Nvidia has pushed back against a report suggesting its next-generation 800-volt direct current (800VDC) power architecture would not reach large-scale shipment until 2028, saying the technology remains on track for volume production well before then.
The clarification follows a report from semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis that had rattled investors in Taiwan's power electronics sector, briefly pulling down shares of Delta Electronics, the island's leading power supply maker, before the stock recovered.
Morgan Stanley Checks Point to a Third-Quarter Ramp
According to channel checks by Morgan Stanley, the rollout of Nvidia's high-voltage power infrastructure is proceeding largely as planned. The bank's supply-chain survey found that 400-volt power systems for large data-center ASIC server racks remain on schedule, while 800VDC power cabinets are expected to enter mass production as early as the third quarter of this year.
Delta Electronics is positioned to be the first supplier to deliver standalone 800VDC power cabinets to a major U.S. data-center operator, with fourth-quarter production targeted. Shipment volumes this year are likely to stay modest, however, as the components involved in the new architecture — including protection devices and industrial safety hardware — still need to clear certification from Underwriters Laboratories and other safety bodies, a process that takes time. Industry watchers nonetheless view the timeline as a positive signal for the broader shift toward higher-voltage power delivery.
A Tenfold Jump in Rack Power Is Reshaping the Supply Chain
The shift comes as artificial intelligence workloads push data-center power consumption far beyond what older architectures were built to handle. Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang recently announced that the company's next-generation Vera Rubin NVL72 platform has entered mass production, with each server rack drawing roughly 110 kilowatts — more than triple the roughly 33 kilowatts consumed by a single rack in the current GB300 NVL72 generation.
That leap is straining traditional 50-volt power designs, which are approaching physical limits on both current-carrying capacity and material cost as demand climbs. Texas Instruments has projected that AI server rack power needs will reach 1.5 megawatts by 2028 — about ten times current levels — a trajectory that is forcing suppliers to compress years of engineering work into a much shorter window while integrating power delivery, cooling and mechanical design almost simultaneously.
High-Voltage Direct Current Promises Fewer Conversions, Higher Efficiency
To meet that demand, Nvidia's incoming Vera Rubin platform is set to adopt an 800-volt high-voltage direct current (HVDC) architecture, a design that sharply reduces the number of power conversion steps required between the electrical grid and the server itself. The approach does away with the large uninterruptible power supply units and static transfer switches typical of conventional data centers. Instead, a solid-state transformer converts incoming grid power directly to 800VDC, which then feeds into a 50-volt bus inside the rack.
Delta Electronics estimates that the streamlined design can lift overall power efficiency to roughly 92%, up from about 88% under traditional UPS-based systems — a meaningful gain at data-center scale, where even small efficiency improvements translate into significant energy savings.
Nvidia and Cloud Providers Are Running Parallel Voltage Tracks
Nvidia and major cloud service providers are currently pursuing separate but complementary paths: cloud operators are moving toward 400-volt systems, expected to go live in the second half of this year, while Nvidia's own 800-volt architecture is set to scale up in volume the following year.
Delta Electronics has already secured status as the first qualified supplier of 12-kilowatt power supplies for Nvidia's Vera Rubin200 platform. The upcoming Vera Rubin racks are expected to draw on 110-kilowatt power cabinets that include 16-kilowatt battery backup unit (BBU) modules. Because the higher power draw leaves little runtime in a standard six-layer BBU configuration, industry analysts expect backup power systems to eventually be split off into dedicated cabinets as data-center operators prioritize redundancy — a shift that would further boost demand for BBU components as cloud providers adopt HVDC architecture more broadly.
Beyond Power Supplies, Component Makers Stand to Gain
The transition to higher-voltage power delivery is expected to ripple across the broader electronics supply chain. Beyond power supply manufacturers, makers of related components — including battery backup units, silicon carbide devices, MOSFETs, high-voltage diodes and relays — are all facing pressure to upgrade their product specifications to match the new voltage standards, spreading the benefits of the AI power architecture shift well beyond the server rack itself.
*Adapted from Wealth Invest Weekly, Issue 2410. By Lin Li-hsueh （Related： SK Hynix Reveals Starting Pay as AI Boom Drives Record Hiring and Tax Haul ｜ Latest ）
