内容来源：https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/15/as-ai-data-centers-hit-power-limits-peak-xv-backs-indian-startup-c2i-to-fix-the-bottleneck/

内容总结：

随着全球人工智能数据中心规模快速扩张，电力而非算力正日益成为关键制约因素。这一转变促使知名风投机构Peak XV Partners近日领投了印度半导体初创企业C2i，该公司致力于开发即插即用的系统级电力解决方案，以降低能耗损失、提升大型AI基础设施的经济效益。

C2i（意为控制、转换与智能）在A轮融资中获1500万美元，由Peak XV Partners领投，Yali Deeptech和TDK Ventures跟投，使其成立两年来的总融资额达到1900万美元。此轮融资正值全球数据中心能耗需求激增之际。据彭博新能源财经2025年12月报告，到2035年数据中心用电量预计将增长近两倍；高盛研究则估算，2030年数据中心电力需求较2023年可能飙升175%，相当于增加一个全球前十的电力消费国。

C2i联合创始人兼首席技术官Preetam Tadeparthy指出，能源压力主要源于数据中心内部的电力转换损耗——高压电需经过数千次降压才能输送至GPU，当前该过程约浪费15%至20%的能源。他表示：“电压标准已从400伏提升至800伏，未来还可能继续升高。”

由前德州仪器电源业务高管团队于2024年创立的C2i，正将电力输送重新设计为覆盖“电网至GPU”的端到端即插即用系统。通过整合电源转换、控制与封装技术，该公司预计能将整体能耗降低约10%，即每消耗1兆瓦电力可节约100千瓦，进而对冷却成本、GPU利用率及数据中心整体经济性产生连锁优化效应。

Peak XV Partners（2023年从红杉资本分离）管理合伙人Rajan Anandan强调，电力成本已成为大规模AI基础设施运营中的核心支出，“若能降低10%至30%的能耗，意味着节省数百亿美元”。他同时指出，印度半导体设计生态正日趋成熟，“可类比2008年的电子商务阶段，刚刚起步”。

目前C2i已组建约65人的工程师团队，并在美国与台湾设立客户对接部门。其首两款芯片设计将于4月至6月间回片，随后将联合数据中心运营商与超大规模服务商进行性能验证。尽管电力输送领域长期由资金雄厚、认证周期漫长的大型企业主导，但C2i尝试的端到端系统级重构，或将为行业突破提供新路径。

未来六个月，随着芯片实测与客户验证展开，这家班加罗尔初创企业能否将印度的半导体设计优势转化为全球竞争力产品，市场将迎来关键检验期。

中文翻译：

电力，而非算力，正迅速成为制约人工智能数据中心规模扩张的关键瓶颈。这一转变促使红杉资本印度（Peak XV Partners）投资了印度初创企业C2i Semiconductors——该公司致力于开发即插即用的系统级电力解决方案，旨在降低能耗损失并提升大型人工智能基础设施的经济效益。

C2i（意为控制、转换与智能）近日完成1500万美元A轮融资，由红杉资本印度领投，Yali Deeptech和TDK Ventures跟投。成立仅两年的C2i累计融资额已达1900万美元。

此项投资正值全球数据中心能源需求激增之际。彭博新能源财经2025年12月报告预测，到2035年数据中心耗电量将增长近两倍；而高盛研究部估计，2030年数据中心电力需求较2023年可能激增175%——相当于新增一个全球前十的耗电国。

巨大能耗压力主要并非来自发电环节，而是源于数据中心内部的电力转换效率问题。C2i联合创始人兼首席技术官普里塔姆·塔德帕西在接受采访时指出，高压电力在抵达GPU前需经历数千次降压转换，当前这一过程会浪费约15%至20%的能源。"过去400伏的电压标准已提升至800伏，未来很可能继续升高。"塔德帕西向TechCrunch透露。

由德州仪器前电源业务高管拉姆·阿南特、维克拉姆·加卡尔、普里塔姆·塔德帕西、达塔特雷亚·苏里亚纳拉亚纳，以及哈沙·S·B与穆图苏布拉马尼安·N·V于2024年联合创立的C2i，正在重新设计电力输送系统，打造从数据中心母线到处理器终端的"电网至GPU"一体化即插即用方案。

通过将电源转换、控制与封装整合为集成平台，C2i预计能将端到端能耗损失降低约10%——相当于每消耗1兆瓦电力可节约100千瓦。这种改进还将产生降低冷却成本、提升GPU利用率、优化数据中心整体经济效益的连锁反应。

"所有这些将直接转化为总拥有成本、营收和利润率的改善。"塔德帕西强调。

对2023年从红杉资本分拆独立的红杉资本印度而言，投资吸引力在于电力成本如何影响规模化AI基础设施的经济模型。该风投机构董事总经理拉詹·阿南丹向TechCrunch表示，在完成服务器与设施的初期资本投入后，能源成本已成为数据中心持续运营的主要开支，因此即便是微小的能效提升也极具价值。"若能降低10%至30%的能源成本，这将是天文数字，意味着数百亿美元级别的节约。"

相关技术主张将很快接受检验。据塔德帕西透露，C2i的首批两款芯片设计预计在4月至6月间完成流片，随后将应多家数据中心运营商和超大规模企业的要求，开展性能验证工作。这家总部位于班加罗尔的初创企业已组建约65人的工程师团队，并在美国和台湾设立客户对接部门，为早期部署做准备。

