ARM invests in Ampere, a maker of ARM server chips

There are a few companies vying to capture as much of the market as possible in the ARM-based server space, and these companies are not only trying to attract x86 customers, but they are also competing with each other to acquire customers. Most of them target a few key specific markets by having highly focused and niche products. Ampere is one of them, and now the company has a very solid and strong member of the investor lineup, ARM.

Ampere, founded by former Intel president Renée James and funded by the Carlyle Group, has offered the eMAG series of processors since October 2018. The company purchased AppliedMicro's X-Gene ARM-based server assets in early 2018 and offers a customized 32-core chip based on the ARM v8.0 architecture, built using TSMC's 16FF+ process and running at 3.3 GHz. The chip is based on the X-Gene II platform and optimized, and the company plans to develop an updated roadmap for the eMAG product line in the coming years.

Companies like Ampere rely on multiple rounds of investment in their early days, both in terms of funding to develop products and the expertise that potential investors can bring. Ampere is part of the Carlyle Group, which has a large portfolio, but the latest round of investment in Ampere also saw ARM join the fray. As a rule, ARM doesn't invest in every ARM server chip company on the market, but now this relationship has the potential to give Ampere some insight into ARM's future design portfolio and the opportunity to pool resources, reduce development costs, or enhance the final product.