Graphcore, the UK artificial intelligence (AI) chip firm, has been acquired by SoftBank Group. Under the deal, Graphcore becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate and will continue to operate under the Graphcore name.

“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,” added Vikas J. Parekh, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Next generation semi-conductors and compute systems are essential in the AGI journey, we’re pleased to collaborate with Graphcore in this mission.”

Graphcore’s headquarters remain in Bristol, with offices in Cambridge, London, Gdansk and Hsinchu.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but it is believed to be considerably less than the £2 billion that Graphcore was valued at after a financing round in 2020.