UK AI Chipmaker Graphcore Struggles to Gain Traction Despite $2.5B Valuation

Graphcore is a UK chipmaker specializing in AI hardware that is valued at $2.5 billion but is now struggling to raise new funding.

The company was hoping to benefit from the UK government's investments in AI supercomputers but has been excluded from key projects.

Graphcore develops IPUs (intelligence processing units) as an alternative to Nvidia's dominant GPUs for AI workloads.

The company has struggled to gain traction and convert hype into sales, losing Microsoft as a major customer in 2020.

Graphcore feels excluded from the UK's AI investments, which have focused on GPUs, and argues more diversity is needed in national AI infrastructure.