SoftBank Group—controlled by Japan’s richest person, Masayoshi Son—has agreed to buy the robotics unit of Swiss industrial giant ABB Ltd. for $5.4 billion, deepening the Japanese company’s AI push.
“SoftBank’s next frontier is physical AI,” Son, chairman and CEO of Softbank, said in a statement. “Together with ABB Robotics, we will unite world-class technology and talent under our shared vision to fuse artificial super intelligence and robotics—driving a groundbreaking evolution that will propel humanity forward.”
The acquisition, expected to be completed by mid to late 2026, follows SoftBank’s set up earlier this year of Robo HD, a new holding company that owns its robotics assets. Over a dozen portfolio companies from Agile Robots SE and Skild AI were moved to Robo HD, which analysts say is an indication of Son’s renewed interest in robotics.
Son’s earlier interest in robotics led to the creation of Pepper, a humanoid unveiled in 2014 but its production was halted later after demand waned. SoftBank is also invested in technologies aimed at advancing industrial automation and logistics.
“SoftBank will be an excellent new home for the business and its employees,” ABB CEO Morten Wierod said in the statement. “ABB and SoftBank share the same perspective that the world is entering a new era of AI-based robotics and believe that the division and SoftBank’s robotics offering can best shape this era together.”
ABB’s robotics business—which employs 7,000 people spread in manufacturing hubs in China, the US and Sweden—booked $313 million in EBITDA on $2.3 billion revenue in 2024, compared with $385 million and $2.5 billion in 2023.
With a net worth of $67.4 billion based on Forbes real-time data, Son, 68, is pouring billions of dollars into AI, including his investment in the $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure project in the U.S., in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle and MGX.
