Under the terms of the agreement, Ampere will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group and retain its name. Ampere’s lead investors – Carlyle and Oracle – are to sell their respective positions in Ampere.
SoftBank Group has been broadening its AI infrastructure investments in ventures such as Cristal intelligence and Stargate, and this acquisition will be seen as helping to enhance SoftBank’s capabilities in key areas and accelerate its growth initiatives.
“The future of Artificial Super Intelligence requires breakthrough computing power,” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group. “Ampere’s expertise in semiconductors and high-performance computing will help accelerate this vision and deepens our commitment to AI innovation in the United States.”
“With a shared vision for advancing AI, we are excited to join SoftBank Group and partner with its portfolio of leading technology companies,” added Renée J. James, Founder and CEO of Ampere. “This is a fantastic outcome for our team, and we are excited to drive forward our AmpereOne roadmap for high performance Arm processors and AI.”
Founded in Silicon Valley in 2018 with an initial focus on cloud-native computing, Ampere has since expanded into sustainable AI compute. The company has multiple products for a spectrum of cloud workloads from the edge to cloud data centres
SoftBank will acquire Ampere for cash and the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025.
Ampere’s headquarters will remain in Santa Clara, CA.
