SoftBank Acquires Ampere by ex-Intel Team for $6.5 billion

Seven years after it was started by ex-Intel folks, SoftBank is acquiring Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion. Ampere was focusing on developing chips for data centers and hyper-scalers. SoftBank wants them to be part of their “AI” push. 

Ampere makes high-performance Arm CPUs such as AmpereOne Aurora, which can have as many as 512 Ampere Cores. It uses Arm ISA but had developed its own custom cores. SoftBank had previously acquired struggling AI chip company Graphcore. “SoftBank was rumored to be looking to invest in Ampere alongside Oracle back in 2021 in a deal that would have valued it at $8 billion,” reports Data Center Dynamics. “In 2022, the company confidentially filed for an initial public offering but ultimately never listed.”

The New York Times notes that “the market for microprocessors sold for A.I. will grow to $33 billion by 2030 from $12.5 billion in 2025.” The Wall Street Journal reports that Carlyle Group and Oracle own 60% and 32% stakes in the company. It has been losing money for a while, and revenues have been dropping as well. The New York Times points out that “As of May, Oracle said it held a 29 percent stake in Ampere; it put the value of its investments, after accounting for losses, at $1.5 billion.”