Softbank bulks Up Its Robotics Portfolio with abb Group’s robotics unit

Japanese investing conglomerate SoftBank Group is buying a robotics institution arsenic nan financial behemoth says beingness AI is its adjacent frontier.  

SoftBank announced connected Wednesday that it has acquired Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB Group’s robotics business unit for $5.375 billion. The deal is taxable to regulatory approval; SoftBank predicts nan woody will adjacent successful mid-to-late 2026 according to a property release. Sami Atiya, nan caput of nan division, will exit nan company once nan acquisition is complete, per ABB Group.

ABB’s robotics business employs roughly 7,000 group and sells a assortment of robots and equipment, designed for tasks for illustration picking, cleaning and painting.  The company made $2.3 billion in gross successful 2024, representing 7% of ABB’s overall revenue. ABB announced plans to spin retired its robotics group in April.

SoftBank said it hopes to be capable to “reignite” income astatine ABB’s robotics spinoff. The organization’s 2024 gross was only $2.3 billion, down from $2.5 cardinal nan erstwhile year.

SoftBank has been building up its investments and holdings successful robotics complete nan past fewer years. The entity has invested successful companies including more bequest players like AutoStore and startups including Skild AI and Agile Robots. 

The patient besides launched its ain robotics platform, SoftBank Robotics Group, successful 2014.  

“SoftBank’s adjacent frontier is beingness AI,” Masayoshi Son, nan president and CEO of SoftBank said successful nan company’s property release. “Together pinch ABB Robotics, we will merge world-class exertion and talent nether our shared imagination to fuse Artificial Super Intelligence and robotics — driving a groundbreaking improvement that will propel humanity forward.”

Robotics is 1 of 4 attraction areas for SoftBank, together with AI chips, AI data centers and energy.  

“The halfway of nan ‘Information Revolution’ has evolved from individual computers, nan internet, and broadband to smartphones, and has now entered a caller shape led by artificial intelligence,” SoftBank said successful its property release. “In this context, [SoftBank Group] has declared its ngo to recognize artificial ace intelligence (ASI) for nan advancement of humanity.” 

TechCrunch reached retired to SoftBank for much information.