电力输送系统是数据中心技术栈中最稳固的环节之一，长期由资金雄厚、认证周期长达数年的大型企业主导。尽管许多新兴公司专注于改进单个组件，但端到端的电力输送系统重构需要同步协调芯片、封装和系统架构——这种资本密集型路径鲜有初创企业尝试，且可能需要数年时间才能在生产环境中验证可行性。

阿南丹指出当前真正的考验在于执行能力，强调所有初创企业在押注行业变革时都面临技术、市场和团队三重风险。他认为C2i的验证周期相对较短："未来六个月将见分晓"，即将到来的流片测试和早期客户验证将成为关键试金石。

此次投资也折射出印度半导体设计生态近年来的成熟度。"看待印度半导体产业，应如看待2008年的电子商务行业，一切才刚刚起步。"阿南丹比喻道。他特别指出印度工程人才的深度优势——全球芯片设计师驻印比例持续增长，加之政府推出的设计关联激励计划降低了流片成本与风险，使初创企业从印度本土打造具有全球竞争力的半导体产品（而非仅作为附属设计中心）日益成为可能。

随着C2i开始与客户验证其系统级电力解决方案，这些优势能否转化为全球竞争力产品，未来数月将渐趋明朗。

英文来源：

Power, rather than compute, is fast becoming the limiting factor in scaling AI data centers. That shift has prompted Peak XV Partners to back C2i Semiconductors, an Indian startup building plug-and-play, system-level power solutions designed to cut energy losses and improve the economics of large-scale AI infrastructure.
C2i (which stands for control conversion and intelligence) has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from Yali Deeptech and TDK Ventures, bringing the two-year-old startup’s total funding to $19 million.
The investment comes as data-center energy demand accelerates worldwide. Electricity consumption from data centers is projected to nearly triple by 2035, per a December 2025 report from BloombergNEF, while Goldman Sachs Research estimates data-center power demand could surge 175% by 2030 from 2023 levels — the equivalent of adding another top-10 power-consuming country.
Much of that strain comes not from generating electricity but from converting it efficiently inside data centers, where high-voltage power must be stepped down thousands of times before it reaches GPUs. This process currently wastes about 15% to 20% of energy, C2i’s co-founder and CTO Preetam Tadeparthy said in an interview.
“What used to be 400 volts has already moved to 800 volts, and will likely go higher,” Tadeparthy told TechCrunch.
Founded in 2024 by former Texas Instruments power executives Ram Anant, Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Tadeparthy, and Dattatreya Suryanarayana, along with Harsha S. B and Muthusubramanian N. V, C2i is redesigning power delivery as a single, plug-and-play “grid-to-GPU” system spanning the data-center bus to the processor itself.
By treating power conversion, control and packaging as an integrated platform, C2i estimates it can cut end-to-end losses by around 10% — roughly 100 kilowatts saved for every megawatt consumed — with knock-on effects for cooling costs, GPU utilisation and overall data-center economics.
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“All that translates directly to total cost of ownership, revenue, and profitability,” Tadeparthy said.
For Peak XV Partners (which split from Sequoia Capital in 2023), the attraction lies in how power costs shape the economics of AI infrastructure at scale. Rajan Anandan, the venture firm’s managing director, told TechCrunch that after the upfront capital investment in servers and facilities, energy costs become the dominant ongoing expense for data centers, making even incremental efficiency gains highly valuable.
“If you can reduce energy costs by, call it, 10 to 30%, that’s like a huge number,” Anandan said. “You’re talking about tens of billions of dollars.”
The claims will be tested quickly. C2i expects its first two silicon designs to return from fabrication between April and June, after which the startup plans to validate performance with data-center operators and hyperscalers that have asked to review the data, according to Tadeparthy.
The Bengaluru-based startup has built a team of about 65 engineers and is setting up customer-facing operations in the U.S. and Taiwan as it prepares for early deployments.
Power delivery is one of the most entrenched parts of the data-center stack, long dominated by large incumbents with deep balance sheets and years-long qualification cycles. While many newer companies focus on improving individual components, redesigning power delivery end-to-end requires coordinating silicon, packaging, and system architecture simultaneously — a capital-intensive approach that few startups attempt and one that can take years to prove in production environments.
Anandan said the real question now is execution, noting that all startups face technology, market, and team risks when betting on how industries evolve. In C2i’s case, he said, the feedback loop should be relatively short. “We’ll know in the next six months,” said Anandan, pointing to upcoming silicon and early customer validation as the moment when the thesis will be tested.
The bet also reflects how India’s semiconductor design ecosystem has matured in recent years.
“The way you should look at semiconductors in India is, this is like 2008 e-commerce,” said Anandan. “It’s just getting started.”
He pointed to the depth of engineering talent — with a growing share of global chip designers based in the country — alongside government-backed design-linked incentives that have lowered the cost and risk of tape-outs, making it increasingly viable for startups to build globally competitive semiconductor products from India rather than operate only as captive design centers.
Whether those conditions translate into a globally competitive product will become clearer over the coming months, as C2i begins validating its system-level power solutions with customers.