About Ampere Computing
Ampere Computing is a fabless semiconductor company that designs Arm-based central processing units with high core counts for cloud computing and data center use. It was founded in 2017 by Renee James, a former president of Intel, with funding from The Carlyle Group. The company sells its processors, including the Altra and AmpereOne families, to cloud providers and server makers, which use them for cloud-native workloads and AI inference. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure was an early and major customer and also an investor. Ampere designs its chips under an Arm architecture licence and relies on outside foundries to manufacture them. Its headquarters are in Santa Clara, California. SoftBank Group acquired all of its equity in November 2025, and it now operates as a subsidiary of SoftBank.
Founded
2017
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$6.5B (acquired Mar 2025)
Ampere Computing Acquisition
Ampere Computing was acquired by SoftBank for $6.5B on 20 March 2025.
Before the acquisition Ampere Computing had raised $380M across 4 funding rounds.
Ampere Computing, a Santa Clara-based semiconductor design company founded in 2017 by Renée J. James, specializes in high-performance, energy-efficient ARM-based processors for cloud-native computing, data centers, and sustainable AI workloads, employing around 1,000 engineers and advancing its AmpereOne roadmap. SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese conglomerate and majority shareholder in Arm Holdings, acquired Ampere for $6.5 billion (approximately ¥973 billion) in an all-cash transaction announced on March 19, 2025, through its subsidiary Silver Bands 6 (US) Corp., with Carlyle and Oracle selling their stakes. The deal positions Ampere as a wholly owned subsidiary retaining its name and operations, financed partly by borrowings from Mizuho Bank, amid SoftBank's AI infrastructure push including ventures like Cristal Intelligence, Stargate, and Graphcore. SoftBank's strategic rationale centers on accelerating artificial super intelligence through Ampere's semiconductor expertise, integrating it with the Arm ecosystem and group companies to enhance high-performance computing for AI and cloud markets. The transaction, approved by SoftBank's board on March 17, 2025, closed on November 25, 2025, after regulatory approvals, with Ampere's financials now consolidated into SoftBank's statements; the impact on consolidated results remains under review. Masayoshi Son emphasized Ampere's role in U.S. AI innovation, while James highlighted alignment on AI advancement and the AmpereOne processor roadmap. The acquisition strengthens SoftBank's control over energy-efficient data center chips amid rising demand for scalable AI compute, complementing its Arm and Graphcore holdings to build an integrated ecosystem, with positive market reaction including SoftBank shares rising up to 8% post-closure.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Mar 2025 | Strategic M&A | $6.5B |
Sources: group.softbank, amperecomputing.com
Ampere Computing Funding History
Ampere Computing has raised a total of $380M across 4 funding rounds.
Ampere Computing's first fundraising round was a undisclosed-stage round in December 2017. The most recent completed round was a $300M strategic investment round in March 2021.
Ampere Computing funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2021 | Strategic investment | Oracle (lead) | $300M | Oracle invested a further $300 million in a subsequent equity fundraising round for Ampere Computing in March 2021, following its earlier investments of $40 million. Oracle was the sole backer of the round. Ampere's chairman and chief executive, Renee James, is an Oracle director, and Oracle had appointed one director to Ampere's board. Oracle had also undertaken to acquire additional equity in Ampere under certain circumstances. Ampere designs high-performance Arm-based semiconductors for hyperscale cloud, storage and edge computing, and Oracle adopted its Altra processors for its cloud infrastructure. The company was founded in 2017 and is based in the United States. |
| Jul 2020 | Strategic investment | Oracle | $40M | Oracle invested $40 million in an equity fundraising round for Ampere Computing in July 2020, adding to its April 2019 investment of the same size. Oracle disclosed the investment in its proxy statement. Ampere's chairman and chief executive Renee James is an Oracle director, and Oracle had appointed one director to Ampere's board. Ampere designs high-performance semiconductors for hyperscale cloud, storage and edge computing. The company was founded in 2017 by James, a former president of Intel, and is backed by The Carlyle Group. |
| Apr 2019 | Strategic investment | Oracle (lead); ARM; Carlyle Group | $40M | Oracle invested $40 million in an equity fundraising round for Ampere Computing in April 2019, a stake of less than 20 percent, which Oracle disclosed in its proxy statement in September 2019. The round also included Arm Holdings and The Carlyle Group, which Ampere announced in April without naming Oracle. Oracle appointed one director to Ampere's board, and Ampere's chairman and chief executive Renee James had served on Oracle's board since 2015. Ampere designs microprocessors for cloud and edge servers. James, who spent 28 years at Intel and left as president in 2016 to join Carlyle, launched Ampere in 2017 to develop data center processors. Oracle said it was also a customer of the chipmaker. |
| Dec 2017 | Undisclosed stage | Carlyle Group | - | The Carlyle Group funded the founding of Ampere Computing in the autumn of 2017. Renee James, a former president of Intel and an operating executive at Carlyle, launched the company to design Arm-based central processing units with high core counts for cloud computing and data center use. Financial terms of the initial funding were not disclosed. Ampere is a fabless semiconductor company, and James serves as its chairman and chief executive. Carlyle remained the company's private equity owner until SoftBank Group acquired it in 2025. |
Who has invested in Ampere Computing?
