SoftBank nears deal to acquire chip designer Ampere

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe

SoftBank Group Corp. is in advanced talks to acquire Ampere Computing LLC, people familiar with the matter said.

The Japanese company is discussing a deal that could value the Oracle Corp.-backed chip designer at about $6.5 billion, including debt, according to the people. A transaction may be announced in the coming weeks, they said.

Bloomberg News reported last month that SoftBank and chip designer Arm Holdings Plc, which is majority-owned by SoftBank, had expressed interest in a takeover of Ampere.

While talks are at an advanced stage, they could still be delayed or falter, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Representatives for Ampere, Arm and SoftBank declined to comment.

A deal for Ampere, whose early backers also include private equity firm Carlyle Group Inc., would add to a wave of chip companies looking to capitalize on a spending boom in artificial intelligence. Oracle said last year that it owns 29% of Ampere and can exercise future investments options that would give it control of the company.

Ampere, which makes processors for data center machinery using Arm’s technology, was valued at more than $8 billion in a proposed minority investment by Japan’s SoftBank in 2021, Bloomberg News reported at the time. But the chips market has grown more competitive since then, with several large tech companies rushing to develop the same kinds of products that Ampere makes.

On Wednesday Arm gave a cautious revenue forecast, adding to concern that spending on AI computing is slowing. The company expects revenue of $1.18 billion to $1.28 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, which runs through March.

The outlook follows a disappointing forecast from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. earlier this week, sparking fears that the booming market for AI hardware is now on shakier ground. Chinese startup DeepSeek, which unveiled an inexpensively produced AI model last month, has raised the specter that technology providers won’t be generating as much revenue as predicted.