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Microchip and Navitas 800V-to-6V reference design: what it changes for AI server power BOMs

Microchip and Navitas combine GaN power stages and a dsPIC33AK DSC into a single 800V-to-6V reference design for AI racks, targeting Nvidia's Kyber ecosystem.

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TL;DR — three sentences

  • Microchip and Navitas jointly released an 800V-to-6V AI server power reference design on 2026-10-06, folding two conversion stages into one (S1).
  • The reference board uses 16 Navitas GaN power devices and is about 20% thinner than a smartphone, enabling close placement to the GPU board (S1).
  • Microchip supplies the dsPIC33AK DSC for control and the TA100 security chip for secure boot and firmware authentication on the same board (S1).

Taken from key_takeaways (real field, max 3 entries). Fact and analysis are labelled separately.

Microchip and Navitas 800V-to-6V reference design: what it changes for AI server power BOMs — Semiconductor News news briefEditorial cover for a Semiconductor News brief. Power motif; headline "Microchip and Navitas 800V-to-6V reference design: what it changes for AI server power BOMs". Reported key numbers: 16. 1 cited source. Static cover (no animation).SEMICONDUCTOR NEWS · NEWS BRIEFMicrochip and Navitas 800V-to-6Vreference design: what it changes for AIserver power BOMsREPORTED KEY NUMBERS161 sourceXAIPART
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Reported by THE ELEC on 2026-10-06. Summarized and analyzed by XAIPART Editorial.

What happened

Microchip Technology and Navitas Semiconductor unveiled a power-conversion reference design for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers on Oct. 6, combining two conversion stages into one to reduce losses compared with conventional 800V-to-50V-to-6V designs.S1 The 6V output is ultimately stepped down to less than 1V by a voltage regulator module (VRM) on the graphics processing unit (GPU) board.S1

The board uses 16 gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors from Navitas, exploiting GaN's faster switching and lower loss versus silicon to shrink magnetic and passive components.S1 The board profile is described by the source as about 20% thinner than a smartphone, letting it sit close to the GPU board.S1

Microchip contributes the dsPIC33AK digital signal controller (DSC) that runs the power-conversion control loop and the TA100 security chip, which handles secure boot and firmware authentication.S1 Navitas first showed the basic power architecture at Nvidia's GTC 2026 developer conference in March; the two companies are now jointly offering the board, software, and design documentation as a reference baseline for server and power-equipment makers.S1

The reference design aligns with Nvidia's 800V-to-the-rack ecosystem, and Nvidia expects that approach to gain wider adoption starting with shipments of its next-generation rack system, "Kyber," in 2027.S1

Key numbers
MetricReported valueSource
Conversion topology800V to 6V in one stage (vs. conventional 800V to 50V to 6V)[S1]
GaN devices per board16[S1]
VRM output (final stage on GPU board)Less than 1V[S1]
Board thickness vs. smartphoneAbout 20% thinner[S1]
Efficiency gain numberNot disclosed[S1]
Reference-design pricingNot disclosed[S1]

Background timeline

  1. - Navitas unveiled the basic power architecture of the board at Nvidia's GTC 2026 developer conference.S1
  2. - Microchip Technology and Navitas Semiconductor announced the joint 800V-to-6V reference design, adding Microchip's dsPIC33AK DSC and TA100 security chip.S1
  3. - Nvidia expects broader adoption of the 800V rack approach starting with shipments of its "Kyber" next-generation rack system.S1

XAIPART take

Technical impact

Folding 800V directly to 6V in a single GaN stage eliminates the intermediate 50V bus and its associated magnetics, bulk capacitance and protection devices, which simplifies PCB layout and shrinks the converter footprint to a board roughly 20% thinner than a smartphone. Running the control loop on a dsPIC33AK DSC gives designers a deterministic core for tight regulation of a high-step-down ratio, while the TA100 brings hardware root-of-trust for secure boot and firmware authentication - both increasingly required as AI accelerators move onto rack-level boards adjacent to a GPU.

