On Wednesday, SoftBank Group (OTC:SFTBF) (OTC:SFTBY) announced that it has acquired Ampere Computing in a $6.5 billion deal, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2025.

What Happened: Ampere, backed by Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) and Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG), designs high-performance server chips based on Arm Holdings PLC – ADR (NASDAQ:ARM) architecture.

Both Oracle and Carlyle will sell their stakes as part of the transaction.

Founded in 2017 by Renee James, a former Intel Corp president, Ampere will operate as an independent subsidiary of SoftBank and retain its headquarters in Santa Clara, California.

The company currently employs around 1,000 semiconductor engineers.

See Also: Goldman Sachs Flags Market Correction Risk As Inflation, Trump Policies Stir Uncertainty

Why It's Important: The acquisition signals SoftBank's aggressive pivot toward AI infrastructure, following its partnership with OpenAI and involvement in the Donald Trump-backed $500 billion Stargate initiative.

The move also bolsters SoftBank's Arm ecosystem, following its $32 billion acquisition of Arm in 2016 and Arm's 2023 IPO.

SoftBank also plans to build a $676 million AI data center in Japan. This facility is expected to support large-scale AI projects, further enhancing SoftBank’s AI ecosystem.

Earlier this week, the company also unveiled a new AI model designed to optimize telecom operations.

Photo by NP27 on Shutterstock.

Read Next:

• Jim Cramer Warns On ';Quantum Stories' As Stocks Plunge: ';We Need You Out Before The Froth Goes Away'

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.