AI chipmaker, Graphcore secured $150M at around $1.95 bn valuation

Graphcore has secured $150 million in a fresh funding round, reported TechCrunch. With recent funding, Graphcore now valued at $1.95 billion.

The company secured backing from some of the new investors, which include the M&G Investments, Mayfair Equity Partners, and Baillie Gifford.

Founded in 2016, Bristol-headquartered Graphcore develops  Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU)  designed for artificial intelligence. 

The cash boost, which was an extension of a Series D funding round that closed in the month of December 2018, takes the total investment to $450 million. It is now being valued at $1.95 billion.

Executive Opinion

Founder, and CEO, Nigel Toon, said, "2019 was a transformative year for Graphcore as we moved from development to a full commercial business with volume production products shipping. We were pleased to publicly announce our close partnership with Microsoft in November 2019, jointly announcing IPU availability for external customers on the Azure Cloud, as well as for use by Microsoft internal AI initiatives. In addition, we announced the availability of the DSS8440 IPU Server in partnership with Dell Technologies and the launch of the Cirrascale IPU-Bare Metal Cloud. We also announced some of our other early access customers, which include Citadel Securities, Carmot Capital, and Qwant, the European search engine company."

Graphcore's Development

The startup is best known for its Intelligence Processor Unit, which is designed for use in Artificial Intelligence software. The company has cash reserves of $300 million to support its global expansion plans and research investments.

In the month of November last year, Graphcore signed a deal with Microsoft for the use of its chips in the Azure Cloud Computing Business.

The firm has expanded its engineering centers in California, Norway, and Bristol and soon going to open new bases in Taiwan, Beijing, and Cambridge.

Graphcore first bagged the unicorn status when it got the $1 billion valuation mark in its Series D funding round last December, from Microsoft and BMW.