Texas Instruments (TI) has announced a strategic collaboration with NVIDIA to develop advanced power management and sensing technologies for 800V high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power distribution systems in data center servers. This next-generation power architecture will serve as a foundation for more scalable and reliable AI data centers.

As AI technologies evolve, the power demand per data center rack is expected to rise dramatically—from current levels of around 100 kilowatts to over 1 megawatt (MW) in the near future. Supplying that level of power using today’s 48V distribution systems would require nearly 450 pounds of copper wiring per rack, creating significant physical and engineering limitations. In contrast, an 800V HVDC system offers a more efficient path forward by delivering the necessary power density and conversion efficiency while reducing the size, weight, and complexity of the power infrastructure.

“This is a paradigm shift happening right before us,” said Jeffrey Morroni, Director of Power Management Research and TI Fellow at Kilby Labs. “AI data centers are pushing power delivery requirements to unprecedented heights. A few years ago, 48V architecture was the big challenge. Now, with TI’s deep power conversion expertise and NVIDIA’s AI leadership, we’re enabling an 800V HVDC architecture capable of meeting tomorrow’s extraordinary compute demands.”

Gabriele Gorla, Vice President of System Engineering at NVIDIA, added:
"Semiconductor-based power systems are critical to enabling high-performance AI infrastructure. NVIDIA is collaborating with partners like TI to develop 800V HVDC systems that can efficiently power the next generation of large-scale AI data centers."

As demand for compute and storage continues to grow, the 800V power distribution model offers engineers a scalable and energy-efficient approach to building the AI-ready infrastructure of the future.