2 minute read | July.12.2024
UK AI chip designer Graphcore has been acquired by SoftBank Group Corp (TOKYO: 9984).
Pursuant to the terms of the deal, Graphcore will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank. Graphcore will continue to operate under the Graphcore name from its headquarters in Bristol, UK, and have offices in England – in Cambridge and London – and in Gdansk, Poland, and Hsinchu, in northern Taiwan.
Orrick advised Graphcore, a UK semiconductor company that develops processors specifically designed for AI and machine learning applications. Orrick has advised Graphcore on a variety of matters, including in each its fundraising rounds, since its incorporation in 2016.
The transaction will provide the Graphcore team with an opportunity to redefine the landscape for AI technology, next generation semi-conductors and compute systems. It also enables Graphcore and SoftBank to continue their work on Graphcore’s next generation AI compute system, a project both entities began working on over a year ago.
James Connor and Chris Grew led the Orrick team advising Graphcore. The Orrick team also included Jamie Moore, Charles Sheldon, Philip Jackson, James Edwards, Lucy Mann, Gilbert Harrold, Anna Humphrey, David Walder, Jonathan Rosen, Andrew Holland, Milo Dunne, Natasha Ahmed, Stephen Tallon, Danielle Mangogna, Rachel Conder, Brian M. Blood, Anna Aryankalayil, Bethany Brabner, Harry Clark, Benedikt Kamann, Charlotte Oliver, Elizabeth Gavin, Katy Short, Viv Holyoake, Chris Chavez, Lars Mesenbrink and Spencer Cohen.