Chip technology design maker Imagination Technologies plans to lay off 20% of the company's staff, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The Chinese-backed owners of Imagination Technologies told the British government on Friday the chip designer would remain headquartered in the United Kingdom and they would consult over any board changes.

There's a corporate boardroom drama unfolding at Imagination Technologies that features high finance, international intrigue, and an all-star cast.

An attempt to seize control of the board of British graphics chipmaker Imagination Technologies by an investor linked to the Chinese state has failed after intervention by the UK government.

Apple previously used graphics chips designed by Imagination Technologies in its iPhones and iPads, but moved to its own internal chip designs from 2017

The Chinese owners of Imagination Technologies have drafted in a microchip industry veteran from a Beijing-backed technology conglomerate, after buying the British company last year.

After Imagination Technologies bought MIPS Technologies in 2013, they invested in the architecture and attempted to build a business around it as a potential ARM competitor. These plans largely failed, and Imagination Technologies arranged the sale of MIPS - and itself - to different venture capital firms in the fall of 2017. Now, the company has been brought back to Silicon Valley, where it hopes to build a new line of competitive processors for AI workloads.

If Canyon Bridge Capital Partners (Palo Alto, Calif.) succeeds in purchasing Imagination Technologies without a hitch, it will be the very first time the Chinese government-backed buyout fund has closed any deal since the firm was founded in 2016.

Imagination made a name for itself as the designer of the graphics accelerators in Apple's smartphones and tablets. Now it's designed a new range of processing cores that chip makers can use to accelerate artificial intelligence algorithms in their own hardware.

Imagination Technologies, the Hertfordshire-based maker of mobile graphics processors, agreed a sale to Canyon Bridge, which is backed by state-owned Chinese fund Yitai Capital, in a deal valuing the British chipmaker at about GBP550 million (US$744 million).

Imagination Technologies has become a takeover target for a private equity fund backed by the Chinese government.

Imagination Technologies has formally put itself up for sale, as a result of the impact of Apple's decision to stop using its products.

Sondrel, an IC design services firm based in the UK, has agreed to buy Imagination Technologies' IMGworks division for an undisclosed sum.

Follow the current and you see signs of other activity within the Apple supply chain core. Credit Suisse this morning warns that Synaptics may also be at risk as its biggest client moves component design in house.

Imagination Technologies was forced to issue an announcement on Apple's intention to stop using its GPU tech in the next 15-24 months. With over 50% of Imagination Technologies' revenue coming from Apple alone, its share price understandably collapsed 70%.

Following Apple's decision to not pursue an acquisition of mobile GPU developer Imagination Technologies, at least 25 staffers and management personnel have jumped ship to Apple in the last few months.

Shares in Imagination Technologies fell as much as 8% on Tuesday after the UK chip designer posted its worst ever annual losses

IPhone supplier Imagination Technologies has jumped nearly 13% following news that a Chinese state-backed business has taken a 3% stake in the chip designer.

Apple is in "advanced talks" to acquire British chip design company Imagination Technologies, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions. When Ars sought comment, Imagination Technologies refused to deny any such planned takeover.

Imagination Technologies, the British company whose graphics power Apple's iPhone, said it would make new cost cuts, including job losses, to speed up a turnaround plan.

Sir Hossein Yassaie, the CEO of graphics core licensor Imagination Technologies Group, has stepped down as chief executive amid a growing financial crisis at the company he has guided for many years.

Imagination Technologies, the British company that supplies graphics technology to Apple, forecast a surprise loss for its first half after the semiconductor market turned weaker in the June quarter.

Imagination Technologies has announced the appointment of industry veteran James Liu as general manager for its expanding China operations. Liu brings to Imagination 20+ years of experience in the China electronics design industry.

Imagination Technologies wants investors to think creatively about the future of the company, after the UK-based microchip designer reported declining revenues and slipped into a loss in its half-year results.

British chip designer Imagination has produced a barebones computer to compete with the Raspberry Pi.

PowerVR Series7 is architected for the broadest range of next-generation products from wearables and IoT through automotive, mobile and consumer electronics devices, up to high-performance GPU compute.

Under the terms of the licensing arrangement, Imagination will receive on-going license fees, and royalty revenues on shipment of SoCs (Systems on Chip) incorporating Imagination's IP.

Imagination Technologies yesterday saw its shares crash 16% to a three-year low, amid slowing smartphone growth and a slide in profits.

Since Imagination's acquisition of MIPS Technologies in February 2013, the company has closed 22 MIPS related deals.

Imagination Technologies has announced the first MIPS Series5 ?？arrior P-class' CPU, representing a major step forward in feature set for high-performance MIPS CPU IP cores.

Imagination Technologies will release a new CPU design in 2014 for low-power servers.

A lack of new licensing agreements triggered a 7% fall in adjusted pre-tax profits last financial year, and analysts have suggested that the company, whose designs are used to make graphics-processing chips used in mobile devices, could be volnerable to increased competition from US rivals Qualcomm and Nvidia.

Imagination Technologies has announced that its CEO, Hossein Yassaie, has been awarded a knighthood by the Queen in Her Majesty's New Year Honours 2013.

British microprocessing firm Imagination Technologies' US$60 million pursuit of the operating business of MIPS Technologies faces competition after the US company received a higher bid from a rival firm.

ARM is part of a consortium buying the rights to MIPS' portfolio of 580 patents, contributing US$167.5 million to the total US$350 million purchase price. As for ARM itself and its consortium colleagues, its part of the deal will reduce the risk of any infringement of MIPS' patents.

MIPS Technologies has entered into separate definitive agreements with Bridge Crossing, an acquisition vehicle of Allied Security Trust, and Imagination Technologies with net proceeds of approximately US$7.31 per share in cash to each holder of MIPS common stock. The total value of the transaction represents a 40% premium to the closing price on April 11, 2012, the day prior to the first public rumor of a potential sale of MIPS.

Imagination is investing in Toumaz Microsystems, a newly-formed subsidiary of Toumaz, an Aim-traded company which has created a "digital plaster", a credit-card sized device with a wireless chip and electrocardiogram pads that remotely monitors patients' heart rate, body temperature and respiration.

Renesas Mobile will initially deploy Imagination's technologies in its cellular platforms for high-performance smartphones, tablets and in-car infotainment, but the technology will also be used by Renesas Electronics in its SoC lineups for other consumer markets.

Imagination Technologies, which designs microchips used in Apple's iPad and iPhone, has doubled its forecast for chip shipments. By 2016, the company expects more than 1bn will be shipped a year, up from a previous forecast of 500m.