About Graphcore Systems
Graphcore Systems is a Technology company based in Bristol (United Kingdom) founded in 2016 by Simon Knowles, Hermann Hauser, and Nigel Toon, and was acquired by SoftBank Group in July 2024. Processors and IPUs for AI enterprise workloads are provided. Graphcore Systems has raised $742.4 million across 8 funding rounds from investors including Microsoft, Dell and Huawei. The company has 874 employees. Graphcore Systems was last valued at $2.8 billion in December 2020. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Nigel Toon. Its website graphcore.ai draws about 51 thousand monthly visits. Graphcore Systems offers products and services including IPUs, Poplar® Software, and Bow IPU Processors. Its focus areas include High Tech, Native AI Infrastructure, Enabling Technologies and Hardware. Its legal entity is GRAPHCORE LIMITED.
Company details
Graphcore Systems was founded in 2016 in the United Kingdom. Processors and Intelligence Processing Units (IPUs) are supplied for AI infrastructure and workloads. A second-generation core building block solution with integrated networking for supercomputing is offered, alongside building blocks and reference designs for AI systems. Services target sectors such as finance, biotechnology, scientific research, and consumer communications, supporting enterprise-level operations across these fields.
- Headquarters Bristol, United Kingdom
- Employees 874
- Founders Simon Knowles, Hermann Hauser, Nigel Toon
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTechnology
- Email••••••••
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website graphcore.ai
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook YouTube
- Acquired by SoftBank Group (Jul 2024)
- Legal Name Graphcore Limited
- Date of Incorporation 17 May, 2016
- Jurisdiction LONDON
- Annual Revenue$116.99 M (USD)as on Mar 31, 2025
- Net Profit-$84.63 M (USD)as on Mar 31, 2025
- EBITDA-$81.29 M (USD)as on Mar 31, 2025
- Total Equity Funding$742.4M (USD)
in 8 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$222M (USD), Series E
Dec 2020
- InvestorsMicrosoft
& 49 more
- Employee Count874
- Acquired bySoftBank Group
(Jul 2024)
Products & Services of Graphcore Systems
Graphcore Systems offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including IPUs, Poplar® Software, and Bow IPU Processors.
Hardware designed to accelerate machine learning workloads in the cloud.
Toolkit for optimizing and running AI models on IPU hardware.
Processors that enhance AI computation for various applications.
Apps and channels of Graphcore Systems
its YouTube channel Graphcore has 2.06K subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from Graphcore Systems
The most watched videos on Graphcore Systems's YouTube channel, Graphcore (2.06K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on Graphcore.
Funding Insights of Graphcore Systems
Graphcore Systems has successfully raised a total of $742.4M across 8 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series E round of $222 million completed in December 2020. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $742.4M
- Total Rounds 8
- Last Round Series E — $222M
- First Round $32M
(Aug 2016)
- Investors Count 50
All 8 funding rounds of Graphcore Systems with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2020 | $222M | Series E | $2.8B | Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan | |
| Feb 2020 | $160.7M | Series D | $1.95B | Mayfair, Baillie Gifford | |
| Jan 2020 | $25M | Series D | – | Merian Global Investors | – |
| Jun 2019 | Series D | – | Air Street Capital | – | |
| Dec 2018 | $221.3M | Series D | $••••• | Sofina, Atomico | |
| Nov 2017 | $65.6M | Series C | $••••• | Sequoia Capital | |
| Jun 2017 | $40.8M | Series B | $••••• | Atomico | |
| Aug 2016 | $32M | Series A | $••••• | – | – |
| Date | Valuation | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2020 | $2.8B | •••••••• |
| Feb 2020 | $1.95B | •••••••• |
| Dec 2018 | $••••• | •••••••• |
| Nov 2017 | $••••• | •••••••• |
| Jun 2017 | $••••• | •••••••• |
| Aug 2016 | $••••• | •••••••• |
Full valuation and stage history of Graphcore Systems
Every valuation point, the growth-stage changes (minicorn, soonicorn, unicorn) and the dates behind them require an active premium plan.
- All valuation points
- Stage changes
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Last known valuation $2.8B (Dec 2020). 50 investors in total: 42 institutional and 8 angel.