Market impact

The reference design signals that 800V rack power is moving from Nvidia keynote slides into vendor-ready building blocks that ODMs and power-supply makers can copy. Server and PSU OEMs evaluating Kyber-class racks in 2027 should expect GaN-based 800V-to-6V stages to become a default reference; silicon-MOSFET 50V intermediate bus designs risk being displaced in new AI rack platforms. Component buyers should anticipate longer qualification cycles for traditional 50V power stages while 650V-rated GaN parts, DSC supply, and secure-boot silicon are pulled into AI server BOMs. XAIPART analysis

Action

Procurement teams should open dialogue with Microchip on dsPIC33AK and TA100 lead times and with Navitas on 650V GaN device allocation, locking in slots on the joint reference design's documentation list so the in-house power team can benchmark efficiency before committing to a Kyber platform. Design engineers should request the board, software, and design files package to evaluate thermal density, EMI, and the less-than-1V VRM interface on their target GPU board footprint now, rather than after Kyber shipments begin in 2027. XAIPART analysis

XAIPART Forecast

XAIPART expects that by 2027-12-31, at least three announced server or PSU platforms built around Nvidia's Kyber ecosystem will publicly cite Microchip's dsPIC33AK or Navitas GaN parts as their 800V-to-6V conversion stage; if no public platform design win for dsPIC33AK or the joint reference design is disclosed by that date, this forecast is wrong. XAIPART analysis

Facts are as reported by the cited source. The design-in, sourcing and forward-looking statements above are XAIPART's analysis, not the source's claims. Quantitative efficiency improvement, reference-design pricing, and GaN device part numbers were not disclosed in the source; the Nvidia Kyber 2027 shipment statement is currently a single-source expectation from Nvidia as reported by THE ELEC and should be treated as unconfirmed until Nvidia publishes shipping guidance.

Corrections: none at publication. This brief will be updated with a timestamp if the source corrects its report.

Dated developments, extracted from this page's timeline (curated milestones = hollow markers).
Timeline of dated developmentsDated entries: 2026-03-01 2026 - Navitas unveiled the basic …; 2026-10-06 - Microchip Technology and Navitas…; 2027-01-01 - Nvidia expects broader adoption ….2026-03-012026 - Navitas unveiled the basic …2026-10-06- Microchip Technology and Navitas…2027-01-01- Nvidia expects broader adoption …

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What to watch

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ClaimThresholdByStatus
XAIPART expects that by 2027-12-31, at least three announced server or PSU platforms built around Nvidia's Kyber ecosystem will publicly cite Microchip's dsPIC33AK or Navitas GaN parts as their 800V-to-6V conversion s... no public platform design win for dsPIC33AK or the joint reference design is disclosed by that date Pending

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Competitive landscape

  • 21764 live listings in this category on XAIPART
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Cost pressure by dimension

Source: FRED · Generated · reference output z and composite are algorithm outputs, not a fetch snapshot

Cost pressure by dimension — composite stateDiverging bars for three dimensions around a zero midpoint. Input Cost has no reading; Supply Demand z -1.4711, notable; Fx Energy z 0.4541, neutral. Composite index -7.6, band neutral.0Input costno readingSupply/demandz −1.4711 · notable46 dFX & energyz +0.4541 · neutral6 dcomposite −7.6 · neutral−100 · −40 · −15 · 0 · +15 · +40 · +100
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DimensionFRED series IDUnitLagAs of
Input costPCOPPUSDM, PALUMUSDM, PNICKUSDMUSD/mt96 d
Supply/demandPCU334413334413, IPG3344Sindex(1982=100) / index(2017=100)46 d
FX & energyDEXCHUS, DCOILBRENTEU, DHHNGSPrate / USD/bbl / USD/MMBtu6 d

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Source fetched THE ELEC · www.thelec.net · 2,235 chars
Source sanity (S1) ok — passed before any model call (no s1_ block recorded)
Model / prompt MiniMax-M3 · prompt Blog Agent - News Summary (v2.8-final) · 6,579 tokens · 32.3s · run completed
Gate verdict hold · 6/6 applicable checks passed · spec v2.9 · C10 ratio 0.045601 · C10 rounds 0
Time contract 3 <time datetime> values in this brief — 0 violations (+08:00 or date-only)

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Editorial score

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Gate score breakdown 6 applicable checks, 6 passed: 100 percent. Hold items: C13 (falsifiable forecast) — sent to human review. Gate spec: v2.9 (S0 + S1 + C1–C20) · Source affinity (C20): 0.7257. Applicable checks passed 6 / 6 = 100% · verdict: hold Hold items: C13 (falsifiable forecast) — sent to human review Gate spec: v2.9 (S0 + S1 + C1–C20) · Source affinity (C20): 0.7257 The gate decides publication. The independent audit score is advisory only.

Independent audit (advisory, does not affect publication): 52/100 · grade C — detail

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Sources

  1. Microchip, Navitas Unveil 800V Power Reference Design for AI Servers — https://www.thelec.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=14424 · rss · accessed

Facts are marked S1/S2 and trace to the linked source. Passages labelled analysis are XAIPART's own reasoning, kept separate from reported facts. Source links are followed rather than nofollow — attribution is intentional.