SoftBank Group To Acquire Ampere Computing For US$6.5 Bln 

KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 (Bernama) -- SoftBank Group Corp (SoftBank Group) has announced the acquisition of Ampere Computing, an independent silicon design company, in an all-cash transaction valued at US$6.5 billion. (US$1=RM4.42)

Following the acquisition, Ampere will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group while retaining its name. Ampere's major investors, Carlyle and Oracle Corp, will divest their respective stakes in the company as part of the deal.

In a statement, SoftBank Group said this acquisition is a strategic move to strengthen SoftBank’s efforts to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investments, which include ventures such as Cristal Intelligence and Stargate.

SoftBank Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Masayoshi Son said the future of artificial superintelligence requires breakthrough computing power.

“Ampere’s expertise in semiconductors and high-performance computing will accelerate this vision and strengthen our commitment to AI innovation in the United States,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ampere Founder and CEO, Renee James said the company is excited to join SoftBank and collaborate with its portfolio of technology firms.

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“This is a fantastic outcome for our team, and we look forward to advancing our AmpereOne roadmap for high-performance Arm processors and AI,” she said.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of this year, while Ampere’s headquarters will remain in Santa Clara, California.

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2018, Ampere initially focused on cloud-native computing before expanding into sustainable AI compute while the SoftBank Group invested in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people worldwide.

-- BERNAMA