Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), the early-stage investment subsidiary of engineering product maker Robert Bosch, led a $30m series A round for UK-based artificial intelligence technology startup Graphcore yesterday.
The round also featured Samsung Catalyst Fund, a subsidiary of electronics producer Samsung, as well as undisclosed technology companies and venture capital firms Amadeus Capital Partners, C4 Ventures, Draper Esprit, Foundation Capital and Pitango Venture Capital.
Graphcore is developing an intelligent processing unit that will make machine intelligence faster, in turn making the deployment of AI applications in cloud and enterprise data centres more efficient and affordable.
The technology, which Graphcore aims to commercially launch in 2017, could also be utilised in autonomous cars, collaborative robots and intelligent mobile devices.
Hongquan Jiang, partner at RBVC, said: “Graphcore has a unique technology that has massive potential in the fast emerging market for deep learning.
“A new processor technology is needed for intelligent systems and Graphcore has the first technology that we have seen which really delivers the performance and efficiency needed for this style of compute. We are excited to have led this very significant investment round.”
Ekaterina Almasque, Samsung Catalyst Fund’s managing director for Europe, added: “At Samsung Catalyst Fund, we invest in disruptive companies in this space, and believe tremendous value will be created in the next 10 years by artificial intelligence applications. Graphcore will play an important role as a key enabling technology.”
Law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe advised Graphcore for the round.