European semiconductor independence has been a hot topic recently, and European Union lawmakers, particularly the European Commission, have passed the Chips Act 2.0 to achieve semiconductor manufacturing independence. Now, only a week after the law has been passed, a German startup has raised capital to work on power semiconductors for next-generation electric vehicles.

Nexi GO, a Berlin-based startup, aims to focus on Gallium Oxide (Ga₂O₃) to power most of the power electronics needed across Europe. Starting with a €2 million pre-seed funding round, Nexi GO plans to tackle the challenge of charging electric vehicles, intending to allow much higher voltage band gaps and enable vehicle charging in just 10 minutes, significantly less than the current 60-minute average with Silicon Carbide or Gallium Nitride.

The company will produce Gallium Oxide semiconductors on epitaxial wafers up to 4 inches in size, a third of traditional 12-inch logic and memory wafers. Gallium Oxide has a bandgap of roughly 4.8 eV, allowing much lower energy loss. Compared to Silicon Carbide, the solution is 10 times more power-efficient, handles up to six times higher voltage density, and can be produced for a quarter of the price.

Nexi GO sees charging stations, renewable energy inverters, AI data centers, and missile tracking systems as primary targets, aligning with the European Union's push for sovereign technology infrastructure.