Do Son 
Following earlier reports of SoftBank engaging in acquisition discussions with Ampere Computing, the company has now officially confirmed the $6.5 billion acquisition. As a result, Ampere Computing will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank while maintaining independent operations. Its headquarters will remain in Santa Clara, California, and its founder, Renée James, will continue to serve as CEO.
Ampere Computing was founded by former Intel president Renée James and is primarily known for developing server processors based on the Arm architecture. However, in a move toward greater independence, the company introduced its proprietary processor brand, AmpereOne, aiming to reduce reliance on Arm’s designs. In May 2023, Ampere unveiled a 192-core processor specifically designed for cloud-native workloads. Additionally, the company has forged a strategic partnership with Qualcomm to develop a new generation of data center processors, seeking to reduce the AI industry’s dependence on GPUs.
In 2021, Ampere Computing had a market valuation of $8 billion, but due to financial liabilities, its valuation has now declined to $6.5 billion, allowing SoftBank to acquire the company at this revised price. Following the acquisition, SoftBank will take over the shares previously held by Carlyle Group, a U.S. private equity firm, and Oracle.
With Ampere Computing now under the SoftBank umbrella, it is highly likely that the company will deepen its collaboration with Arm, accelerating efforts to expand Arm’s presence in the data center industry. However, it remains uncertain how this acquisition might impact other companies that currently utilize or plan to adopt Arm-based architectures for data center-grade processors.
