports its hardware platform through exclusive licenses to university-developed patents covering vertical GaN structures. Professor Yuji Zhao, founder and chief executive officer of Hexa Creation, indicated that the acquisition provides the resources needed to transition this vertical GaN IP from university-backed research toward commercial foundry tape-outs and device qualification. The development roadmap anticipates expanding beyond discrete transistors into multi-chip power modules and integrated power delivery architectures tailored for AI server racks, electric vehicle drivetrains, fast-charging systems, and grid-scale energy storage.
The transaction coincides with rapid expansion across wide-bandgap semiconductor markets. Projections from market research firm Yole Group indicate that the global power GaN device market will expand from approximately $355 million in 2024 to nearly $3 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of roughly 42%. While silicon carbide (SiC) currently dominates the commercial 1200V tier, vertical GaN offers theoretically faster switching frequencies and lower output capacitance, which can reduce the physical dimensions of magnetic inductors and passive components in data center power supplies.
For the semiconductor industry, the transaction underscores the convergence of AI compute scaling and front-end power engineering. Megawatt-scale data center facilities require high-efficiency power conversion from the grid step-down transformer directly to the accelerator substrate. If successfully commercialized, 1200V vertical GaN devices will provide high-efficiency switching at voltages where lateral GaN cannot compete, establishing an alternative wide-bandgap platform for high-power conversion.
