Transphorm, a US-based developer of power conversion technology, has raised $25m in its series D round four months after closing its third round of funding led by Google Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of search engine group Google.
Quantum Strategic Partners, an investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management, joined the D round as a new investor alongside Google and venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Foundation Capital and Lux Capital.The other disclosed investor in Transphorm is Bright Capital, the $350m corporate venturing unit of Russia-based conglomerate Ru-Com.
Transphorm is trying to reduce the more than 10% of all electricity lost due to power to electricity conversion inefficiencies and has now raised $63m since launch in 2007.
Toshihiro Sawa, managing director of the technology and development division of Yaskawa Electric, said: "The time is right to develop power conversion technologies that can cut power waste and reduce excess heat, and Transphorm provides a viable solution today."
Leo Casey, chief technology officer of Satcon, added: "It is imperative that power conversion efficiency be increased both to cut unnecessary losses and to save energy, but also to reduce waste heat which has negative impact on volume, weight, cost and reliability."