Previously, it was considered a competitor of NVIDIA, but at the beginning of this year, it was reported thatSelling information to external parties, and OpenAI and Arm may beIts potential buyer is the UKChip startup Graphcore confirmed earlierAcquired by Japanese telecommunications company Softbank, but did not disclose the specific amount involved in the acquisition.
Earlier market rumors had the transaction value at $5 million, but Graphcore co-founder and CEO Nigel Toon denied this.
Graphcore was founded in 2016 by Simon Knowles and Nigel Toon, and has received investment from Microsoft and Sequoia Capital. It was even regarded as a competitor to NVIDIA in the field of artificial intelligence. Its main business includes the production of IPU computing components corresponding to artificial intelligence computing. Its market valuation in 2020 was approximately US$28 billion.
However, after Microsoft stopped using Graphcore's Graphcore C2 IPU on its Azure cloud service platform and switched to NVIDIA products for cloud service applications and artificial intelligence technology acceleration tools, Graphcore's investment was significantly affected. In addition, many technology companies even began to poach Graphcore's technical talents, which greatly impacted Graphcore's business. Therefore, it needs to obtain more funds through sales or solve the problem of insufficient funds.
Softbank has previously invested heavily in acquiring Arm and has recently been actively investing in the development of artificial intelligence technology applications. The acquisition of Graphcore also highlights its optimism about the artificial intelligence market.
As for this transaction, Nigel Toon emphasized that there will be no layoffs in its staff in the UK, Poland and Taiwan, and the number of UK staff may even be significantly increased. He will continue to serve as Graphcore's CEO, and another co-founder and CTO Simon Knowles will also continue to stay in office and maintain his position as a director.
Graphcore will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Softbank, with its headquarters remaining in Bristol, UK, with R&D centers in London and Cambridge, as well as offices in Gdansk, Poland, and Hsinchu, Taiwan.
