Official filings or announcements from Ampere Computing

SoftBank, Arm Weigh $8B Ampere Acquisition Backed by Oracle

Jan 9, 2025, 01:10 AM

SoftBank Group Corp. and its majority-owned Arm Holdings Plc are exploring the acquisition of Ampere Computing LLC, a semiconductor company specializing in ARM-based server CPUs. Ampere, backed by Oracle Corp., which owns 29% of the company, and founded by former Intel executive Renee James, has been seeking strategic options, including a potential sale. The company was valued at $8 billion during a proposed minority investment by SoftBank in 2021. Ampere's technology is used in data centers and is seen as a potential boost to Arm's push into AI-focused data center chips amid an AI spending boom. Ampere had previously filed for a confidential IPO in 2022. Discussions are ongoing, and while Ampere has drawn interest from Arm, the deal is not guaranteed as other suitors may emerge. Representatives for SoftBank, Arm, and Ampere have declined to comment.