Graphcore, one of the world’s most innovative companies, develops computing systems for artificial intelligence that are backed by global technology leaders including Sequoia Capital, Fidelity International, BMW iVentures, Dell, Microsoft, and Samsung, as well as recognized AI innovators such as Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Deepmind, and OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Scott Gray, and Pieter Abbeel.
The company has designed a processor called the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU), whose architecture allows researchers to apply new machine learning methods and algorithms that have not been available with existing technologies. In the Polish office, Graphcore employees introduce artificial intelligence solutions in large research and development units working in HPC (High Performance Computing) technology, which can be used in a wide range of applications. One of the effects of the implementations so far is a 5-fold acceleration of medium-term weather forecasts (including tornado warnings). The systems used allow for the discovery of new drugs or support physical simulations of matter particles at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva.
The IPU is currently a state-of-the-art processor, designed by the company to meet the unique computing requirements of AI-enabled processes. Graphcore systems are used in many industries, m.in. in pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, financial services, automotive and consumer internet services and provide unique opportunities to drive innovation in machine intelligence.
The second task of the Gdańsk branch is the implementation and adaptation of Graphcore systems to data centers offering artificial intelligence services in the cloud, enabling easy and intuitive access to Graphcore technology. It is in this area that the company will concentrate a significant part of its work and is therefore already recruiting. Graphcore’s R&D center works directly with R&D units, universities, and companies that use AI to solve a wide spectrum of business and scientific problems.
– We believe that our technology will become the global standard for machine intelligence computing. The Graphcore IPU will have an impact on more and more industries and sectors with real potential for positive impact on society, from drug discovery to decarbonization – says Nigel Toon, co-founder and CEO of Graphcore. A Paweł Pieczul, Chief Accounting Officer engineering at Graphcore Poland adds: A wide range of skills possessed and developed by specialists in Gdansk and Poland in general, allow Graphcore to hand over many of the company’s most important projects to the local team. Our presence in the Tri-City for high-class IT specialists means the opportunity to participate in advanced projects on a global scale. Many of them have completed extremely demanding tasks so far, and yet they feel a lot of excitement about the opportunity to participate in the projects that our R&D center is working on.
The British company has moved into an office on the 30th floor of the highest building in northern Poland, Olivia Star. From its windows there is a 360° panorama of the entire Tri-City. Its employees can therefore work with a view of the Bay of Gdańsk as well as the Tri-City Landscape Park full of forested hills. The office is located just two floors below the public observation deck, located 130 meters above the ground. At the same time, at the foot of the building, there is an exotic Olivia Garden, which is filled with 3 thousand plants from five continents, reaching up to 11 meters in height.
“As Olivia, we are aware that by inviting such Residents as Graphcore, we are taking a real part in creating a hub of smart specialisations in Gdańsk,” says Bogusław Wieczorek from Olivia Centre. The ecosystem of innovative companies in Olivia, which has been created for years, has so far been built by companies such as Amazon, which is developing its Alexa text-to-speech project, or Nethansa, which is developing models and optimization algorithms for sales channel management systems in the e-commerce industry, will be strengthened by one of the most innovative companies in the world. The Graphcore R&D Centre is a great opportunity for Pomeranian companies and research centres to develop cooperation, for experts to develop their competences, but at the same time to confirm that the so-called “Graphcore” is a great opportunity for Pomeranian companies and research centres. The talent pool in the Tri-City is really high and attracts the best leading innovators from all over the world, creating jobs of the highest quality.
