It is the most exciting time for power electronics in decades. The combination of new applications, such as microinverters, electric vehicles and solid state lighting, with the new opportunities brought by wide bandgap semiconductors is expected to significantly increase the reach and impact of power electronics. This paper describes some of the recent advances on developing power devices based on Gallium Nitride (GaN), the key design constrains, and the process to take a new device material and structure from the research laboratory of universities to full commercialization. © 2015 IEEE.