SoftBank has officially acquired Graph Core, a leading British AI chip manufacturing company, for an estimated value of about 600 million USD. Graphcore will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank.
This is not SoftBank's first deal in the UK. Previously, in 2016, SoftBank caused controversy when it acquired British chip designer Arm in a much larger deal.
Under the agreement, Graph Core will continue to operate under its own name and keep its headquarters in Bristol, England, while maintaining offices in Cambridge, London, Gdansk and Hsinchu. This shows SoftBank's commitment to maintaining Graph Core's operations and presence.
Graph Core is known for its “Intelligent Processor” product line – specifically designed for AI tasks – along with a suite of supporting software that helps developers use their hardware effectively. The company has achieved some notable technological successes, but has struggled to generate revenue and profits.
Vikas J. Parekh, Managing Director at SoftBank Investment Advisers, sees Graph Core 's technology as key to pursuing more advanced AI systems capable of matching or surpassing human intelligence.
SoftBank's acquisition of Graph Core is expected to provide the AI chipmaker with significant resources and expansion opportunities. The deal also reflects increasingly fierce competition in the AI chip market, where companies such as NVIDIA, Intel and AMD are vying for dominance.
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