Softbank-owned Graphcore to invest 1 billion pounds in India, set up AI engineering campus in Bengaluru

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Graphcore, a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank, plans to invest up to 1 billion pounds (around Rs 10,000 crore) over the next decade in India as it opens a new AI Engineering Campus in Bengaluru. The move is expected to create 500 new semiconductor engineering jobs, marking one of the largest India bets by a SoftBank-owned firm in the chip design space.

Founded in Bristol in 2016, Graphcore develops a full AI compute stack encompassing silicon, Data Centre infrastructure, and software.

The Bengaluru centre will play an important role in building the future of AI computing as part of SoftBank Group’s vision to become the world’s leading Artificial Super Intelligence platform provider.

Graphcore said hiring for the first 100 roles is already underway, spanning Silicon Logical Design, Physical Design, Verification, Characterisation, and Bring-up engineering functions.

The company added that its presence in India has been made possible by continued investments from SoftBank Group, which are expected to reach £1 billion annually in the coming years. The group’s backing will also enable Graphcore to double its UK headcount to around 750 employees, largely focused on silicon, software, and AI engineering.

Since acquiring Graphcore in 2024, SoftBank has accelerated its global AI compute ambitions, including the $500 billion Stargate infrastructure project announced with OpenAI and Oracle.

Graphcore said engineers at its Bengaluru campus will develop semiconductor products powering AI systems used in critical areas such as drug discovery, public health, environmental sustainability, and business productivity.

Over the past decade, SoftBank has invested more than $12 billion in India across its portfolio companies, underscoring the country’s growing importance in the group’s global technology roadmap.

Why Graphcore chose Bengaluru?

Graphcore said the decision to set up its new AI Engineering Campus in Bengaluru as an easy one, citing the city’s ecosystem of top universities, startups, and global technology firms.

Since its acquisition by SoftBank, the company has gained access to the Japanese group’s ecosystem of portfolio firms, AI innovators, and infrastructure providers.