In a bold move this year, SoftBank revealed plans to acquire Ampere Computing, a leading chip design company, for $6.2 billion in cash. Following the deal, Ampere will operate as a fully owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group.

Founded in 2017 by former Intel President Renee James, Ampere Computing is based in Silicon Valley and specializes in designing high-performance AI chips using the Arm architecture. The company has previously secured $814 million in funding, with major investors like Oracle and private equity firm Carlyle backing it.

SoftBank’s Investment in the Arm Ecosystem
SoftBank has significant experience with the Arm ecosystem. In 2016, it purchased British chipmaker Arm Holdings for $32 billion, a move that paid off when Arm went public in 2023 with a market capitalization of around $124 billion.

Expanding SoftBank’s AI Portfolio
The acquisition of Ampere fits into SoftBank’s growing focus on AI infrastructure. The company highlighted other recent AI-related investments, including a partnership with OpenAI to advance enterprise AI technologies. Additionally, SoftBank is a lead partner in The Stargate Project, a $500 billion initiative aimed at building AI data centers and infrastructure over the next four years. SoftBank’s chief, Masayoshi Son, will serve as chairman of the project.

Vision Fund’s Resurgence
SoftBank’s Vision Fund, once known for being among the most active investors, took a step back in recent quarters. However, the fund is now making a strong comeback in 2023. According to Crunchbase data, it has participated in eight funding rounds so far this year. In the last two weeks alone, it led investments of $130 million in solar startup Terabase Energy and $120 million in cybersecurity company Cybereason.

In other notable deals, the Vision Fund joined a $215 million Series B round for biopharmaceutical startup Metsera and participated in India-based Eruditus Executive Education’s $150 million Series F round. The fund also made a strategic investment in cloud security firm Wiz, which could yield significant returns if Google’s $32 billion acquisition of the company goes through.

SoftBank’s Ambitious Moves
With these high-profile deals, SoftBank’s aggressive strategy to dominate the AI and tech sectors is evident. The acquisition of Ampere, along with its other investments, positions the company as a major player in the rapidly growing AI industry.