Draper Esprit invests in $222m Graphcore Series E Funding Round

Draper Esprit is pleased to have participated in Graphcore’s $222m Series E investment round, the deal will value Graphcore at more than $2.77bn post-money. Graphcore - maker of the Intelligence Processing Unit which is a new type of microprocessor specifically designed to support artificial intelligence workloads – has announced that the new investment will be used to support the company's continued global expansion and to further accelerate future IPU silicon, systems, and software development.

Draper Esprit’s participation continues its commitment to Graphcore having invested in multiple funding rounds since Graphcore was founded. This Series E round was led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan with Fidelity International and Schroders joining as new investors.

Please find the link to the Graphcore announcement here.

Stuart Chapman, Director at Draper Esprit commented:

"In Nigel Toon, Simon Knowles, and their team, Graphcore has the management and technology capability required to transform global industries. Draper Esprit had a close relationship with Nigel and Simon long before Graphcore was born and Graphcore’s continued innovation and growth is testament to the vision and execution of a remarkable team. We look with excitement to see where Graphcore goes next."

Martin Davis, CEO of Draper Esprit commented:

"The continued success of our partnership with Graphcore is an incredible validation of Draper Esprit’s public VC model. We invested at the start and are still excited by the opportunity presented by Graphcore - our public VC model gives us the adaptability to back success."