(Reuters) – Japanese technology investor SoftBank (TYO:) Group and its majority stake Hand Holdings (NASDAQ:) is exploring a deal with Oracle-backed semiconductor firm Ampere Computing, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
Ampere has attracted Arm’s interest in exploring its strategic options, the source said, adding that talks may not ultimately take place.
This was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Arm declined to comment on the Reuters report, and Ampere and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests.
Ampere, led by former Intel executives, is working with a financial adviser to help identify takeover interest, Bloomberg News reported in September.
Ampere, founded by Renee James, former president of Intel (NASDAQ:), uses Arm technology to create central processing units that are used by Oracle (NYSE:), Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Google and others.
The startup is focused on creating chips that are more energy efficient than those from industry leaders Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:).
According to the documents, Oracle has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Ampere since its founding.