Renesas sues US Navitas over GaN chip trade‑secret theft

Japanese semiconductor company Renesas Electronics Corp has filed a federal lawsuit in California alleging that US‑based Navitas, led by CEO Christopher Allexandre and executive Felicia Cheng, misappropriated confidential PowerPoint presentations detailing Renesas’s next‑generation gallium‑nitride (GaN) chip designs for data‑centre applications. Renesas claims Navitas poached its staff, used the stolen material to launch a mirrored "2.0" strategy that targets the same customers, technologies and market opportunities, and seeks to win billion‑dollar contracts ahead of Renesas.

Renesas is pursuing monetary damages and a court order to prevent Navitas from further use of the alleged trade secrets. The complaint emphasizes that any competitor equipped with the stolen specifications could replicate Renesas’s product timelines and undercut its market position.