The City of Round Rock and Round Rock Chamber of Commerce announced March 5 Monolith Semiconductor Inc. is relocating its headquarters to Round Rock.

Originally formed in Ithaca, New York, Monolith Semi is a supplier of high-voltage silicon carbide (SiC) based semiconductor switches used in power electronics for a wide variety of applications including electrical energy conversion, smart grid, datacenters, and electric vehicles. Monolith Semi’s switches improve the efficiency of power electronics systems while reducing their size, weight, and cost. The company has received multiple federal contracts to develop and manufacture their technology in the United States and are partnering with Google in the “Little Box Challenge” competition to demonstrate miniaturized solar inverters.

Monolith Semi announced in June a strategic manufacturing partnership with X-FAB Texas in Lubbock to manufacture their SiC switches in X-FAB’s high-volume 150mm silicon production line. With this new partnership, Monolith Semi sought to relocate its headquarters from Ithaca, NY to a Texas community.

According to Monolith Semi CEO Sujit Banerjee, PhD, “Round Rock was a natural choice because we can attract the right talent, grow our company, and raise our families in the same community. We really look forward to being part of the Round Rock business community.”

Round Rock Mayor Alan McGraw welcomed Monolith Semi to the city, stating, “Monolith Semiconductor will be a valuable asset to Round Rock and a great win for the chamber. A headquarters business in this industry in particular demonstrates the diversity and range of our workforce, as well as the ability to foster businesses across a variety of industries.”

“Monolith Semi’s headquarters relocation is a true economic development win for us,” Ben White, vice president of economic development at the Round Rock Chamber said. “It will result in net new jobs to the region, and covers multiple target sectors for our city. We love this kind of project.”

In addition to X-FAB Texas, Monolith Semi has also formed a collaboration with Texas Tech University, and plans to work with Texas Tech’s researchers to demonstrate power electronics systems using Monolith Semi’s silicon carbide semiconductor devices.