Japanese investment firm SoftBank announced on Wednesday that it had acquired ABB Group’s robotics business unit for $5.375 billion. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, and SoftBank expects the deal will close in mid-to-late 2026 according to a press release. Sami Atiya, the head of the division, will exit the company once the acquisition is complete, according to ABB.
ABB’s robotics business employs roughly 7,000 people and sells a variety of robots and equipment, designed for tasks like picking, cleaning and painting. The company made $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024, representing 7% of ABB’s overall revenue. The company had announced in April that it had plans to spin out its robotics group.
“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,” Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank, said in a statement. Robotics is one of the four focus areas for SoftBank, with the others being AI chips, AI data centers and energy.
READ: Intel seeks more investors despite $2 billion SoftBank bet and government stake (
SoftBank also noted in its statement: “The center of the ‘Information Revolution’ has evolved from personal computers, the internet, and broadband to smartphones, and has now entered a new phase led by artificial intelligence. In this context, [SoftBank Group] has declared its mission to realize artificial super intelligence (ASI) for the advancement of humanity.”
The investment firm already has some robotics-related investments, including AutoStore Holdings and Agile Robots. In 2012, SoftBank took a majority stake in a French company called Aldebaran. Two years later, the two companies launched a humanoid robot called Pepper which ended up as a failure. However, robotics has re-emerged as an area of focus for the Japanese giant.
READ: Foxconn, SoftBank team up on Stargate data center project in Ohio (
ABB said in a statement that the sale “will create immediate value to ABB shareholders.” The company said it will use the proceeds from the transaction “in line with its well-established capital allocation principles.” The company also said it expected cash proceeds of approximately $5.3 billion. The expected separation cost is around $200 million, about half of which is already in ABB’s 2025 guidance.
SoftBank recently also announced an investment of $2 billion for a 2% stake in Intel, becoming one of its largest shareholders. The company also partnered with Foxconn to produce data center equipment at its former electric vehicle plant in Ohio, a move tied to the Stargate project aimed at boosting U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure.