According to The Telegraph report, Graphcore Ltd, a UK microchip maker, may be selling itself to foreign investors, following two unsuccessful fundraising rounds. When it is considered that the company has raised more than $700 million so far and that its late 2020 valuation was estimated at $2.8 billion, it seems that its revenues have declined, and losses have increased.
However, Graphcore’s problematic history is tied up with many aspects. It is up against tough competition from Nvidia, whose GPUs are sought after in AI applications. Meanwhile, the US’s policy forbidding the sale of AI technology to China has led to the closure of business in China, leaving a huge gap in sales revenue. Also adding to the company’s difficulties, they have been finding it hard to raise new capital, which keeps the company from competing to its full potential.
In view of the difficulties implied, Graphcore is considering the possibility of a sale to foreign investors. Potential buyers of these assets include the names of tech giants like Arm, SoftBank, and OpenAI – the company that created ChatGPT. Nevertheless, it is doubtful that any such deal would pass the national security officials who are interested in how important AI may be for the world.
Whether Graphcore can find a buyer is yet to be ascertained, with discussions related to the sale ongoing.
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