SoftBank Group Corp. is reportedly getting close to acquiring chipmaker Ampere Computing LLC in a deal that would value the company at about $6.5 billion.

Bloomberg, referencing people familiar with the matter, reported today that talks between the companies are at an advanced stage and that a deal may be announced in the coming weeks. The same source did note that though the talks are advanced, a deal could still be delayed or falter.

Reports that Ampere was interested in being acquired first emerged in September. Forward to Jan. 9 and it was reported that SoftBank and Arm Holdings plc, which is majority-owned by SoftBank were interested and were exploring a potential deal.

SoftBank, Arm and Ampere have not commented on the latest reports.

Founded in 2017 by former Intel President Renee James, Ampere specializes in high-performance, energy-efficient processors for cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads.

Ampere’s products include the Ampere Altra and AmpereOne processor families. The Ampere Altra series is ideal for applications such as edge computing and large-scale cloud deployments, whereas the AmpereOne family delivers enhanced performance for demanding cloud-native and AI tasks.

Ampere Computing acquisition could reshape AI and Cloud markets

Should SoftBank, along with Arm, acquire Ampere, it would significantly boost SoftBank’s position in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the data center and AI markets.

If a deal goes through, SoftBank would be able to offer integrated solutions that combine Arm’s architecture with Ampere’s advanced chip designs, giving the combined companies a potential edge against industry leaders such as Intel Corp. and Advance Micro Devices Inc.

Notably, SoftBank also owns Graphcore Ltd., a U.K.-based developer of AI processors. As noted in January, when reports first emerged of talks, SoftBank might encourage Ampere to launch a go-to-market partnership with Graphcore. Ampere’s tech combined with Graphcore could also allow SoftBank to enter the server market with an offering that combines Graphcore’s Bow IPUs and Ampere CPUs.

Image: Ampere