Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group is acquiring chipmaking start-up company Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion U.S.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year and has been made possible by both the Carlyle Group (CG) and Oracle (ORCL) agreeing to sell their stakes in Ampere.
Once the deal concludes, Ampere will operate as an independent subsidiary and maintain its headquarters in Silicon Valley, California, said SoftBank in a news release.
Although a privately held start-up, Ampere has 1,000 semiconductor engineers, according to SoftBank, and has designed microchips for companies such as Arm Holdings (ARM).
Softbank purchased British chip designer Arm Holdings in 2016 for $32 billion U.S., with the company holding an initial public offering (IPO) in 2023.
SoftBank has been broadening out its investments in AI infrastructure, including participating in U.S. President Donald Trump’s $500 billion U.S. AI project called “Stargate.”
Ampere was established in 2017 by Renee James, a former executive at Intel (INTC).
SoftBank’s stock trades exclusively on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company’s share price has declined 16% in the past 12 months.
