Graphcore: Who is the Nvidia Challenger SoftBank Acquired?
In another show of its intent to put AI as a core part of its investment strategy, banking titan SoftBank has acquired Graphcore, a UK-based AI chipmaker.
While the exact terms of the deal remain undisclosed, the startup’s CEO Nigel Toon has described it as a positive outcome for most stakeholders.
“We have agreed with SoftBank that we’re not going into the details of the deal; whether anything comes out in the future, we’ll see,” Nigel said.
The acquisition, which has already received full regulatory approval, marks a strategic investment by the Japanese bank.
Having recently invested up to US$20m in Gen AI chatbot upcomer Perplexity through its Vision 2 Fund, the company’s acquisition of Graphcore sees it again betting on companies set to challenge the status quo of the sector.
What’s so great about Graphcore?
Founded in Bristol in 2016, Graphcore has been at the forefront of developing specialised processors for AI workloads.
AI chips are designed to handle the complex computations required for machine learning and deep learning algorithms more efficiently than traditional processors.
These specialised chips excel at parallel processing, which is crucial for AI tasks that involve massive amounts of data and complex mathematical operations.
Graphcore’s flagship product, the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU), is designed to outperform other chips when it comes to AI-specific tasks.
Distinct to the kinds of GPU currently used for AI tasks, IPUs purpose built nature has many in the industry interested.
While GPUs have been widely adopted for AI workloads, they were originally designed for rendering graphics and later adapted for AI tasks. IPUs on the other hand are purpose-built from the ground up to optimise AI-specific operations.
Graphcore pitches its chips as a more efficient alternative to GPUs, with a focus on supporting large-scale parallel processing and executing complex machine learning models, where the model and data are tightly coupled.
Industry has taken note of the new tech, as the startup has raised around US$700m since its inception, reaching a valuation just shy of US$3bn in late 2020.
The SoftBank acquisition comes at a time when demand for AI hardware is reaching unprecedented levels, driven by the rapid advancements in AI applications across various sectors, and a supply that is struggling to keep up.
Yet, with chips designed to optimise the AI processes, companies looking to utilise AI could in theory use less of these IPUs to receive the same (or better) results currently being witnessed with these GPU.
This could therefore mark a pivotal moment in the evolving landscape of AI technology and the market dynamic of it.
An AI chip challenger
Graphcore's innovative approach to AI chip design has positioned it as a potential challenger to industry giants like Nvidia. Although currently market leaders, Nvidia uses GPU AI chips.
The acquisition by SoftBank is expected to provide Graphcore with the necessary resources to scale its operations and compete more effectively in the global AI hardware market.
Nigel has indicated that the company plans to maintain its current workforce across its UK, Polish and Taiwanese hubs, adding that, if anything, it will likely be adding “quite significantly” to its headcount in the UK.
This reflects the value SoftBank sees in Graphcore's existing team and technology.
Combining Graphcore's innovative technology with SoftBank's financial resources and strategic vision could accelerate the circulation of IPUs from alternative, to main chip of AI workloads, and optimise AI as a whole as a result.
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