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Oracle-Backed Ampere Computing Considers Sale amid Competitive Chip Market

Oracle

Business Honor
20 September, 2024

Semiconductor startup explores strategic options as AI demand surges and IPO plans stall.

Growing competition in the chip market has led Ampere Computing LLC, the semiconductor firm sponsored by Larry Ellison of Oracle, to consider a possible sale. The Santa Clara-based business has hired a financial advisor to determine whether bigger companies in the industry are interested.

Ampere's route to an IPO seems unclear, despite the company profiting from the current AI boom, which has led to talks about a possible sale. The company produces semiconductors based on Arm Holdings technology and includes big cloud providers like Microsoft and Google among its clients. It was valued at $8 billion during a planned investment by SoftBank Group in 2021.

Renee James, the company's founder and CEO and a former Intel executive, had originally planned for an IPO, but new market conditions have forced a reassessment. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s advanced manufacturing knowledge is being used by Ampere to position itself with energy-efficient devices as firms move away from regular CPUs and toward specialist chips like those from Nvidia.

Ampere is still open to possibilities, including continuing to be independent, but deal activity in the semiconductor industry continues to rise, with transaction values more than doubling to over $60 billion this year.