July 3, 2024 /SemiMedia/ -- According to reports, SoftBank Group has offered about 400 million pounds (approximated $500 million) to acquire British AI chip startup Graphcore, and the British government is reviewing the deal under national security legislation.

Founded in Bristol in 2016, Graphcore develops designs for large intelligent processing units designed to help artificial intelligence software processing in data centers. The startup pitches its products as competitors to Nvidia’s GPUs and has won backing from big-name investors including Samsung Electronics, Bosch and Sequoia Capital.

The report pointed out that Graphcore completed $222 million in financing in 2020, with a valuation of $2.8 billion at the time. SoftBank's current valuation of Graphcore is far lower than that figure.

The UK government's review of the deal is also expected under the National Security and Investment Act. If the deal is not approved, Graphcore, whose business is struggling, will face bankruptcy, so the deal is unlikely to be blocked. Given the importance of artificial intelligence (AI), defense, security and domestic market development, the UK government may set certain conditions for the deal.