SoftBank宣佈全資收購英國AI芯片公司Graphcore，具體交易金額未公開，旨在通過獲得更多資金支持，推動Graphcore在人工智能硬件領域的業務發展。Graphcore的智能處理單元（IPU）設計適用於大量並行處理和執行復雜機器學習模型，對其在計算領域潛力的限制得到補足。收購後，Graphcore總部將保留在英國布裏斯托爾，繼續在倫敦、劍橋、波蘭格但斯克及臺灣新竹皆設有辦事處。聯合創始人兼首席執行官Nigel Toon及CTO Simon Knowles預計將繼續任職。Vikas J. Parekh指出，本次收購體現了其在通用人工智能研究和先進半導體技術領域的合作意願，爲未來技術合作設定了基礎。
["英國AI芯片公司Graphcore因美國加碼對華出口管制，裁掉中國區大部分員工並停止在華銷售。","Graphcore曾是歐洲熱門創企，但面臨虧損、失去訂單、融資困難等問題。","公司CEO指出中國市場佔比20%~25%，裁員決定將影響其在中國的發展。","Graphcore面臨運氣不佳、管理失誤和軟件問題，導致業務方向不清晰，士氣低落。","英國政府未納入Graphcore在本土芯片儲備基金，加劇公司在本土的困境。"]
AI加速器，推動人工智能的突破
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