Graphcore, a UK-based AI chip designer, was once seen as a potential rival to Nvidia and AMD, but it missed the AI boom and has fallen on hard times.
In February 2024, we wrote that Graphcore needed to raise significant funding by May to survive, and that a number of potential buyers were approaching the struggling company, including Arm, Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank (which owns a majority stake in Arm), and OpenAI.
SoftBank, which had always been the front-runner, has now confirmed it will invest between $400 million and $500 million to become Graphcore's new owner, though the exact figure has not been confirmed.
But what's next?
“Society is embracing the opportunities presented by foundational models, generative AI applications and new approaches to scientific discovery,” said Vikas J. Parekh, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Next-generation semiconductors and computing systems are essential on the AGI journey, and we are pleased to collaborate with Graphcore on this mission.”
Graphcore will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank (continuing to operate under the Graphcore name) and will likely enjoy closer ties with Arm. The company will remain headquartered in Bristol, with offices in Cambridge, London, Gdansk and Hsinchu (offices in Norway, Japan and South Korea have already been closed). Co-founder and CEO Nigel Toon will continue to lead Graphcore.
“This is a fantastic endorsement of our team and their ability to build truly innovative AI technology at scale, and a fantastic outcome for our company,” said Toon. “The demand for AI computing is huge and continues to grow. To realize AI's full potential, there is much work to be done to improve efficiency, resiliency and computational power. SoftBank is a partner that will enable the Graphcore team to redefine the AI technology landscape.”
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Graphcore and how SoftBank will benefit from this acquisition, but licensing the company's IP to Arm seems like a logical first step.
