AI chipmaker Graphcore is worth almost $3 billion after a massive $222 million fundraise

<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5ed9125b3f73707319326fe7-2400/founders nigel toon ceo right simon knowles cto left.jpg" border="0" alt="Graphcore founders Nigel Toon CEO (right) &amp; Simon Knowles CTO (left)" data-mce-source="Graphcore"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>AI chipmaker Graphcore has raised $222 million in a Series E funding round, bumping the British startup's valuation up to almost $3 billion.&nbsp;</p><p>The firm, based in the UK's growing south west tech hub Bristol, was backed by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, as well as the likes of Fidelity International and Schroders.</p><p>The latest raise brings the unicorn's total funding to $710 million to date, alongside a post-money valuation of $2.77 billion. The round was also supported by existing investors Baillie Gifford and Draper Esprit.</p><p>"Having the backing of such respected institutional investors says something very powerful about how the markets now view Graphcore," CEO and cofounder Nigel Toon said.</p><p>"The confidence that they have in us comes from the competence we have demonstrated building our products and our business.</p><p>"We have created a technology that dramatically outperforms legacy processors such as GPUs, a powerful set of software tools that are tailored to the needs of AI developers, and a global sales operation that is bringing our products to market."</p><p>Graphcore is one of the crown jewels in the UK's burgeoning tech industry, where it and other leading playerssuch as Darktrace and Deliverooare said to be <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europes-tech-unicorns-look-to-repeat-us-ipo-successes-in-2021-2020-12">mulling lucrative IPOs in the new year</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Deliveroo has appointed Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to manage an initial public offering (IPO) of between 35-40% of the business in the first half of 2021, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-deliveroo-ipo-idUSKBN27Y2FK" data-analytics-module="body_link" data-analytics-post-depth="60" data-uri="ef28f95beaa9ae7ce5933dcdba1486aa">Reuters</a> reports.</p><p>In a statement, Olivia Steedman, senior MD of the Teachers' Innovation Platform (TIP) at Ontario Teachers', said Graphcore was "poised to be a leader" in the AI chip industry.</p><p>She added: "We are excited to partner with Nigel and the strong management team to support the company's continued growth and product development."</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-chipmaker-graphcore-worth-almost-3bn-after-latest-fundraise-2020-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-myths-debunked-wuhan-china-2020-2">Epidemiologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths</a></p>
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