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SoftBank's acquisition of AI chip designer Ampere may be facing an FTC probe


SoftBank's $6.5 billion acquisition of AI-chip designer Ampere is facing an in-depth US government probe that may delay the deal

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a so-called second request for information, a relatively rare investigation that can go on for more than a year or even lead to a lawsuit blocking it, according to people familiar with the matter. Ampere, founded in 2018 with a focus on cloud-native computing, recently moved strongly into AI chip design — so SoftBank is betting that the company will bolster's Arm's research and development in that area. Stargate has been facing delays due to US tariffs and its Arm division is battling Qualcomm over chip licenses and antitrust complains in Europe, the US and South Korea.

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