SoftBank Group completed its $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing Holdings, an American semiconductor design company, on Wednesday, following an initial announcement in March to advance its artificial intelligence and computing initiatives.
Ampere Computing, based in Santa Clara, California, was founded in 2017 by Renée J. James, a former executive at Intel. The company now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank. This transaction positions Ampere directly under SoftBank’s control, enabling closer integration with the Japanese conglomerate’s broader technology portfolio. SoftBank indicated that it continues to assess the deal’s effects on its overall financial performance, with ongoing reviews to determine precise accounting and operational adjustments.
SoftBank’s shares responded positively to the completion of the acquisition, closing 5.1 percent higher in Tokyo. During trading hours, the stock climbed as much as 8 percent, reflecting investor approval of the strategic move in the semiconductor sector. This uptick occurred amid SoftBank’s efforts to strengthen its position in high-growth areas like AI hardware design.
Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank Group and Japan’s wealthiest individual with a net worth of $51.8 billion, regards the Ampere acquisition as a key component of his strategy to foster innovation in artificial intelligence and computing technologies. Son’s vision emphasizes building robust ecosystems for next-generation computing solutions. The deal aligns Ampere with other entities within the SoftBank group and its investment network, creating opportunities for collaborative development in chip technologies.
Ampere specializes in ARM-based processors, utilizing designs from Arm Holdings, a British semiconductor architecture firm in which SoftBank holds a majority stake. In its March announcement, SoftBank stated, “Ampere’s expertise in developing and taping out ARM‑based chips can be integrated, complementing design strengths of Arm Holdings.” This integration involves combining Ampere’s production capabilities with Arm’s architectural expertise, potentially streamlining the process from design to manufacturing readiness for AI applications.
To support its AI ambitions, SoftBank has restructured its investments. In November, the company sold its complete holdings in Nvidia, the prominent chipmaker, for $5.8 billion. These funds have provided essential capital for expanding commitments to OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. SoftBank pledged $30 billion to OpenAI and entered into arrangements to finance the Stargate AI mega-infrastructure project, a large-scale initiative based in the United States aimed at enhancing AI computational resources.
Despite these advancements, SoftBank faces challenges from intensifying competition in the AI landscape. Google released its Gemini 3 AI model, which experts consider superior to OpenAI’s offerings in terms of advancement. Marc Benioff, co-founder of Salesforce and a billionaire entrepreneur, remarked that he would not return to ChatGPT after experiencing Gemini 3, describing it as featuring an “insane” leap in reasoning capabilities. This development highlights the rapid evolution of AI models and their varying performance metrics.
Uncertainty surrounding OpenAI’s trajectory has impacted SoftBank’s market performance. On Tuesday, the company’s shares dropped nearly 11 percent due to these concerns. By the following day, the stock partially rebounded, aligning with the positive reception of the Ampere acquisition announcement.
