Early history
SunPower was founded on April 24, 1985, by Richard Swanson,[4] who was a Stanford University professor focused on electrical engineering.[5] Swanson studied solar power efficiency in the Stanford Electronics Laboratory with funding from research grants.[6] After breaking a record for solar power efficiency in lab conditions, he took a sabbatical to start SunPower and commercialize the technology.[5][7] Initially, the company was called Eos and was funded with $2,000 in savings between Swanson and his friend Richard Crane.[6] In 1989, Robert Lorenzini invested in the company, became its chairman, and changed the name to SunPower.[6]
Some of SunPower's early revenues were from research grants[4] and using its manufacturing facilities to create silicon wafers for semiconductor companies.[6] Interest grew as SunPower completed prototype installations[5] and portable electronics that use solar power became more popular.[6] Swanson resigned from his academic position at Stanford in 1991, in order to focus on SunPower full-time.[7] The company's revenues grew from $600,000 in 1989 to $1.4 million in 1995, and $6 million in 1996.[6] However, by 2001 the company was anticipating having to lay off half of its employees.[8]
Growth
SunPower founder Richard Swanson's former classmate, T.J. Rodgers, was the CEO of Cypress Semiconductor and took an interest in investing in the company.[8] At first, the Cypress board wasn't willing to invest, so Rodgers invested $750,000 of his own money.[9] Starting with an investment of $8 million, Cypress eventually invested about $150 million,[9] acquiring a controlling interest in SunPower in 2002.[8] Cypress appointed Tom Werner as the new CEO the following year.[6]
Demand for SunPower's products increased in the early 2000s, due to rising utility costs, government subsidies, and its new A-300 solar cell.[6]
Spin-offs
In 2019, SunPower announced it was going to spin off its manufacturing division into a separate business in Singapore named Maxeon Solar Technologies. As part of the deal, Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co invested $298 million for a 29% interest in Maxeon.[26] The remaining SunPower business became focused on services, installation, batteries, and other products.[27] In 2021, Tom Werner retired as CEO and Peter Faricy took his place as CEO.[28]
In February 2022, SunPower spun-off its commercial and industrial installation divisions, which were purchased by SunPower investor TotalEnergies for $250 million. SunPower said the transaction would allow it to focus on residential installations.[29]
Technical default and bankruptcy
The company announced on December 18, 2023, that there was a question it will be a "going concern," indicating that leadership was uncertain if the company could continue operations given the company's current financial position. The company also announced that it previously incorrectly accounted for inventory, causing a technical default; however creditors gave the company time to shore up its finances before calling those debts.[30]
On August 5, 2024, SunPower filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company entered a stalking horse bid to sell off its assets to Complete Solaria, Inc. for $50 million,[31] and in April 2025, Complete Solaria, Inc. announced it was rebranding as SunPower.[2] Following the announcement, the company held its first earnings call under the rebrand, announcing its first profitable quarter in three years.[32]
