Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA) Celebrates Renee James on Ampere’s Acquisition by SoftBank Group

The Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA) congratulates Renee James, Founder and CEO of Ampere Computing, on the company’s acquisition by SoftBank Group. A visionary leader in technology, James continues to drive innovation and break barriers in the semiconductor industry. EWA proudly celebrates her achievements and impact. Ms James was a founding sponsor of EWA enabling its creation as a 501C3 in 2017, served on EWA’s Advisory Board for 5 years and in 2024 was accepted into EWA as a participant.

SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE: 9984, “SoftBank Group”) announced last week that it will acquire Ampere® Computing, a leading independent silicon design company, in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.5 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Ampere will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group and retain its name. As part of the transaction, Ampere’s lead investors – Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) and Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) – are selling their respective positions in Ampere.

As SoftBank Group broadens its AI infrastructure investments in ventures such as Cristal intelligence and Stargate, the acquisition will help enhance SoftBank Group’s capabilities in key areas and accelerate its growth initiatives.

“The future of Artificial Super Intelligence requires breakthrough computing power,” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. “Ampere’s expertise in semiconductors and high-performance computing will help accelerate this vision, and deepens our commitment to AI innovation in the United States.”

Renee James, Founder and CEO of Ampere Computing

“With a shared vision for advancing AI, we are excited to join SoftBank Group and partner with its portfolio of leading technology companies,” said Renee James, Founder and CEO of Ampere. “This is a fantastic outcome for our team, and we are excited to drive forward our AmpereOne® roadmap for high performance Arm processors and AI.”

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2018 with an initial focus on cloud-native computing, Ampere has since expanded into sustainable AI compute. The company has multiple products for a spectrum of cloud workloads from the edge to the cloud data center.

Transaction Details Under the terms of the agreement, SoftBank will acquire Ampere for $6.5 billion in cash. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Ampere’s headquarters will remain in Santa Clara, CA.

About the Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA) The Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA) is an invitation-only peer mentorship organization where high-potential, high-level Exceptional Women from across multiple industries are hand-selected and invested in, to grow, learn, share, and succeed. In addition to the achievement of significant success, the criteria for acceptance include character traits that are defining of the EWA Culture – Kindness, the Spirit of Generosity, Transparency, Gratitude, and Willingness to Share their knowledge. The Foundation is a powerhouse of peer-to-peer mentoring that provides guidance, deep connection, and leadership, propelling each woman to sustainable personal and professional happiness, changing lives, one woman at a time. The life-long program enables each member to be connected as alumnae in the ever-expanding EWA global community, as their fellow women leaders continue to move into positions of significance. Learn more at https://www.exceptionalwomenalliance.com/

About SoftBank GroupThe SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), an investment holding company that includes stakes in AI, smart robotics, IoT, telecommunications, internet services, and clean energy technology providers, as well as a majority stake in Arm, which is building the future of computing; and the SoftBank Vision Funds, which are investing to help transform industries and shape new ones. To learn more, please visit https://group.softbank/en.

About AmpereAmpere is a semiconductor design company focused on high-performance, energy efficient, sustainable AI Compute based on the Arm compute platform. To learn more, please visit https://amperecomputing.com.