Flex will acquire power-conversion company EPC Power for $4.4 billion, adding 800V DC, grid-forming and other power technologies to its data center infrastructure business. The deal, announced Friday, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. EPC Power will join Flex's Cloud and Power Infrastructure segment, which Flex plans to spin off as an independent public company in the first quarter of 2027. The transaction matters because it signals that power conversion is moving from a supporting component to a strategic control point in AI infrastructure, according to Neil Osnato, founder of Persistence Analytics Group.
EPC Power develops power-conversion systems for data centers, utility-scale energy storage and microgrids. Its portfolio includes grid-forming technology, digital rectifiers and equipment for 800V data center power architectures. Flex said EPC Power's platform is designed to directly connect 800VDC loads to grid voltages and consolidate functions traditionally provided by UPS systems and AC power distribution. The platform includes digital rectifiers, which convert incoming AC power to DC power for downstream equipment, along with DC-DC conversion. EPC Power also has a roadmap for solid-state transformers. Flex said EPC Power is expected to generate about $800 million in revenue during calendar 2026.
The 800V architecture targets AI power density. Higher voltage allows more power to move at lower current, reducing conductor requirements and electrical losses. It also can reduce some of the conversion equipment between the grid and the rack. EPC Power said its 800V architecture is designed for next-generation AI data centers. As rack power rises, the electrical systems serving those racks become a larger part of the facility design. EPC Power's technology is aimed at the power-conversion portion of that system, rather than the computing equipment itself. Osnato said higher rack and campus power densities make the way electricity is converted between the grid, onsite generation, storage and computing loads more important. "AI infrastructure is becoming as much a power-systems problem as a compute problem," Osnato said.
EPC Power's technology also targets rapid changes in power demand associated with AI workloads. Its Agile Grid Forming technology is designed to respond to changes in milliseconds. The company's systems can integrate energy storage and onsite generation while supporting grid connections and microgrid applications. Osnato said those capabilities can allow a facility to have more control over how its electrical load appears to the grid. Power electronics and storage can smooth rapid changes in demand, he said, while converters can help manage the electrical behavior seen at the grid interface. But the capabilities should not be treated as a substitute for addressing the underlying requirements of a large load. "Load smoothing is not load elimination," Osnato said.
For utilities evaluating large AI facilities, Osnato said the relevant information goes beyond the facility's stated maximum demand. Utilities should consider ramp characteristics, power-electronic controls, storage capability, onsite generation, ride-through behavior, grid-forming and grid-following modes, harmonics and fault behavior, he said. That also creates a question around how utilities verify the capabilities developers cite during interconnection studies. "Declared capability is not demonstrated capability," Osnato said. If a developer says a large campus can smooth its load, ride through disturbances or provide grid support, utilities need evidence showing what the capability is, under what conditions it works, how long it lasts and what changes would require it to be revalidated, he said.
The acquisition also gives Flex technology spanning several points in the electrical system, from grid interconnection and controls to facility power distribution. Flex said the acquisition will expand its ability to provide power, cooling and compute infrastructure for AI data centers. EPC Power's platform combines hardware, software and controls. Its systems support grid connections, onsite generation and energy storage. The company also develops power-conversion systems for utility-scale energy storage and microgrids. Flex said EPC Power's 800V capabilities will add to its existing power infrastructure portfolio and support higher-density AI deployments. The dossier does not include financial terms beyond the $4.4 billion purchase price and the $800 million revenue projection, nor does it detail EPC Power's ownership structure beyond noting that EPC Power was acquired by Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Cleanh, with the source text truncated at that point.