Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
SoftBank has agreed to buy ABB’s robotics arm in a deal valuing the business at $5.4bn as part of the Japanese group’s aggressive push into a sector it believes will be tied to the rise of artificial intelligence.
The purchase is consistent with SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son’s ambitions to build a complete AI infrastructure that includes robotics, data centres, energy and chipmaking.
The billionaire founder has built a vast web of shareholdings and relationships with AI-related companies — including OpenAI, Nvidia, Intel and Oracle — and has described the technology as a “defining force shaping humanity’s future”.
“SoftBank’s next frontier is Physical AI,” Son said in a statement on Wednesday. “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.”
SoftBank’s share price has more than doubled in the year to date to more than ¥20,000 ($130) as investors pile into the Japanese group as a play on OpenAI and the ChatGPT maker’s soaring valuation.
SoftBank shares closed down 2 per cent on Wednesday, while ABB shares rose 1 per cent.
A spokesperson for SoftBank said the “specific financing method has not yet been determined” and “we are considering a combination of asset-backed financing, sufficient cash position and debt financing” as the deal approaches its expected closure in mid- to late 2026.
The newly acquired ABB unit will sit alongside other SoftBank robotics companies “to accelerate innovation in AI robotics and drive progress and growth towards the realisation” of artificial superintelligence that surpasses human intelligence.
ABB’s robotics business builds and programs robots that help factories and warehouses work more efficiently — from large industrial arms to smaller collaborative robots that can work alongside people. It also provides the software, sensors and systems that make robots smart and adaptable.
SoftBank added that it believed it was “well-positioned to reignite the robotics business’s growth, particularly through investment in cutting-edge technologies such as AI”.
The Japanese group, and its tech-heavy investment funds, already own SoftBank Robotics, which develops humanoid and logistics robots; Berkshire Grey, a US company specialising in logistics and robotics; and specialist companies such as AutoStore, Agile Robots and Skild AI.
Swiss-based ABB said its robotics division had a workforce of about 7,000 and made revenue of $2.3bn in 2024, roughly 7 per cent of the overall group’s sales.
ABB said it expected the deal to generate net cash proceeds of $5.3bn and that the acquisition meant it had given up its earlier intention to spin off the business as a listed company.