SoftBank Completes $6.5 Billion Ampere Computing Acquisition to Strengthen AI Strategy

SoftBank Completes Ampere Acquisition Amid Stock Decline Tensions | AIM

Ampere will now be "an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary" once closed and would support SoftBank's broader AI strategy. SoftBank Group has completed the acquisition of all equity interests in Ampere Computing. The deal makes Ampere a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank and brings the semiconductor firm into SoftBank's consolidated financial statements. SoftBank carried out the takeover through its subsidiary Silver Bands 6 (US) Corp. The company said it is reviewing the financial impact of the transaction and will disclose details if required. Ampere, a Santa Clara based semiconductor design company, focuses on AI compute built on the ARM platform. This comes just after the Japanese giant sold all its NVIDIA shares earlier this month. SoftBank had first announced its plan to acquire Ampere on March 20 for $6.5 billion. In that statement, SoftBank said the transaction would make Ampere "an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary" once closed and would support its broader AI strategy. SoftBank had also noted that Ampere could complement the chip design work of Arm. The deal was subject to US antitrust clearance, approval by the foreign investment committee and other closing conditions. Ampere was founded in 2017 by Renée J James, its chairman and CEO. The company designs processors for cloud computing and AI workloads. Its earlier financials in the attached document show revenue of $151.8 million in 2022, $46.7 million in 2023 and a further decline the following year, along with continued losses. SoftBank said in the new update that Ampere's results will now be consolidated and that it will provide further disclosures if any arise from the review of the financial impact. The company also said, "Should any matters requiring disclosure arise in the future, SBG will announce them promptly."

SoftBank completes $6.5B Ampere Computing acquisition

SoftBank Group completed its $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing Holdings, an American semiconductor design company, on Wednesday, following an initial announcement in March to advance its artificial intelligence and computing initiatives. Ampere Computing, based in Santa Clara, California, was founded in 2017 by Renée J. James, a former executive at Intel. The company now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank. This transaction positions Ampere directly under SoftBank's control, enabling closer integration with the Japanese conglomerate's broader technology portfolio. SoftBank indicated that it continues to assess the deal's effects on its overall financial performance, with ongoing reviews to determine precise accounting and operational adjustments. SoftBank's shares responded positively to the completion of the acquisition, closing 5.1 percent higher in Tokyo. During trading hours, the stock climbed as much as 8 percent, reflecting investor approval of the strategic move in the semiconductor sector. This uptick occurred amid SoftBank's efforts to strengthen its position in high-growth areas like AI hardware design. Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank Group and Japan's wealthiest individual with a net worth of $51.8 billion, regards the Ampere acquisition as a key component of his strategy to foster innovation in artificial intelligence and computing technologies. Son's vision emphasizes building robust ecosystems for next-generation computing solutions. The deal aligns Ampere with other entities within the SoftBank group and its investment network, creating opportunities for collaborative development in chip technologies. Ampere specializes in ARM-based processors, utilizing designs from Arm Holdings, a British semiconductor architecture firm in which SoftBank holds a majority stake. In its March announcement, SoftBank stated, "Ampere's expertise in developing and taping out ARM‑based chips can be integrated, complementing design strengths of Arm Holdings." This integration involves combining Ampere's production capabilities with Arm's architectural expertise, potentially streamlining the process from design to manufacturing readiness for AI applications. To support its AI ambitions, SoftBank has restructured its investments. In November, the company sold its complete holdings in Nvidia, the prominent chipmaker, for $5.8 billion. These funds have provided essential capital for expanding commitments to OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. SoftBank pledged $30 billion to OpenAI and entered into arrangements to finance the Stargate AI mega-infrastructure project, a large-scale initiative based in the United States aimed at enhancing AI computational resources. Despite these advancements, SoftBank faces challenges from intensifying competition in the AI landscape. Google released its Gemini 3 AI model, which experts consider superior to OpenAI's offerings in terms of advancement. Marc Benioff, co-founder of Salesforce and a billionaire entrepreneur, remarked that he would not return to ChatGPT after experiencing Gemini 3, describing it as featuring an "insane" leap in reasoning capabilities. This development highlights the rapid evolution of AI models and their varying performance metrics. Uncertainty surrounding OpenAI's trajectory has impacted SoftBank's market performance. On Tuesday, the company's shares dropped nearly 11 percent due to these concerns. By the following day, the stock partially rebounded, aligning with the positive reception of the Ampere acquisition announcement.