Is Graphcore profitable in 2026?

No. Graphcore reported just $4m revenue in 2023 against pre-tax losses of roughly £131m (~$165m), per company accounts cited by Sifted on 2024-10-04. No FY2024 or FY2025 revenue figures have been publicly disclosed since SoftBank acquired the company in July 2024, and it now operates as a subsidized captive R&D unit rather than a standalone profit-seeking business.

Who owns Graphcore now?

SoftBank Group Corp of Japan acquired Graphcore in a deal announced 2024-07-11, reportedly worth $500 to 600 million, about one-fifth of Graphcore's 2020 peak $2.77bn valuation. As of April 2026 SoftBank injected a further $457m via UK Companies House filing, making Graphcore a wholly owned, capital-dependent subsidiary.

Who is Graphcore's biggest competitor?

Nvidia. Its CUDA software ecosystem dominates the AI accelerator market and is widely cited, including by The Times on 2022-10-08, as the reason Graphcore's 2019 Microsoft Azure supply deal collapsed, contributing to a roughly $1bn valuation writedown. Hyperscaler custom chips like AWS Trainium and Microsoft Maia add further pressure.

Could AI replace Graphcore's business?

Not directly, Graphcore sells AI training and inference hardware rather than a service AI models perform, but the AI boom has not translated into sales: 2023 revenue was just $4m against $165m in losses, per Sifted's 2024-10-04 reporting, as customers overwhelmingly chose Nvidia GPUs and hyperscaler silicon instead.

What happened to Graphcore's Microsoft Azure deal?

Graphcore's landmark 2019 deal to supply Microsoft Azure with IPU chips fell through around 2022, contributing to roughly a $1bn valuation writedown, according to The Times on 2022-10-08. The company also exited China in 2023-2024 due to US export-control restrictions, further shrinking its addressable customer base.

What is the Izanagi chip and does Graphcore still make its own products?

Izanagi is a next-generation chip Graphcore is co-developing with fellow SoftBank subsidiary Ampere Computing for SoftBank's Stargate data-center buildout, reported by Jon Peddie Research on 2026-06-15. As of mid-2026 it remains unresolved whether Izanagi ships as a Graphcore-branded product or gets absorbed into SoftBank's internal platform.

Semiconductor companies · subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp · United Kingdom

Graphcore

graphcore.ai ↗

UK maker of IPU chips for AI, now a SoftBank-owned research unit after its business failed.

Losing its protection

Assessed 24 July 2026 · Evidence as of 24 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 24 July 2026 · Checkable from end of 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Decision on whether the Izanagi chip ships under the Graphcore brand with outside customers, or stays inside SoftBank

The call

Graphcore's run as an independent Nvidia rival ended in 2024; it now exists inside SoftBank, with its future tied to whether a chip called Izanagi finds outside buyers.

Graphcore designed computer chips meant to compete with Nvidia in the artificial intelligence market. The company failed at this goal, losing $165 million in 2023 while making only $4 million in sales, and its deal with Microsoft fell apart. Nvidia won because it built a locked-in ecosystem that customers depend on, and large tech companies also started making their own chips instead of buying from independent sellers like Graphcore. Now Graphcore is owned by SoftBank and survives as an internal research team rather than an independent business. The one thing that could change this picture is whether a new chip called Izanagi, being developed with a partner, gets sold to outside customers under Graphcore's name with real revenue by the end of 2026, or simply disappears into SoftBank's internal operations.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. Graphcore sells chips and systems, not a service an AI model can replace; the threat here is competing hardware, not AI itself. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.

Bigger players: Nvidia. Nvidia's CUDA software and chip lineup, plus hyperscalers building their own silicon, already dominate the market Graphcore tried to enter. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. SoftBank now owns Graphcore outright and funds it as an internal R&D unit, so it no longer needs paying customers to survive.

What would change this call

Whether Izanagi chip ships under Graphcore brand with disclosed external customer revenue by end-2026. Would show Graphcore has commercial life beyond being a SoftBank internal R&D unit.
Companies House FY2024-2025 filing shows external revenue figures beyond SoftBank-internal work. Would show whether independent commercial demand exists at all.
SoftBank announces further capital injections or, alternatively, restructuring/absorption of Graphcore into its platform. Would show whether SoftBank still values Graphcore as a distinct entity or is winding it down.

