IN Brief:
- XMax announced an agreement to acquire Hexa Creation on 9 October 2026.
- The underlying share purchase agreement is dated 5 October.
- Hexa Creation is developing vertical gallium nitride technology targeting 1,200 V power devices.
XMax has announced an agreement to acquire Hexa Creation, a semiconductor technology developer working on vertical gallium nitride power devices targeting 1,200 V operation. The transaction would expand XMax into semiconductor research for high-voltage energy conversion, including prospective AI data centre power applications.
The public announcement was issued on 9 October 2026, while the agreement itself is dated 5 October. XMax disclosed the share purchase agreement in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Those dates describe different events and neither date establishes that the transaction has already closed.
Hexa Creation operates under the HexaGaN name and is associated with research into vertical gallium nitride power semiconductor structures. The company is targeting applications where switching devices need to support substantially higher voltages than many of the lateral GaN devices widely used in lower-voltage power conversion.
Gallium nitride is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material. Its electrical properties can support power switches operating at relatively high frequencies, although the performance of a finished circuit depends on the device structure, switching conditions, gate drive and surrounding components. The material alone does not guarantee a particular efficiency.
Conventional lateral GaN power devices primarily conduct current along the semiconductor surface. In a vertical structure, the main current path extends through the semiconductor thickness. That difference changes the relationship between breakdown voltage, current-carrying capability, device area and the layers required for fabrication.
The target rating of 1,200 V is relevant to equipment such as high-voltage power converters and charging systems. A rated blocking voltage identifies an important operating limit, but it does not provide the full set of information needed to choose a device for an inverter or power supply.
Designers must also consider conduction resistance, switching losses, the safe operating area, thermal resistance, gate-driving behaviour and how the semiconductor responds to abnormal operating conditions. These characteristics affect losses and reliability once a transistor is installed in a practical circuit.
AI data centres provide one prospective application area. Large computing installations use several power conversion stages to deliver electricity from facility distribution equipment to individual processor loads. Each stage involves trade-offs among switching devices, transformers, inductors, capacitors, control methods and cooling requirements.
Increasing switching frequency may permit smaller magnetic components in a suitable design, but it can also increase electromagnetic interference and place different demands on layout and insulation. Reducing one category of loss does not establish that the full converter will consume less power under every load condition.
XMax also identifies electric vehicles and energy storage as possible markets for the technology. Those applications involve distinct voltage profiles, current demands, environmental conditions and qualification requirements, so a semiconductor structure suited to one market would still need appropriate device variants and testing for another.
A vertical transistor technology must eventually be converted into a repeatable semiconductor manufacturing process. Engineers need evidence on wafer yield, device variation, thermal cycling, long-term electrical stability and the robustness of packaging before they can evaluate commercial reliability.
The announcement does not disclose a qualified production device range or a validated comparison against commercially available 1,200 V silicon carbide components. Nor does it specify a confirmed customer shipment schedule or identify a semiconductor fabrication partner supporting volume production.
XMax presents the proposed acquisition as part of an expansion into high-voltage power infrastructure. Any eventual integration of the research into modules or finished power systems would require additional engineering, especially around packaging, control and thermal management.
The transaction and the semiconductor programme must therefore be assessed separately. The October disclosure establishes a signed acquisition agreement and the intended technology direction; ownership completion, device qualification and commercial manufacturing remain future developments requiring their own evidence.
