SoftBank has introduced its acquisition of Graphcore, a number one British AI chipmaker. The deal will see Graphcore turning into a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank.
This acquisition, reportedly valued at about $600 million, is just not SoftBank’s first foray into the UK tech scene.
In 2016, SoftBank controversially acquired British chip designer Arm in a a lot bigger deal. Nonetheless, the Graphcore buy comes at a decrease valuation than the overall funding the corporate is claimed to have raised, which was round $700 million.
Graphcore will proceed to function beneath its personal identify and preserve its headquarters in Bristol, UK. The corporate additionally retains its workplaces in Cambridge, London, Gdansk, and Hsinchu, signalling SoftBank’s dedication to preserving Graphcore’s established presence and operations.
Nigel Toon, co-founder and CEO of Graphcore, stated: “It is a great endorsement of our group and their potential to construct really transformative AI applied sciences at scale, in addition to an important end result for our firm.”
Toon went on to emphasize the continued demand for AI compute and the work that continues to be to be finished in enhancing effectivity, resilience, and computational energy to totally realise AI’s potential.
Graphcore’s key providing is a variety of “Intelligence Processing Items” – accelerators designed particularly for AI workloads – together with a software program stack that permits builders to utilise its {hardware} successfully.
The corporate’s know-how has usually impressed. In 2020, a Graphcore machine outperformed an Nvidia A100 GPU, and in one other occasion, its {hardware} halved the time required to deal with a GPU-based drug discovery workload.
Regardless of these technological successes, Graphcore has struggled to generate vital income and obtain profitability. In 2022, the corporate reported income of simply $2.7 million – a 46 p.c year-on-year lower – whereas working bills reached $206.8 million.
Vikas J. Parekh, Managing Companion at SoftBank Funding Advisers, commented: “Society is embracing the alternatives provided by basis fashions, generative AI functions, and new approaches to scientific discovery.
“Subsequent technology semiconductors and compute programs are important within the AGI journey, we’re happy to collaborate with Graphcore on this mission.”
The point out of AGI (Synthetic Normal Intelligence) in Parekh’s assertion means that SoftBank sees Graphcore’s know-how as a key part within the pursuit of extra superior AI programs that may match or exceed human-level intelligence throughout a variety of duties.
Graphcore has constructed a status as a number one employer within the UK’s high-tech economic system, and the corporate has dedicated to persevering with its funding in creating high-skilled jobs throughout numerous disciplines.
The acquisition of Graphcore by SoftBank is probably going to offer the AI chipmaker with vital assets and alternatives for growth. It additionally displays the rising competitors within the AI chip market, the place corporations like NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD have been vying for dominance.
As AI continues to permeate numerous sectors of the economic system and society, the demand for specialised AI {hardware} is predicted to develop. Graphcore’s integration into SoftBank’s portfolio positions each corporations to capitalise on this pattern.
See additionally: PC market finds new momentum amid AI curiosity
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