A successful IPO will give Ampere an opportunity for more cash infusion.
American fabless semiconductor company, Ampere Computing LLC, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO). On the 11th of April, the company revealed that it had confidentially filed for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Ampere has been generating funds via financing rounds. The company realized its largest funding round of $300 million over a year ago. Reports showed that Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) was the sole backer of the funding. SEC filings revealed that Oracle had invested over $400 million into Ampere. Apart from Oracle, Ampere has also disclosed two other investors- The Carlyle Group and Arm.
Ampere Files for US IPO
A successful IPO will give Ampere an opportunity for more cash infusion. Also, a public listing will enable the startup to see more investments in the markets. And with more investments, Ampere will be able to stand together with its rivals- Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD). Currently, Intel and AMD are the major companies dominating the semiconductor space.
For now, Ampere has not determined the financial details of its IPO. The Santa Clara-based company has yet to decide how many shares it would offer and the price range. According to a statement, Ampere will go further with its IPO plans after the SEC review process.
With the confidential filing, Ampere may proceed with its IPO process without having to reveal its financial details or operations over the years. While some companies eventually go public after filing for an IPO, others never do. Some companies are also acquired before finalizing public listing plans.
Oracle’s latest quarterly financial report showed that the company has a 2% to 50% stake in Ampere. Although Oracle reported an operating loss at Ampere, the company is confident in a strong return in the future.
“We remain confident that our investments in these two cutting-edge technology companies [Oxford Nanopore and Ampere] will deliver very strong returns for Oracle.”
Oracle’s Investments in IPO
Before now, Oracle stated that it owned less than 20% of Ampere. However, the recent inclusion of the operating loss implies between 20% to 50% ownership. SEC filings revealed that Oracle has been investing in Ampere since 2017. Oracle infused $46 million into the server chip business at the time. Following the 2017 investment, Oracle added another $40 million in 2019. A year later, there was a record of an additional $40 million investment before the $300 million backing in March 2021. In total, Oracle has invested $426 million in Ampere.
Oracle is evidently committed to Ampere. The company gave Ampere a $25 million prepayment for its processors. Filings further showed that it gave Ampere three payments of $500,000 for hardware used for testing and development.
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