TDK Ventures Announces Strategic Investment in Aston Power to Accelerate Reliable Power for AI Data Centers

• TDK Ventures invests in Aston Power, a Raleigh-based startup specializing in rapid deployment of clean and reliable energy for large industrial power users.
• Aston Power’s private power network is designed to solve the “time-to-power” bottleneck limiting expansion of AI and high-performance computing data centers.
• The partnership combines Aston Power’s software-defined utility platform with TDK’s power engineering expertise, components knowledge, and global ecosystem

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TDK Corporation (TSE:6762) has announced that its corporate venture capital arm, TDK Ventures, Inc., has invested in Aston Power, a Raleigh-based startup specializing in rapid-deployment of clean and reliable energy for large industrial power users. This strategic partnership aims to solve the critical "time-to-power" bottleneck that currently limits the expansion of the global AI economy. By deploying industrial-grade, customer-centric private power grids, Aston Power provides the necessary infrastructure to ensure reliable and sustainable energy delivery for high-demand industrial sectors.

Solving the Infrastructure gap

The rapid ascent of generative AI has rewritten the rules of infrastructure, creating a surge in demand for hyperscale data centers that require hundreds of megawatts to gigawatts of power with zero tolerance for downtime. While traditional grid interconnection timelines now stretch between 5-10 years, Aston Power’s platform is designed to deliver utility-grade power in just 2 to 3 years.

"The AI boom is pushing the current grid paradigm to the brink," said Nicolas Sauvage, President at TDK Ventures. "We invested in Aston Power because they provide the 'hard trifecta' of hyperscaler’s demand: speed to power, grid-like reliability, and acceptable cost—all backed by a formal, enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA)."

Aston’s Private Power Network Solution

A cornerstone of the investment is Aston’s private power network solution, a scalable and repeatable initiative designed to drive the transition to readily accessible, reliable, and low-carbon energy. Aston offers a modular, self-contained architecture capable of flexibly operating between standalone operations and grid-tied operations.

Key features of the Aston solution include:

• Rapid Deployment: Specifically engineered to meet the evolving needs of hyperscale, AI, and High-Performance Computing (HPC) tenants.
• Performance Guarantees: Unlike traditional utility arrangements, Aston provides a high-performance energy solution with contractually guaranteed service levels.
• Scalable Clean Energy: A development pipeline representing 2 gigawatts of power, with initial campuses in Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico.

A software-defined approach to energy

Aston Power deploys a hybrid mix of energy assets that are managed and orchestrated in real time. Similar to how telecommunications transitioned from circuit switching to packet switching, Aston makes generating and consuming assets digitally addressable. This allows for real-time optimization of diverse supply sources spanning the grid and on-site resources including solar, batteries, and natural gas to ensure a guaranteed 99.9% availability, at the substation level.

"Our vision is to evolve the way power is managed across vast networks, creating energy infrastructure that is more resilient, affordable, sustainable, and highly scalable," said Greg Robinson, Co-founder and CEO of Aston Power. "Partnering with TDK Ventures provides us with far more than just expertise in components; it gives us deep insight across the entire power electronics value chain—from advanced sensors and energy storage to passives—and provides access to a global ecosystem that will accelerate our path to mass production."

Power engineering is a core domain for TDK. By partnering with Aston Power, TDK Ventures intends to provide "TDK Goodness"—leveraging decades of technical depth, B2B, and commercial experience to help Aston navigate complex interfaces between private developers and public utilities.

"Aston Power isn't just building one-off projects; they are building a venture-scalable network," added Sauvage. "Their vision for a multi-site, software-defined power platform creates compounding operational learning that will eventually benefit the entire electrification ecosystem."

About TDK Corporation

TDK Corporation (TSE:6762) is a global technology company and innovation leader in the electronics industry, based in Tokyo, Japan. With the tagline “In Everything, Better”, TDK aims to realize a better future across all aspects of life, industry, and society. For over 90 years, TDK has shaped the world from within, from the pioneering ferrite cores to cassette tapes that defined an era, to powering the digital age with advanced components, sensors, and batteries, leading the way towards a more sustainable future. United by TDK Venture Spirit, a start-up mentality built on visions, courage and mutual trust, TDK’s passionate team members around the globe pursue better—for ourselves, customers, partners, and the world. Today, the state-of-the-art technologies of TDK are in everything, from industrial applications, energy systems, electric vehicles, to smartphones and gaming, at the core of modern life. TDK’s comprehensive, innovative-driven portfolio includes cutting-edge passive components, sensors and sensor systems, power supplies, lithium-ion and solid-state batteries, magnetic heads, AI and enterprise software solutions, and more—featuring numerous market-leading products. These are marketed under the product brands TDK, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics, TDK-Lambda, TDK SensEI, and ATL. Positioning the AI ecosystem as a key strategic area, TDK leverages its global network across the automotive, information and communication technology, and industrial equipment sectors to expand its business in a wide range of fields. In fiscal 2026, TDK posted total sales of USD 16.6 billion and employed about 107,000 people worldwide.

About TDK Ventures

TDK Ventures Inc. invests in startups to bolster innovation in materials science, energy/power, and related areas typically underrepresented in venture capital portfolios. Established in 2019 as a wholly owned subsidiary of TDK Corporation, the corporate venture company’s vision is to propel the digital and energy transformations of segments such as robotics and industrial, next-generation transportation, mixed reality, and the wider IoT/IIoT markets. TDK Ventures will co-invest and support promising portfolio companies by providing technical expertise and access to global markets where TDK operates. Interested startups or investment partners may contact TDK Ventures: www.tdk-ventures.com or [e-mail].

About Aston Power

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Aston Power is building a digitally native utility platform to power the global supply chain. Aston provides scalable, carbon-free energy for data centers, dry warehouses, cold storage, and EV charging. For more information, visit www.astonpower.com.

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