SoftBank to buy arm-based AI chipmaker for $6.5bn

March 20, 2025 09:56 AM

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Softbank has expanded its AI portfolio with a $6.5 billion deal to buy Ampere Computing, a Silicon Valley startup developing Arm-based sustainable AI chips.

SoftBank believes Ampere’s chips will play an integral role in the future of AI, an area currently dominated by Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs).

The technology, licensed from Arm Holdings which SoftBank acquired in 2016, is the same that powers nearly all smartphones globally.

Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s chair and CEO said: "The future of AI requires breakthrough computing power. Ampere’s expertise in semiconductors and high-performance computing will help accelerate this vision and deepen our commitment to AI innovation in the US."

Ampere’s chips are designed to handle both general-purpose computing and AI tasks, which include critical workloads such as machine learning, natural language processing, and deep learning.

Companies are vying to build the next-generation chips to power growing AI training and inference workloads SoftBank’s acquisition of Ampere will allow the company to integrate Ampere’s expertise into its existing ARM ecosystem, which could help the firm meet the growing demand for AI-driven computing power.

Earlier this year SoftBank unveiled the $500 billion Stargate project that aims to build state-of-the-art AI infrastructure for OpenAI over the next four years.

The initiative launched with an immediate investment of $100 billion. At the time of launch SoftBank stated it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US, spurring economic growth and offering long-term benefits to the global economy.

At the time of the launch Son said: “The Stargate Project is not just an investment in AI but in the future of American industry and global security.”

“This initiative will drive innovation and economic prosperity, positioning the U.S. at the forefront of AI technology development.”

The partnership structure of the project includes SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX as the initial equity funders. SoftBank and OpenAI will serve as the lead partners, with SoftBank taking financial responsibility and OpenAI handling operational oversight. Masayoshi Son will serve as the chairman of the project, guiding its development and execution.

Among the project's key technology partners are some of the biggest names in the industry, including Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI. These companies will collaborate closely to build and operate the advanced computing systems required to support the ambitious goals of Stargate. The collaboration builds on a longstanding relationship between OpenAI and NVIDIA, which began in 2016, and a more recent partnership between OpenAI and Oracle.