SoftBank to buy ABB robotics unit for $5.4 billion as it boosts its AI play

SoftBank Group^[1] on Monday said it had agreed to buy the robotics division of Swiss engineering firm ABB for $5.4 billion, as the Japanese giant looks to bolster its artificial intelligence plays.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval globally, means ABB^[2] will no longer look to spin off its robotics business as a separately listed company.

“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.

Artificial Super Intelligence, or ASI, is Son’s idea of AI^[3] that is 10,000 times smarter than humans.

Son has looked to position SoftBank at the center of the potential AI boom^[4] through investments and acquisitions in different areas of technology. SoftBank owns chip designer Arm, for example, and has a major stake in OpenAI.

SoftBank already has some robot-related investments, including AutoStore Holdings and Agile Robots.

The Japanese conglomerate is not new to robotics. 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 — a bet that ultimately flopped, but robotics has now re-emerged as a key focus for the Japanese giant.

Morten Wierod, who became CEO of ABB in August 2024, has pushed the spin-off of the company’s robotics unit as a strategic move.

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.”

ABB 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.