- SoftBank confirms $6.5 billion deal to acquire Arm-based chipmaker Ampere
- The deal could align Ampere with Arm and previously acquired Graphcore
- The acquisition could put Arm in direct competition with its chip partners
We previously reported that Arm is considering making its own silicon, and that the British firm’s Japanese owner, SoftBank, was considering acquiring Ampere Computing, Arm‘s only independent server chip vendor, to make this a reality.
Ampere, based in Santa Clara, California and backed by Oracle, designs high-performance, energy-efficient processors optimized for AI and cloud workloads using the Arm compute platform.
An acquisition by SoftBank could shift Arm from simply licensing chip designs to manufacturing its own chips – putting it in direct competition with existing customers and expanding Arm’s footprint in the growing data center space.
Complementing Arm’s design strengths
Up until now, the acquisition had only been a strong rumor, but it’s now finally confirmed that SoftBank will be buying Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion (approximately ¥973.0 billion).
The deal, announced on March 19, 2025, will make Ampere a wholly owned subsidiary through SoftBank’s investment arm, Silver Bands 6.
SoftBank Group already owns a majority stake in Arm, and an affiliated company, Arm Technology Investment Ltd, also holds an 8.08% stake in Ampere.
The transaction has already been approved by SBG’s Board of Directors but as always with these things it remains subject to regulatory approvals, including U.S. antitrust clearance and review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
In a statement, Softbank said, “Through this strategic alignment following the transaction, Ampere’s expertise in developing and taping out Arm-based chips can be integrated, complementing design strengths of Arm Holdings.”
It added that Ampere is expected to collaborate with “group companies, investees, and business partners.”
SoftBank said the purchase will be financed through borrowings from Mizuho Bank and others. The Raine Group is serving as financial adviser, with Morrison & Foerster providing legal counsel.
Ampere will continue operating under its current structure until the deal closes, which is expected to be in the latter half of 2025.
SoftBank previously acquired UK-based chip designer Graphcore for between $400 million and $500 million.
That company was once considered a potential rival to Nvidia and AMD, but fell on hard times after failing to capitalize on the AI boom.
It’s not too much of a stretch to think that Softbank could integrate Ampere with Arm and Graphcore to build a more unified AI compute strategy across its portfolio.
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waynewilliams@onmail.com (Wayne Williams)
