In a bold move underscoring its expansive investment strategy, SoftBank has announced the acquisition of Ampere Computing, a leader in chip design, for $6.2 billion in cash. This purchase positions Ampere as a subsidiary of the SoftBank Group, further strengthening the conglomerate’s influence in the semiconductor market.

About Ampere Computing

Ampere Computing, founded in 2017 by Renee James, former President of Intel, focuses on developing high-performance AI chips utilizing the Arm architecture. The Silicon Valley-based firm has successfully raised $814 million to date, with substantial backing from Oracle and the Carlyle Group.

SoftBank’s Relationship with Arm

This acquisition is not SoftBank’s first venture into the Arm ecosystem. In 2016, the company made headlines by purchasing Arm Holdings for $32 billion, a move that has proven fruitful given Arm’s recent public offering, which has seen its market capitalization soar to approximately $124 billion.

Strategic Focus on AI Infrastructure

The addition of Ampere fits seamlessly into SoftBank’s broader ambition to enhance its AI infrastructure investments. The company highlighted its recent endeavors, such as a partnership with OpenAI aimed at developing advanced enterprise AI solutions.

Moreover, SoftBank is taking a leadership role in The Stargate Project, an ambitious initiative aiming to allocate $500 billion over the next four years toward developing AI datacenters and related infrastructure, with Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s CEO, serving as chairman.

Vision Fund Resurgence

SoftBank’s Vision Fund has also shown signs of renewed vigor, participating in various funding rounds after a period of retrenchment. The fund has engaged in at least eight funding rounds this year alone, showing renewed commitment to its investment strategy.

• Leading a $130 million Series C round for Terabase Energy.
• Participating in a $120 million financing for Cybereason.
• Investing in Metsera’s $215 million Series B and Eruditus Executive Education’s $150 million Series F.

Future Outlook

Additionally, the Vision Fund made a strategic investment in Wiz, a cloud security startup, further diversifying its portfolio. If Google successfully completes its expected $32 billion acquisition of Wiz, this could yield significant returns for SoftBank.