Amazon in Talks to Become a Key Investor in Arm's Upcoming IPO

Amazon.com is in talks with other technology companies about becoming a cornerstone investor in SoftBank Group Corp's Arm Ltd ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), according to people familiar with the matter. It's possible participation in the IPO, which has not previously been reported, highlights Arm's importance in cloud computing. Amazon Web Services, the internet giant's cloud division, develops its own processing chip, Graviton, based on Arm's design.

According to one of the sources, Arm intends to list on the Nasdaq in early September. The company is looking to raise between $8 billion and $10 billion. Before its IPO, Arm has been in talks with about ten technology companies, including Intel, Alphabet, and Nvidia, about a possible investment. According to the sources, these investors would not gain any board seats or control.

As per one of the sources, Arm is hoping that bringing in key investors will strengthen its relationships with key customers and increase the appeal of the IPO.

The IPO is expected to be a welcome relief for SoftBank, which is struggling to turn around its massive Vision Fund after many of its bets on technology startups failed.

SoftBank has been pursuing a listing for Arm since its deal to sell the chip designer to Nvidia for $40 billion fell through last year due to antitrust concerns raised by US and European regulators.

Since then, Arm's business has fared better than the broader chip industry thanks to its focus on data center servers and personal computers that generate higher royalty payments.