SoftBank Group has acquired Graphcore, a UK-based start-up developing an Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU) platform designed for handling extremely large machine intelligence workloads.
Graphcore’s latest Bow IPU leverages Wafer-on-Wafer (WoW) 3D stacking technology. Each Bow IPU delivers up to 350 teraFLOPS of AI compute, an impressive 40% leap forward in performance and up to 16% more power efficiency compared to the previous generation IPU. TSMC has worked closely with Graphcore as a leading customer for its breakthrough SoIC-WoW (Wafer-on-Wafer) solution, as their pioneering designs in cutting-edge parallel processing architectures make them an ideal match for our technology.
Graphcore is now a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank and will continue to operate under the Graphcore name. The company’s headquarters remain in Bristol, with offices in Cambridge, London, Gdansk, and Hsinchu. “This is a tremendous endorsement of our team and their ability to build truly transformative AI technologies at scale, as well as a great outcome for our company,” said Graphcore co-founder and CEO Nigel Toon. “Demand for AI compute is vast and continues to grow. There remains much to do to improve efficiency, resilience, and computational power to unlock the full potential of AI. In SoftBank, we have a partner that can enable the Graphcore team to redefine the landscape for AI technology.”
“Society is embracing the opportunities offered by foundation models, generative AI applications, and new approaches to scientific discovery,” said Vikas J. Parekh, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Next generation semiconductors and compute systems are essential in the AGI journey, and we’re pleased to collaborate with Graphcore in this mission.”
Key Points:
• Acquisition: SoftBank Group acquires Graphcore, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.
• Technology: Graphcore’s Bow IPU delivers up to 350 teraFLOPS of AI compute with advanced Wafer-on-Wafer 3D stacking technology.
• Future Plans: Graphcore will continue operating under its name, aiming to advance AI technology with SoftBank’s support.
