--- title: "Vicor asked the ITC to bar Monolithic Power's AI-server power modules; MPWR reports October 29" description: "A US trade case instituted October 9 seeks to push vertical power delivery modules, the hardware that feeds AI accelerators from directly below, out of the US market. For Monolithic Power, the accused line sits in the segment that is 38.8% of revenue and guided to grow 130% this year; the company reports October 29." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Markets" published: 2026-10-17T14:13:38.195Z modified: 2026-10-17T14:13:38.195Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/vicor-asked-the-itc-to-bar-monolithic-power-s-ai-server-power-modules-mpwr-reports-october-29 language: en keywords: "Semiconductors, Trade, Patents, AI Infrastructure, Power" --- # Vicor asked the ITC to bar Monolithic Power's AI-server power modules; MPWR reports October 29 > A US trade case instituted October 9 seeks to push vertical power delivery modules, the hardware that feeds AI accelerators from directly below, out of the US market. For Monolithic Power, the accused line sits in the segment that is 38.8% of revenue and guided to grow 130% this year; the company reports October 29. ## The case now sits under the AI rack On October 9 the [US International Trade Commission](https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2026/er1009_69342.htm) instituted investigation 337-TA-1526 on a complaint filed September 9 by [Vicor](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/vicor), a power-module maker in Andover, Massachusetts [1]. Twenty entities now face it: the [Foxconn](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/foxconn-hon-hai-precision-industry), Quanta, Luxshare and Delta groups, chipmaker Infineon, manufacturers [Flex](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/flex) and [Celestica](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/celestica), and three Monolithic Power companies [1]. For Monolithic, the accused hardware sits in Enterprise Data, the segment behind 38.8% of last quarter's revenue [2]. The subject is vertical power delivery: power modules stacked directly beneath high-current processors to shorten the feed into AI accelerators, GPUs and CPUs [3]. Vicor is not asking for damages. It asked for a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders, a border remedy that would keep accused products out of the US market [1]. ## The accused line is the growth engine Enterprise Data, Monolithic's AI-server power segment, earned $380.6 million in the June quarter, up 164.3% year over year, 38.8% of record revenue of $980.6 million [2]. On July 30, ten weeks before the case opened, management lifted the segment's full-year growth floor from 85% to 130% and guided the September quarter to $1.14–1.16 billion; it says its 48V vertical modules ship to multiple customers [2]. The next report lands around October 29 [2]. *Chart: **Revenue has more than doubled in two years, and the Q3 guide keeps it climbing** Line chart of Monolithic Power quarterly revenue from Q3 2023 through Q2 2026, with the Q3 2026 guide midpoint shown as an estimate.* *Quarterly revenue, $ millions, from SEC filings; Q3 2026 is the guide midpoint with its guided range, marked as an estimate. Sources: 9, 2 [9][2]* *Chart: **Enterprise Data, the accused line, is Monolithic Power's biggest market** Pie chart of Monolithic Power's Q2 2026 revenue by end market, with Enterprise Data the largest slice.* *Q2 2026 revenue by end market, $ millions. Source: 2 [2]* ## Vicor has run this play and won it once In early 2025 the same commission barred imports of infringing power modules and systems from Delta Electronics, Quanta Computer and two Foxconn units; all three groups are respondents again [4]. Vicor's release on the new case tells server builders and data-center operators sourcing from respondents that they "will need a license" to keep importing. It is a licensing pitch, and the royalty rates it names escalate as the investigation advances toward an exclusion order [5]. The two firms were already in court. Monolithic sued Vicor on July 7 in federal court, alleging Vicor used a former engineer working inside chipmaker [AMD](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amd)'s Austin lab to obtain confidential data, and says it lost AMD business when Vicor pressed Customs to block its converters [6]. ## Nothing is decided on the merits Opening the case decides nothing: the Commission has made no decision on the merits, an administrative law judge hears the evidence first, and an import ban would take a full hearing and a final ruling [1][7]. Orders become final 60 days after issue unless the US Trade Representative disapproves [1]. The Commission must set a target date within 45 days of institution, which lands on November 23 [1]. ## Luxshare has a defense Monolithic cannot use Luxshare told its home exchange on October 11 that it expects no material impact, because its accused data-center power modules are still being tested by customers and have not entered mass production [3][7]. Monolithic cannot say the same: its 48V vertical modules already ship to multiple customers [2]. Friday's selloff spared no one. Monolithic closed October 16 at $1,210.86, down 3.1%, and Vicor closed down 12.9% [8][5]. Insiders sold $746.3 million of Monolithic stock over the past twelve months and bought none [8]. ## Twelve days to the earnings call The October 29 call now carries a question written after the guide: does a 130% growth floor survive a border case aimed at the same modules? Watch the November 23 target date, the judge assignment, and whether the company says anything at all. ## Takeaway Vicor's ITC complaint seeks to keep Monolithic Power's fastest-growing products out of the US market; nothing is decided until a full hearing, but the October 29 earnings call is now also a legal-status check. ## Sources 1. [US International Trade Commission, news release 26-145, USITC Institutes Section 337 Investigation of Certain Vertical Power Delivery Systems, Components Thereof, and Computing Systems Containing the Same, 9 October 2026](https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2026/er1009_69342.htm) 2. [Rackline (Marcus Delgado), Monolithic Power: Record revenue of $980.6m, up 47.6%, with a $1.14bn–$1.16bn Q3 guide and an extra $500m buyback, 12 October 2026](https://www.rackline.news/earnings/report/1wnrj8o) 3. [J&C Intellectual Property Agency, Patent War Reaches AI Servers: Luxshare, Foxconn, Quanta Among 20 Firms in a US Section 337 Probe (337-TA-1526), 13 October 2026](https://www.jcipo.com/en/insights/2381-jcipo-batch-jcipo-news-us-itc-337-1526-vicor-vpd-20261012-01-en-gb.html) 4. [Insider Monkey via Yahoo Finance (Suraj Santlani), Vicor (VICR) Licenses its Power Patents to Another AI System Maker. Shares Jump 18%, 21 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/vicor-vicr-licenses-power-patents-232418002.html) 5. [Vicor Corporation press release via GlobeNewswire/Markets Insider, USITC Institutes Investigation of Vertical Power Delivery (VPD) Modules and Computing Systems Infringing a Vicor Patent, 12 October 2026](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/usitc-institutes-investigation-of-vertical-power-delivery-vpd-modules-and-computing-systems-infringing-a-vicor-patent-1036616308) 6. [Austin American-Statesman (Paul Flahive), Austin AMD lab at center of espionage, theft claims by AI chip rivals, 20 July 2026](https://www.statesman.com/business/article/monolithic-vicor-lawsuit-austin-amd-ai-espionage-22345493.php) 7. [The Next Web (Ana Maria Constantin), US probes Foxconn, Luxshare and 18 others over AI server power patents, 11 October 2026](https://thenextweb.com/news/us-probes-foxconn-luxshare-and-18-others-over-ai-server-power-patents) 8. [GuruFocus News, Monolithic Power Systems Inc (MPWR) Shares Fall 3.1% - What GF Score of 99 Tells Investors, 16 October 2026](https://www.gurufocus.com/news/9128373/monolithic-power-systems-inc-mpwr-shares-fall-31-what-gf-score-of-99-tells-investors) 9. [Monolithic Power Systems, quarterly revenue from its SEC filings (EDGAR), retrieved 17 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001280452) --- Vicor asked the ITC to bar Monolithic Power's AI-server power modules; MPWR reports October 29 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/vicor-asked-the-itc-to-bar-monolithic-power-s-ai-server-power-modules-mpwr-reports-october-29