Key numbers

2023 revenue: $4m (2024-10-04)
2023 pre-tax loss: about $165m (2024-10-04)
2024 SoftBank buyout: $500 to 600m, vs $2.77bn 2020 peak (2024-07-15)

Named risks

Near-zero external revenue ($4m in 2023) leaves company entirely dependent on SoftBank capital. Severity: high
Nvidia's CUDA ecosystem lock-in continues to block Graphcore's commercial adoption. Severity: high
Equity holders and option grantees received $0 in the 2024 acquisition, no disclosed liquidity path since. Severity: medium
Izanagi chip may be absorbed into SoftBank's internal platform rather than sold as a Graphcore product. Severity: medium
Broader 2026 AI-stock volatility could constrain SoftBank's future funding of subsidiaries like Graphcore. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Nvidia	losing to	CUDA ecosystem lock-in cited in Azure deal collapse, 2022-10-08 writedown of ~$1bn
AWS Trainium / Microsoft Maia	gaining on	Named as hyperscaler custom-silicon competitors squeezing merchant chip vendors, 2026-02
Cerebras, SambaNova, Groq, Tenstorrent	contesting	Peer AI-accelerator startups benchmarked alongside Graphcore's IPU in technical literature
Ampere Computing (SoftBank sibling)	contesting	Co-developing Izanagi chip with Graphcore for SoftBank Stargate buildout, reported 2026-06-15

Questions people ask

Is Graphcore profitable in 2026?: No. Graphcore reported just $4m revenue in 2023 against pre-tax losses of roughly £131m (~$165m), per company accounts cited by Sifted on 2024-10-04. No FY2024 or FY2025 revenue figures have been publicly disclosed since SoftBank acquired the company in July 2024, and it now operates as a subsidized captive R&D unit rather than a standalone profit-seeking business.
Who owns Graphcore now?: SoftBank Group Corp of Japan acquired Graphcore in a deal announced 2024-07-11, reportedly worth $500 to 600 million, about one-fifth of Graphcore's 2020 peak $2.77bn valuation. As of April 2026 SoftBank injected a further $457m via UK Companies House filing, making Graphcore a wholly owned, capital-dependent subsidiary.
Who is Graphcore's biggest competitor?: Nvidia. Its CUDA software ecosystem dominates the AI accelerator market and is widely cited, including by The Times on 2022-10-08, as the reason Graphcore's 2019 Microsoft Azure supply deal collapsed, contributing to a roughly $1bn valuation writedown. Hyperscaler custom chips like AWS Trainium and Microsoft Maia add further pressure.
Could AI replace Graphcore's business?: Not directly, Graphcore sells AI training and inference hardware rather than a service AI models perform, but the AI boom has not translated into sales: 2023 revenue was just $4m against $165m in losses, per Sifted's 2024-10-04 reporting, as customers overwhelmingly chose Nvidia GPUs and hyperscaler silicon instead.
What happened to Graphcore's Microsoft Azure deal?: Graphcore's landmark 2019 deal to supply Microsoft Azure with IPU chips fell through around 2022, contributing to roughly a $1bn valuation writedown, according to The Times on 2022-10-08. The company also exited China in 2023-2024 due to US export-control restrictions, further shrinking its addressable customer base.
What is the Izanagi chip and does Graphcore still make its own products?: Izanagi is a next-generation chip Graphcore is co-developing with fellow SoftBank subsidiary Ampere Computing for SoftBank's Stargate data-center buildout, reported by Jon Peddie Research on 2026-06-15. As of mid-2026 it remains unresolved whether Izanagi ships as a Graphcore-branded product or gets absorbed into SoftBank's internal platform.

Timeline

2026-06-15Izanagi chip branding (Graphcore vs SoftBank platform) still unresolved per industry report
2026-05-06Graphcore's £1bn Bengaluru AI Engineering Campus formally inaugurated
2026-04SoftBank injects $457m into Graphcore, largest capital injection since acquisition
2025-10-09Graphcore commits up to £1bn to new Bengaluru campus, 500 jobs over a decade
2025-08-26Co-founder and CTO Simon Knowles exits Graphcore, one year after SoftBank deal
2024-07-11SoftBank completes acquisition of Graphcore for roughly $500-600m
2024-06-03Graphcore exits China citing US export-control restrictions
2023-10-06Graphcore discloses going-concern doubt absent new funding
2022-10-08Microsoft Azure supply deal collapses, contributing to ~$1bn valuation writedown

Revision history

24 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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