The Bristol-based AI chip maker Graphcore has found itself among the top ten companies, who between them attracted £500 million of venture capital investment in 2020. Graphcore’s own share at almost £160 million is a demonstration of the level of confidence being generated by the UK tech sector.
The ability to bring in this kind of investment marks out companies such as Graphcore as pioneers and ambassadors in an industry where the UK is well placed to lead the world. Nigel Toon, founder and CEO, welcomed the report for acknowledging his company as ‘standard bearers’ in an industry where the UK ‘is continuing to punch well above its weight’.
A golden investment opportunity
The report by Tech Nation on the UK’s tech sector paints a vibrant picture of the industry’s status and prospects as it pulls ahead of other European tech hubs, including France and Germany. The report notes, however, that while the innovators are making huge advances in the development of artificial intelligence, R&D investment still lags behind other nations such as the US and China. However, the report’s findings suggest that the ability of UK start-ups and scale-ups to compete in the top rank is grabbing the attention of venture capitalists.
Most of that investment is coming from outside the UK, but Judith Hartley, CEO of British Patient Capital, whose portfolio includes Graphcore, recognises the ‘significant opportunity’ presented by these tech pioneers to ‘an increasing pool of experienced UK venture and venture growth managers, who are backing some of the most exciting high-growth companies in the country’.
A new world standard
Graphcore was founded in 2012 by Nigel Toon and Simon Knowles. Their aim was to develop a revolutionary processor, the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU), which would set the new worldwide standard for machine intelligence computing. The IPU enables AI researchers to drive their work into new areas not currently enabled by existing technologies. The company is currently valued at £2.05 billion.
Toon acknowledges that today’s economic climate is challenging but tempers his caution with justifiable confidence, stating that ‘Deep Tech represents the coming together of so many great British attributes – our reputation for innovation in science and engineering, the excellence of our academic institutions and, most recently, our status as a leading player in the development of artificial intelligence.’
Graphcore is one of many tech companies in the South West who are bringing much-needed investment into the region. Two start-ups were recently identified as tech companies to watch in Tech Nation’s rising stars competition. A third start-up, based in Cornwall, is now enjoying significant investment from the European Space Agency. This trend for high tech to establish itself and thrive away from the big cities is an encouraging one for the rebalancing and levelling up promised by this government.
When asked about the report, Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to the successes of the UK tech industry and reiterated that his government is ‘comprehensively committed to supporting the sector’.
