Renesas Electronics Sues Navitas Semiconductor for Trade Secret Theft Involving GaN Chip Technology for AI Data Centers

Japanese semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against rival chipmaker Navitas Semiconductor, alleging that Navitas misappropriated trade secrets related to next-generation semiconductor chips for artificial intelligence data centers by poaching Renesas employees.

According to case records from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Renesas Electronics Corporation and Renesas Electronics America Inc. are co-plaintiffs in the action. In its complaint, Renesas alleges that Navitas’s Chief Executive Officer, Christopher Allexandre, and executive Feili Cheng, diverted Renesas’s confidential information concerning gallium nitride (GaN) chips to Navitas. Renesas states that such chips are "rapidly replacing" silicon-based chips in data center applications.

Notably, Navitas’s current CEO, Christopher Allexandre, joined Navitas in September 2025. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Power Division at Renesas Electronics, where he oversaw the company’s $2.5 billion power management business. Allexandre brings over 25 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, including prior executive roles at Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (acquired by Renesas in 2019).

Renesas Electronics is a global leader in semiconductor solutions and has recently intensified its investment in gallium nitride power devices, transitioning to 200-mm wafers and 650-V d-mode devices. Navitas Semiconductor, on the other hand, is a next-generation power semiconductor leader specializing in GaN power ICs and silicon carbide (SiC) technology, with its business covering AI data centers, energy infrastructure, high-performance computing, and industrial electrification. This trade secret lawsuit adds to the mounting legal pressures facing Navitas.

As of the time of publication, Navitas Semiconductor has not issued a public response to the trade secret litigation brought by Renesas. The China Intellectual Property Lawyer Network will continue to follow further developments.