3 investors have backed Ampere Computing across its funding rounds, including Oracle, Carlyle Group and ARM.
Lead investors include Oracle.
Ampere Computing Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lead | Apr 2019 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Ampere Computing
Ampere Computing has acquired 1 company to date.
Last acquisition by Ampere Computing was on July 28th 2021. Ampere Computing acquired OnSpecta for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Ampere Computing
| Description | OnSpecta is a provider of Deep Learning Software that optimizes AI inference on CPUs for cloud and edge deployments. The DLS engine accelerates workloads in frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch, delivering performance gains for computer vision and NLP applications in data centers worldwide. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | San Francisco, CA |
| Deal Date | 28 Jul 2021 |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Ampere Computing acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |
Ampere Computing Competitors
Ampere Computing competitors include listed companies like Iluvatar CoreX and Shenzhen Fastprint, and private ones like PsiQuantum, Fractile, Lightmatter and GTA Semiconductor.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $7B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $7.1B | - | ||
| Private | $50M | - | $4.4B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $4.1B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $155M | ($125M) | $6.3B | 15.1x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.1B | $113M | $6.5B | 5.3x |
Ampere Computing Public Comps
Ampere Computing is no longer listed, but its public comps include Shenzhen Fastprint, China Aerospace Times, Kingsemi, Tripod Technology, Guoxin Micro, GRINM Semiconductor, FormFactor, Maxone Semiconductor, Jiangxi Redboard Technology and Iluvatar CoreX.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.1B | $113M | 6.9x | 5.3x | 66.1x | 36.2x | |||
| $2.1B | $167M | 3.6x | 3.2x | 45.1x | - | |||
| $292M | $26M | 22.7x | 18.6x | 255.1x | 241.6x | |||
| $2.2B | $533M | 2.7x | 2.0x | 11.2x | 7.5x | |||
| $922M | $259M | 6.8x | 6.4x | 24.1x | 21.4x | |||
| $151M | $57M | 40.5x | 42.1x | 107.8x | 122.2x | |||
| $785M | $97M | 7.6x | 5.9x | 61.9x | 19.4x | |||
| $152M | $76M | 40.0x | - | 79.7x | - | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Ampere Computing competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Ampere Computing
| When was Ampere Computing founded? | Ampere Computing was founded in 2017. |
| Where is Ampere Computing headquartered? | Ampere Computing is headquartered in Santa Clara, United States. |
| Is Ampere Computing publicly listed? | No, Ampere Computing was acquired by SoftBank in March 2025. |
| Who acquired Ampere Computing? | Ampere Computing was acquired by SoftBank in March 2025. |
| How much was Ampere Computing acquired for? | Ampere Computing was acquired for $6.5B in March 2025. |
| How much funding has Ampere Computing raised? | Ampere Computing has raised $380M across 4 funding rounds. |
| What was Ampere Computing's last funding round? | Ampere Computing's last funding round was a $300M strategic investment round in March 2021, led by Oracle. |
| Who are Ampere Computing's investors? | Ampere Computing's investors include Oracle, Carlyle Group and ARM. |
| Which companies are comparable to Ampere Computing? | Companies comparable to Ampere Computing include PsiQuantum, Fractile, Lightmatter, GTA Semiconductor, Iluvatar CoreX and Shenzhen Fastprint. |
| How many companies has Ampere Computing acquired? | Ampere Computing has acquired 1 company, including OnSpecta. |
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