SoftBank Group announced on Monday that it has agreed to buy the robotics division of Swiss engineering firm ABB for $5.4 billion. The move is designed to strengthen the Japanese company’s position in artificial intelligence.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, means ABB will no longer pursue its previous plan to spin off the robotics business into a separately listed company.
SoftBank’s ‘Physical AI’ strategy
The acquisition is a key part of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s vision for “Physical AI,” which aims to combine advanced artificial intelligence with robotics.
“SoftBank’s next frontier is Physical AI. 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.”
Son defines Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) as AI that is 10,000 times smarter than humans. He has worked to position SoftBank at the center of the AI industry through investments and acquisitions. The company owns chip designer Arm, holds a major stake in OpenAI, and has previous robot-related investments in companies like AutoStore Holdings and Agile Robots.
This is not the company’s first venture into robotics. In 2012, SoftBank acquired a majority stake in a French company called Aldebaran, which led to the launch of the humanoid robot Pepper. Although that project did not succeed commercially, robotics has re-emerged as a key focus for the company.
ABB’s rationale for the sale
For ABB, the sale is a strategic shift from its previous plan to spin off the robotics unit. The company stated that the deal “will create immediate value to ABB shareholders” and that it will use the proceeds from the transaction according to its established capital allocation principles.
ABB expects to receive approximately $5.3 billion in cash proceeds from the sale. The expected separation cost is around $200 million.
