Graphcore
About
Graphcore is a Bristol-based semiconductor company founded in 2016 that designed the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU), a processor architecture built from the ground up for machine learning and AI workloads. The company raised over $700 million from investors including Sequoia Capital, BMW, Microsoft, and Samsung, reaching a valuation above $2.5 billion. Graphcore developed both hardware and a Poplar software stack to compete with NVIDIA in the AI accelerator market. Its IPU technology represented one of Europe's most ambitious attempts to build a homegrown AI chip ecosystem.
Investors and backers 3
- AtomicoVenture Capital · London
- Molten VenturesVenture Capital · London
- Sequoia CapitalVenture Capital · London
Team 2
- Nigel ToonPerson · BristolCo-founder & CEO
- Simon KnowlesPerson · BristolCo-founder & CTO
Connection map
Every node here is a row in the lists above — the map is a second view of the same connections, not another source of them.
Recent news
- SoftBank invests $457M in Graphcore AI chips2026-05-12 · CNBC