SoftBank plans to acquire Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion.
Ampere will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group and retain its name, while lead investors Carlyle and Oracle will sell their stakes.
Ampere develops high performance Arm CPUs, primarily for the data center market, and is available on most major cloud providers. The company has focused on the high-end of the server market, with its AmpereOne Aurora sporting up to 512 Ampere Cores.
While it uses the base Arm ISA, it develops its own custom cores - which both gives it more control over the development of the chips, and reduces its licensing fees to Arm.
SoftBank, meanwhile, remains the single largest shareholder of Arm, which unsuccessfully sued Qualcomm over its own attempts to develop custom cores and reduce fees with its Nuvia acquisition.
Arm is also planning to release its own server CPU, moving beyond the licensing model to develop products that compete with its customers - including Ampere. The company is rumored to be developing an AI chip.
SoftBank has also acquired struggling AI chip company Graphcore, and is believed to be looking into setting up another AI chip venture for $100bn. The company is also the largest backer of OpenAI's Stargate (and an OpenAI funder itself).
For now, Ampere will be separate to Arm, but longer term plans are unclear. Subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
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“The future of Artificial Super Intelligence requires breakthrough computing power,” said Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. “Ampere’s expertise in semiconductors and high-performance computing will help accelerate this vision, and deepens our commitment to AI innovation in the United States.”
Renée J. James, founder and CEO of Ampere, added: “With a shared vision for advancing AI, we are excited to join SoftBank Group and partner with its portfolio of leading technology companies,” said . “This is a fantastic outcome for our team, and we are excited to drive forward our AmpereOne roadmap for high performance Arm processors and AI.”
SoftBank was rumored to be looking to invest in Ampere alongside Oracle back in 2021 in a deal that would have valued it at $8 billion. In 2022, the company confidentially filed for an initial public offering, but ultimately never listed.
