C2i Secures $15M to Tackle AI Data Center Power Bottlenecks in India

Indian startup C2i has secured $15 million in funding led by Peak XV Partners to deploy a novel grid-to-GPU power architecture designed to slash energy losses in artificial intelligence data centers. As AI workloads surge across India’s tech hubs — particularly in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Noida — power inefficiencies are emerging as a critical bottleneck. C2i’s solution directly addresses this by optimizing the path from the electrical grid to the GPU chips that drive AI computations, minimizing conversion and transmission losses that typically waste up to 30% of incoming power in conventional data center setups.

According to TechCrunch, the funding round underscores growing investor confidence in India’s ability to innovate in the AI infrastructure space. The startup’s proprietary technology integrates real-time power monitoring, adaptive voltage regulation, and liquid-cooled power delivery systems to ensure GPUs receive stable, efficient energy. Early pilot tests in a Tier-3 data center in Telangana showed a 22% reduction in energy waste and a 15% increase in GPU utilization rates, making the system not only environmentally sustainable but also economically compelling for hyperscalers.

The timing of C2i’s breakthrough coincides with a broader boom in India’s data center market. As reported by The Economic Times, major global tech firms are investing billions in cloud and AI infrastructure, fueling demand for land, power, and regulatory clarity. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are increasingly being positioned as catalysts for this growth, offering streamlined approvals and dedicated power supply agreements — conditions that could accelerate C2i’s deployment at scale. Hyderabad, in particular, has emerged as a focal point, with cloud giants like Microsoft, Google, and AWS expanding their footprint amid favorable policy frameworks and proximity to engineering talent.

C2i’s approach diverges from traditional data center efficiency measures, which often focus on cooling or server density. Instead, the startup targets the root cause: the mismatch between grid supply characteristics and the dynamic, high-voltage demands of modern AI hardware. By embedding intelligent power conditioning units directly at the rack level, C2i reduces the need for multiple AC-DC conversions and eliminates long-distance power routing — two major sources of inefficiency. The company’s system also interfaces with grid operators to anticipate load fluctuations, enabling predictive power allocation that prevents blackouts during peak AI training cycles.

Industry analysts note that without such innovations, India’s ambitious AI goals — including a projected $500 billion digital economy by 2030 — could stall due to energy constraints. The country’s power grid, while expanding, remains vulnerable to volatility, especially in regions where renewable integration is still nascent. C2i’s technology offers a scalable bridge: it can be retrofitted into existing facilities and scaled for new greenfield data centers, making it attractive to both legacy operators and hyperscalers building from scratch.

With Peak XV’s backing, C2i plans to expand its engineering team, secure certifications from the Bureau of Indian Standards, and launch commercial partnerships with at least three major Indian data center operators by Q4 2026. The startup also aims to explore export opportunities in Southeast Asia, where similar power challenges are emerging.

As AI becomes the backbone of global digital transformation, the race to build energy-efficient infrastructure is no longer optional — it’s existential. C2i’s grid-to-GPU innovation may not only redefine how India powers its AI future but could set a new global benchmark for sustainable compute.