The AI Power Chain

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The AI Power Chain · six-layer market map

The AI Power Chain

A six-layer market map of AI data-centre power infrastructure, from grid interconnect through on-package delivery. Each layer has a market essay covering vendor structure + economics and a technical companion covering the underlying engineering. Reference material for practitioners specifying next-generation AI power architecture, PE sponsors underwriting vendor exposure, hyperscaler strategy teams tracking supply concentration, management consulting firms on their AI infrastructure engagements, and equity research teams on sector coverage.

6market-side stacks
6technical companions
3cross-cutting essays

01The stacks (market essays)

  1. 01
    The Interconnect Stack
    Grid interconnect, transformer + switchgear + cable ecosystem
  2. 02
    The Thermal Stack
    DLC + immersion cooling: heat as binding constraint above 100 kW/rack
  3. 03
    The Wide-Bandgap Stack
    SiC + GaN: boom, Wolfspeed restructuring, AI-power rebuild
  4. 04
    The Capacitor Stack
    MLCC + supercapacitor + silicon-cap categories that bind AI supply
  5. 05
    The On-Package Delivery Stack
    How 48V becomes 0.8V at 2,250 A: multi-phase PoL + MPS/Vicor/Empower
  6. 06
    The Modular Datacenter Stack
    Prefab enclosures, skid-mounted power + cooling, on-site assembly

02Technical companions (engineering deep-dives)

  1. 01
    Interconnect: Technical Companion
    Transformer physics + switchgear + grid interconnection deep-dive
  2. 02
    Thermal: Technical Companion
    DLC vs immersion + CDU architecture + chemistry supply chain
  3. 03
    Wide-Bandgap: Technical Companion
    SiC + GaN device physics, foundry economics, packaging materials
  4. 04
    Capacitor: Technical Companion
    HSC + EDLC + MLCC + silicon-cap electrical characteristics
  5. 05
    On-Package Delivery: Technical Companion
    Vertical vs lateral PoL, on-chip cap physics, packaging tolerances
  6. 06
    Modular Datacenter: Technical Companion
    Prefab economics + on-site assembly + module-integration standards

03Cross-cutting essays

  1. 01
    The Vendor Screen
    58 vendors across every layer with moat + execution + chokepoint scoring
  2. 02
    Pricing Under Scarcity
    Where premium capture is compounding across the six layers
  3. 03
    The Services Inversion
    Why installed-base annuities now command product-like multiples

Also see: The DC-DC Transition series

13 essays on the 800V DC data-centre transition, the parallel architectural shift feeding the AI Power Chain's power-delivery layers.

DC-DC Transition →
Related hubs: The Investment Layer (capital-allocation essays), Case Studies (deal retrospectives), Tech Spotlights (vendor deep-dives).
FrameworkThe AI Power Chain framework, canonical definition of the six layers, with vendor concentration, standards state and lead-time exposure per layer.
Definition The AI Power Chain is a six-layer market and engineering map of AI data centre power delivery, from grid interconnection through facility distribution, rack shelves, on-package delivery, thermal management and modular build. This series covers 15 essays: six stack maps, six technical companions, and three cross-cutting analyses.
Layer 5 · on-package delivery · canonical reference

The IVR Stack: The Final Bottleneck in AI Accelerator Power Delivery

Canonical reference for on-package voltage regulation, the final stage of the AI Power Chain. Establishes the four physical walls (I²R, transient response, physical routing, thermal coupling), the five-way architecture taxonomy (Board VRM to VPD to PIVR to SIVR to on-die IVR), the two-stage PDN, the Empower and Ferric magnetics split, the $1.5B ADI-Empower acquisition anchor, the Marvell test as the first observable merchant IVR battleground, seven falsifiers, and the reverse-underwrite framework. Sits alongside the broader On-Package Delivery Stack market essay.