For those not in the know, Graphcore was once touted as a potential rival to industry leader Nvidia in the sales of AI chips.

The outfit is responding to Washington’s latest export restrictions on sales of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips which means that it can’t sell [intelligence processing unit (IPU)] systems in China.

All the company’s top-line products had fallen under the new regulations, so it was pretty much over for Graphcore in the Middle Kingdom.

Graphcore was founded in 2016 in Bristol, England and valued at US$2.8 billion by 2020 after a US$222 million funding round.

Its revenue fall 46 per cent in 2022, with losses of US$204.6 million for the year, according to its latest financial filing in October. The company said it needed more funding to keep operating but has not announced any new rounds.

The company is working with customers worldwide to meet their demand for a powerful, cost-effective alternative to GPUs,” the Graphcore spokesman said.

Virtually no advanced chip maker has been left unscathed by the US chip export restrictions to China, which have escalated over the last couple of years. AI has been a particular focus for Washington, forcing Nvidia to make its custom A800 and H800 GPUs just for China, which now fall under the new sanctions.