SoftBank to acquire chip startup Ampere Computing for $6.5B to boost AI and Arm-based chip investments

SoftBank Group announced on Wednesday that it plans to buy Ampere Computing, a semiconductor startup specializing in Arm-based server chips, in a $6.5 billion deal. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

The acquisition would strengthen the Japanese giant’s capabilities in key areas and support its growth plans as it expands its investments in AI infrastructure, including ventures such as Cristal Intelligence and Stargate.

The news of the acquisition comes weeks after SoftBank announced it was in talks to secure a $16 billion loan to fuel its artificial intelligence ambitions.

Ampere was founded in Silicon Valley in 2018 with a focus on cloud-native computing. Since then the startup has expanded into sustainable AI compute, offering a diverse range of products designed for workloads across the cloud, from edge computing to large-scale data centers.

“With a shared vision for advancing AI, we are excited to join SoftBank Group and partner with its portfolio of leading technology companies,” said Renée J. James, Founder and CEO of Ampere. “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.”

Renee James, founder and chief executive officer of Ampere Computing

Meanwhile, private equity firm Carlyle Group and Oracle, both investors in Ampere, have agreed to sell their stakes. Ampere will continue to operate independently with its headquarters in Santa Clara, California, according to SoftBank.

“The future of Artificial Super Intelligence requires breakthrough computing power,” SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said. “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.”

Ampere has about 1,000 semiconductor engineers, according to SoftBank. The company was founded in 2017 by Renee James, a former Intel president who spent nearly three decades at the chip giant.

SoftBank has been making bigger moves in AI infrastructure, including a recent partnership with OpenAI to develop enterprise AI solutions. The company is also involved in Stargate, a $500 billion private AI investment initiative linked to President Donald Trump.

SoftBank has been in the semiconductor business for years. It acquired British chip designer Arm in 2016 for $32 billion and took the company public in 2023, CNBC reported.

Ampere’s chips, based on Arm’s instruction set, offer an alternative to x86-based processors from Intel and AMD. Arm-based chips have gained traction in cloud computing due to their energy efficiency. Amazon Web Services offers its own Graviton Arm chips, which have been widely adopted by enterprise customers. Microsoft introduced its Cobalt 100 Arm-based cloud computing instances last October.