The operation is not just a figure: it points to the technical leap towards high-voltage direct current distribution required by 1 MW racks.
Flex agreed to acquire power conversion equipment manufacturer EPC Power Corp. for $4.4 billion, in a transaction both companies expect to close before the end of the year. The amount reflects a fundamental technical shift: the migration of AI data centers towards 800-volt direct current architectures, the standard Nvidia defined in its GTC 2025 roadmap for racks already exceeding 200 kW.
Why voltage matters: from 54V to 800V in the rack
Traditional 48-54V distribution within the rack becomes unfeasible at these densities: a single 1 MW rack can require up to 200 kg of copper busbars, and a 1 GW data center could demand hundreds of thousands of tons of the metal.
Raising the voltage to 800V DC reduces the current needed to transport the same power, cutting copper requirements by up to 45% and eliminating AC/DC and DC/DC conversion stages, leading to efficiency improvements of up to 5% and less maintenance, according to Nvidia’s roadmap.
The technology Flex is acquiring: digital rectifiers and solid-state transformers
EPC Power designs software-controlled power conversion equipment for data centers, large-scale storage, and microgrids. Its 800V architecture includes digital rectifiers and solid-state transformers, which replace conventional passive transformers.
The company also offers its Agile Grid Forming platform, aimed at maintaining grid stability in hyperscale demand scenarios, which is increasingly relevant as AI data centers become loads capable of affecting grid operation.
The deal’s figures and corporate fit
Upon closing, EPC Power will be integrated into Flex’s Cloud and Energy Infrastructure segment. The acquired company projects revenues close to $800 million this year, while Flex anticipates growth of around 40% in that segment by 2027.
The transaction comes after Flex announced in May the spin-off of that unit as an independent publicly traded company, focused on high-density digital and electrical infrastructure for data centers and utilities.
Consolidation in the AI electrical supply chain
In July, Flex had already announced an alliance with Cerebras Systems to multiply the production of its CS-3 accelerators sevenfold before the end of the year. In parallel, EPC Power opened a 167,000-square-foot plant in South Carolina for its M and Mrack series inverters, with the capacity to triple its production.
Previous backing from Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Cleanhill Partners allowed EPC Power to nearly tenfold its manufacturing capacity in four years, consolidating its position as a key supplier in the transition to the electrical architecture required by the next generation of AI computing.
SOURCE and PHOTO: https://www.energytech.com/
