SuVolta

About SuVolta

Founded in 2005, SuVolta, Inc. was a semiconductor technology company that operated on a fabless model, focusing on developing and licensing intellectual property to reduce power consumption in integrated circuits (ICs). The company was based in Los Gatos, California, and led by President and CEO Bruce McWilliams. SuVolta's core business involved licensing its PowerShrink and Deeply Depleted Channel (DDC) technologies to semiconductor manufacturers. This business model allowed clients to integrate SuVolta's power-saving solutions into their existing manufacturing processes without requiring significant capital investment in new equipment.

SuVolta's technology addressed the critical challenge of transistor variability and power leakage in modern CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) chips. As transistors shrink, variations in their electrical properties can lead to increased power consumption and heat generation. SuVolta's DDC technology worked by creating a deeply depleted channel in the transistor, which improved its electrical characteristics and reduced threshold voltage variation. This enabled chips to operate at lower voltages, resulting in a claimed 50% reduction in power consumption without compromising performance. The technology was applicable across various process nodes, from 90nm down to 20nm, and could be implemented in existing planar bulk CMOS manufacturing flows.

The company targeted high-growth markets where power efficiency is paramount, including mobile computing processors, DRAM, and the Internet of Things (IoT). A significant milestone was its partnership with Fujitsu Semiconductor, which licensed the DDC technology and used it in the production of its Milbeaut image processor ICs starting in 2013. SuVolta successfully raised over $75 million in funding from prominent venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins, August Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and Fujitsu Semiconductor. Despite its technological achievements and partnerships, SuVolta faced challenges and was ultimately dissolved in 2015 after selling its intellectual property rights to Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor.