What happened

Shares of Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ:NVTS) surged higher on Tuesday. The stock rose as much as 23.1% and was up 15.6% as of 12:22 p.m. EDT.

The tech stock's gain follows news that the company is aiming to partner with smartphone giant Xiaomi. At Xiaomi's recent Portfolio Demo Day, Navitas showed off its next-generation semiconductor technology, which the company says offers more power and faster charging in a smaller size and weight than legacy competition. The technology is referred to as Gallium nitride (GaN).

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Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Navitas said it demonstrated how its next-gen GaN technology can be used across Xiaomi's products, "including mobile fast chargers, home appliances, tools and [electric vehicles (EVs)]," the company said in a press release Monday afternoon. Xiaomi recently announced a $10 billion, 10-year investment in EVs -- and Navitas apparently seems to want in on this move.

Navitas GaN technology is off to a great start. "As of October 2021, Navitas has shipped over 30 million GaNFast power ICs with zero reported GaN field failures," said Navitas in the press release, "demonstrating excellent quality and reliability in the mobile market, and paving the way for expansion into consumer, solar, energy storage, data center and EV."

Now what

Navitas says that Xiaomi's product roadmap is "perfectly aligned" with its fast-charging solutions. As the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturer in terms of global shipment volume and now also a company venturing into EVs, it's no surprise that Navitas is trying to position itself as a key Xiaomi partner.