Japanese investing conglomerate SoftBank Group is buying a robotics company as the financial behemoth says physical AI is its next frontier.
SoftBank announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB Group’s robotics business unit for $5.375 billion. The deal is subject to regulatory approval; SoftBank predicts 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, per ABB Group.
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. ABB announced plans to spin out its robotics group in April.
SoftBank said it hopes to be able to “reignite” sales at ABB’s robotics spinoff. The organization’s 2024 revenue was only $2.3 billion, down from $2.5 billion the previous year.
SoftBank has been building up its investments and holdings in robotics over the last few years. The entity has invested in companies including more legacy players like AutoStore and startups including Skild AI and Agile Robots.
The firm also launched its own robotics platform, SoftBank Robotics Group, in 2014.
“SoftBank’s next frontier is physical AI,” Masayoshi Son, the chairman and CEO of SoftBank said in the company’s press release. “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.”
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Robotics is one of four focus areas for SoftBank, together with AI chips, AI data centers and energy.
“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,” SoftBank said in its press release. “In this context, [SoftBank Group] has declared its mission to realize artificial super intelligence (ASI) for the advancement of humanity.”
TechCrunch reached out to SoftBank for more information.