Investors in Graphcore Systems
Graphcore Systems has secured backing from 50 investors, including institutional, venture fund, and angel investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Microsoft, Dell and Huawei.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital fund focused on deep tech, consumer tech, health tech, SaaS, and multiple sectors | 2006 | moltenventures.com | London, United Kingdom | |
UK private equity investments are managed by Mayfair firm. | mayfairequity.com | London, United Kingdom | ||
Venture capital firm investing in AI & life science sectors | airstreet.com | St. Peter Port, United Kingdom | ||
Venture capital investments are provided by Sofina to emerging companies. | sofinagroup.com | Brussels, Belgium | ||
Tech-based companies are invested in by Atomico venture capital fund. | 2006 | atomico.com | London, United Kingdom | |
Venture capital fund investing in deep-tech infrastructure and platforms. | samsungcatalyst.com | |||
Early-stage deep technology investments are made by Amadeus Capital. | amadeuscapital.com | London, United Kingdom | ||
Stage agnostic VC firm investing globally | 2004 | draperesprit.com | London, United Kingdom | |
Venture capital firm focused on early-stage fintech, enterprise, web 3, consumer, and multiple sectors | 1995 | foundationcapital.com | Palo Alto, United States | |
Venture capital investments in tech and healthtech sectors through dedicated funds. | pitango.com |
Investor details for Graphcore Systems
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Graphcore Systems
115 people are tracked at Graphcore Systems (35 in leadership, 80 in team); the tracked headcount is 874.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Simon Knowles | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Hermann Hauser | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Nigel Toon | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
John Whittle | Director Of Hardware Engineering | Leadership |
Philip Chambers | Director Of Silicon Verification | Leadership |
David Stubbs | Chief Systems Software Architect | Leadership |
Joanna MacPherson | Human Resources Director | Leadership |
Owain Jones | Director Of Silicon Architecture | Leadership |
Carlo Luschi | VP & Head Of Research | Leadership |
David Norman | Director Of Framework Development | Leadership |
Simon Long | Director Of Poplar Compiler | Leadership |
Ian Quinn | Silicon Verification Director | Leadership |
Jamie Falconer | VP Finance | Leadership |
Stuart Cornell | Cloud Development Director | Leadership |
John Walsh | COO | Leadership |
Nick Bishop | CFO | Leadership |
Sally Mortimore Doherty | CMO | Leadership |
Mark Kattenbelt | Director SDK Frameworks | Leadership |
Emily Rose | Talent Director | Leadership |
Rycharde Hawkes | VP Platform | Leadership |
95 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Graphcore Systems
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Graphcore Systems
6 dated milestones of Graphcore Systems across 8 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Graphcore Systems is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $32.0M.
- Milestone Reaches Minicorn status.
- Milestone Reaches Unicorn status.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series E, of $222.0M.
- Exit Acquired by SoftBank Group.
Web traffic of Graphcore Systems
The website of Graphcore Systems (graphcore.ai) receives about 50.6K visits a month.
- Monthly visits50.6K
▼ 3.4% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Graphcore Systems. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 andychen15577.blogspot.com | andychen15577.blogspot.com | 100% | – | ||
movan.vn | movan.vn | 91% | #7,421,886 | – | |
| edge-ai-vision.com | 91% | #689,892 | View details | ||
| nextplatform.com | 91% | 104.2K | #415,598 | View details | |
| f22labs.com | 91% | 126.1K | #364,076 | View details | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 24 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Graphcore Systems
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 24 similar websites
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
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Related news about Graphcore Systems
Complete news archive for Graphcore Systems
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Frequently Asked Questions about Graphcore Systems
Graphcore Systems was founded in 2016.
Graphcore Systems is headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is registered at Bristol, England, United Kingdom.
Nigel Toon is the CEO of Graphcore Systems, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Graphcore Systems is a funded company, having raised a total of $742.4M across 8 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $32M, raised on Aug 2016.
Graphcore Systems has 874 employees.
Annual revenue of Graphcore Systems is $116.99M as on Mar 31, 2025.
Graphcore Systems was founded in 2016 in the United Kingdom. Processors and Intelligence Processing Units (IPUs) are supplied for AI infrastructure and workloads. A second-generation core building block solution with integrated networking for supercomputing is offered, alongside building blocks and reference designs for AI systems. Services target sectors such as finance, biotechnology, scientific research, and consumer communications, supporting enterprise-level operations across these fields.
Graphcore Systems offers IPUs, Poplar® Software, and Bow IPU Processors.
Graphcore Systems has 50 investors. Key investors include Microsoft, Dell, Huawei, Samsung, and SoftBank Group.
The valuation of Graphcore Systems is $2.8B as of Dec 2020.
Graphcore Systems operates through Graphcore Limited.
Yes. Graphcore Systems was acquired by SoftBank Group in July 2024.