Analog Devices buys Empower Semiconductor for $1.5bn | TNW

Analog Devices will acquire Empower Semiconductor for $1.5 billion in cash to strengthen power-delivery technology for AI data centers. The acquisition provides access to Empower’s integrated voltage regulators positioned directly beneath AI accelerators. These regulators feed current vertically through the circuit board rather than routing it sideways. Empower reports that this design can trim roughly 20% of a system’s total power consumption, which is significant given that hyperscale facilities can draw hundreds of megawatts. Analog Devices expects the technology to expand its portfolio and help customers achieve the compute densities required by next-generation AI. Tim Phillips will remain to oversee integrated voltage regulator development within ADI.

"Analog Devices has agreed to buy Empower Semiconductor for $1.5 billion in cash, placing a major bet that the insatiable energy demands of AI data centres will keep chipmakers scrambling for better power-delivery technology. The deal, announced on Monday, gives the Wilmington, Massachusetts-based chipmaker access to Empower's integrated voltage regulators, which sit directly beneath AI accelerators and feed current vertically through the circuit board rather than routing it sideways."

"According to Empower, that design can trim roughly 20% of a system's total power consumption, a figure that matters enormously when a single hyperscale facility can draw hundreds of megawatts. The integrated voltage regulators are positioned directly beneath AI accelerators, enabling current to move vertically through the circuit board instead of being routed sideways."

""AI infrastructure is fundamentally reshaping how power must be delivered, with energy now the most persistent constraint to scaling next-generation systems," said Vincent Roche, chief executive and chair of Analog Devices. Roche added that Empower's technology will expand ADI's portfolio and help its customers "achieve the compute densities next-generation AI demands." Tim Phillips, who co-founded Empower in 2014 and serves as its chief executive, will stay on to oversee integrated voltage regulator development within ADI."

"Empower, based in Milpitas, California, has been on a rapid growth trajectory. In September 2025 it closed a Series D round of more than $140 million led by Fidelity Management & Research, with participation from Maverick Silicon, CapitalG, Atreides Management, and several other investors. That round brought total funding to roughly $236 million across multiple rounds. The company also opened a new corporate headquarters in Milpitas and a dedicated research and development centre in Mu"

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