Graphcore and SiPearl announce a strategic partnership

Graphcore, the UK maker of the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU), a new type of microprocessor designed to support artificial intelligence workloads, and SiPearl, have entered into a strategic partnership.

SiPearl is a Franco-German company that designs high computing power and low consumption microprocessors for supercomputers.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will develop integrated hardware and software solutions that will combine the power, speed and energy efficiency of their respective technologies.

Combining innovative technologies of AI and high-performance computing will help to accelerate the evolution of simulation and prediction models which are seen as critical for strategic applications such as epidemiology, medical research, meteorology, climatology or energy management where these models are often based either on artificial intelligence or on high performance computing.

The solutions co-developed by Graphcore and SiPearl will open up the possibility for developers and users to design new generations of data flows and application tasks that are both more efficient and easier to program and use.

“Graphcore and SiPearl share a vision of enabling innovators across a broad range of industries from medicine to automotive to finance, and beyond. We both understand that new types of computation are essential if we are to realise the full potential of new technologies, like AI. This is a great opportunity for Europe to define the shape of that next-generation compute,” said Fabrice Moizan, General Manager and SVP Sales EMEAI and APAC at Graphcore.

“In the microprocessor segment, which represents half of the global Semiconductor market, our respective technologies are perfectly complementary. Combining them will allow system manufacturers to develop a turnkey product that brings our end customers more performance, speed and energy efficiency”, added Philippe Notton, CEO and founder of SiPearl.