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SoftBank has announced an agreement to acquire US based semiconductor design company Ampere Computing Holdings LLC for $6.5 billion
The deal, made through SoftBank subsidiary Silver Bands 6 Corp, highlights SoftBank’s growing interest in AI and energy-efficient computing technology.
Ampere specialises in high-performance, energy-efficient computing solutions based on the ARM architecture. The acquisition is expected to strengthen SoftBank’s presence in AI computing, an area of increasing importance as demand for AI-driven data processing continues to grow. “The Transaction is aligned with SBG’s broader strategic vision and commitment to driving innovation in AI and compute,” the press release read.
SoftBank’s Board of Directors has approved the deal, but it still requires regulatory clearance, including approval from US antitrust authorities and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
SoftBank expects the acquisition to close in the latter half of this year. Once finalised, Ampere will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank.
Back in June last year, SoftBank was one of the founding companies of the Global Telco AI Alliance, along with Deutsche Telekom, SK Telecom, e& and Singtel. The joint venture was signed for telco AI development, with each company equally investing.
The five companies have agreed to develop Large Language Models (LLMs) that are specifically designed to meet telco needs, in areas such as improving customer interactions via digital assistants and chatbots. The LLMs will be tailored to the needs of the five companies in their respective markets, allowing them to reach a combined customer base of around 1.3 billion people in 50 countries.
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