{"id":627429,"date":"2024-07-12T14:09:51","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T11:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/softbank-snaps-up-troubled-british-ai-chip-developer-graphcore\/"},"modified":"2024-07-12T14:09:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T11:09:51","slug":"softbank-snaps-up-troubled-british-ai-chip-developer-graphcore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/softbank-snaps-up-troubled-british-ai-chip-developer-graphcore\/","title":{"rendered":"#SoftBank snaps up troubled British AI chip developer Graphcore"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3cce95b372d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3cce95b372d\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/softbank-snaps-up-troubled-british-ai-chip-developer-graphcore\/#Intelligence_processing_units\" >Intelligence processing units<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/softbank-snaps-up-troubled-british-ai-chip-developer-graphcore\/#Hit_or_miss\" >Hit or miss?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2024%2F07%2FGraphcore.jpg&amp;signature=2c413d08d38f8d94443dd3f845bec1e8\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Japanese tech group SoftBank has acquired yet another British chip player. This time it has sn<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed up Bristol-based AI processor developer Graphcore, whose very survival was in doubt over the past year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The acquisition comes as investors compete to back the next big thing in AI. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, larger tech companies who feel that their own in-house AI capabilities are falling short <\/span>have been searching high and low for acquisitions that can mitigate these inadequacies and give them a leg up on the competition. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And it would seem they are increasingly looking to Europe for potential targets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just this week, the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> broke that US chip giant AMD would purchase Finnish artificial intelligence company Silo AI for $665mn in a bid to take on Nvidia. <\/span>Today\u2019s Graphcore acquisition announcement constitutes SoftBanks\u2019s latest push to keep up with the global AI stampede. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The exact value of the deal remains undisclosed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Intelligence_processing_units\"><\/span>Intelligence processing units<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Graphcore builds \u201cintelligence processing units,\u201d or IPUs. The company has designed the processors from the get-go to optimise machine learning and AI workloads. They have a massively parallel architecture which significantly enhances AI performance compared to CPUs and even GPUs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company\u2019s second-generation Colossus MK2 GC200 chip is marketed as the \u201cworld\u2019s most advanced processor\u201d and a competitor to Nvidia products. So at first glance, it would seem SoftBank has made a good deal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Graphcore has thus far failed to capitalise on the AI frenzy of the past couple of years. As late as October 2023, the company warned it would need to raise funds by May 2024 to continue operations. While the SoftBank acquisition puts an end to its im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te woes, it remains to be seen if Graphcore will succeed in monetising its <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hit_or_miss\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\/><strong>Hit or miss?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While SoftBank and its record-breaking Vision Fund have made several ill-advised investments (such as WeWork, or robot-crafted pizza-making service Zume), there have also been triumphs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2016, the group purchased British chip designer Arm for $32bn, and subsequently took it public last year while retaining approximately 90% of the company. Much due to the IPO success of Arm, SoftBank shares rose to an all-time high of 11,190.00 Japanese yen ($70.33) on Thursday July 4.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SoftBank has previously said it is ready to pour close to $9bn per year into AI investments. When it comes to Graphcore, perhaps Masayoshi Son, SoftBank\u2019s CEO, is hoping that betting on Britain and its chips again will end up yielding similar results. Let\u2019s see if by this time next year the next rush will be for IPUs, but Jensen Huang is probably not too concerned just yet.\u00a0<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/softbank-troubled-british-chipamker-graphcore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japanese tech group SoftBank has acquired yet another British chip player. This time it has snapped up Bristol-based AI processor developer Graphcore, whose very survival was in doubt over the past year.\u00a0 The acquisition comes as investors compete to back the next big thing in AI. Moreover, larger tech companies who feel that their own&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":627430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2024%2F07%2FGraphcore.jpg&signature=911e10afdf00069f694f950471aa3669","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-627429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}