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According to Bloomberg News, SoftBank recently announced a deal to acquire Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion, which has now triggered a "Second Request" investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This investigation implies that the acquisition may face a lengthy review process, with the risk of being denied approval.

The "Second Request" issued by the FTC represents a thorough investigation into potential monopolistic risks and is relatively uncommon at the federal government level. Once under this investigative process, it might take several months or even over a year, and could ultimately lead to litigation blocking the transaction.

Neither SoftBank nor Ampere Computing has commented on the ongoing investigation. SoftBank faces regulatory challenges once again, reminiscent of its previous experience with the Arm acquisition.

In 2016, SoftBank acquired Arm for $32 billion, and the acquisition of Ampere Computing is seen as a strategic move to enhance its offerings in the field of artificial intelligence chips. Since its establishment in 2018, Ampere Computing has been focused on cloud-native computing and has recently expanded into AI chip design. If the deal goes through, SoftBank will simultaneously control three influential companies in the AI chip sector: Arm, Graphcore, and Ampere Computing. However, this may raise concerns among regulators regarding the market's competitive structure.

Previously, SoftBank faced similar antitrust investigation issues when it attempted to resell Arm to NVIDIA, which was ultimately blocked by US and European regulators in 2022.

In addition to facing challenges with the Ampere Computing deal, SoftBank has encountered obstacles in various initiatives. For instance, the large-scale AI supercomputer project "Stargate," led by SoftBank, is currently hindered by US tariff policies, delaying progress beyond expectations. Moreover, Arm, a subsidiary of SoftBank, is entangled in licensing modes and market monopoly disputes with Qualcomm in Europe, the US, and South Korea.

It remains uncertain whether the US Federal Trade Commission will block SoftBank's acquisition of Ampere Computing, but given the escalating global AI chip competition, the success or failure of this transaction will undoubtedly influence SoftBank's future strategy in the AI field.