SoftBank Group has announced plans to acquire Ampere Computing, a startup that designed an Arm-based server chip, for $6.5 billion. The deal is part of SoftBank’s efforts to expand its investments in AI infrastructure.
Ampere will remain an independent subsidiary and retain its headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Carlyle Group and Oracle have both agreed to sell their stakes in Ampere as part of the acquisition.
SoftBank expects the deal to be completed by the end of 2025. The Japanese company believes that Ampere’s expertise in semiconductors and high-performance computing will help accelerate its AI vision.
Ampere has around 1,000 semiconductor engineers on staff. Its founder and CEO, Renee James, previously worked at Intel for 28 years before establishing the startup in 2017.
The acquisition comes as SoftBank continues to broaden its investments in AI infrastructure, including a partnership with OpenAI announced last month. This deal is expected to further enhance SoftBank’s portfolio of leading technology companies.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/19/softbank-to-acquire-chip-designer-ampere-in-6point5-billion-deal.html