SoftBank injects over $450 million into AI chipmaker Graphcore

SoftBank has injected more than $450 million into a chip company, CNBC has learned, as the Japanese investment giant looks to continue its major play in AI infrastructure and hardware.

Graphcore, which is developing AI chips and systems and was acquired by the Japanese giant in 2024, issued a single share at the value of $457 million on April 10, according to a Companies House filing. A Graphcore spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the money was funding from SoftBank.�. SoftBank has been approached for comment.

At the time of the acquisition, SoftBank said U.K.-based Graphcore would collaborate with the company on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) — when AI matches or surpasses human intelligence.

The fresh funds would be a "portion" of the money Graphcore is expecting from SoftBank this year, a person familiar with arrangements between the companies told CNBC, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to discuss private details.

AI has been a huge area of investment for SoftBank in recent years, as it funneled tens of billions of dollars into the sector, including a big stake in OpenAI and infrastructure commitments.

Once touted as a rival to Nvidia, Graphcore raised hundreds of millions of dollars but struggled to gain commercial traction before it was acquired by SoftBank.

Since SoftBank acquired Graphcore, it has announced several AI infrastructure investments, including its involvement in the $500 billion Stargate project, in partnership with OpenAI and Oracle.

SoftBank is planning to create and list a standalone AI and robotics company in the U.S. as early as this year, the Financial Times reported in April. The company is also discussing a large French AI data center project in France, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Masayoshi Son, SoftBank founder and CEO, previously described Graphcore as "a company with deep expertise in chip design, which further builds on Arm's leadership in semiconductor IP."

In 2016, SoftBank also acquired a majority stake in Arm, which then listed on the Nasdaq in 2023. SoftBank also acquired silicon design company Ampere Computing in 2025.

In October, Graphcore announced it would invest up to £1 billion into opening a new AI campus in Bengaluru, India. It's hiring for hundreds of roles across AI, silicon, software and systems engineering, according to its website.