SoftBank to acquire ABB’s robotics arm in $5.4 billion deal: All about Masayoshi Son's latest AI push

SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire the robotics business of Swiss engineering group ABB for $5.4 billion, marking a major step in the Japanese investor's strategy to merge robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), which Founder and CEO Masayoshi Son calls “Physical AI.”

This acquisition, announced on Wednesday, is the latest effort by CEO Son to establish Softbank as a core player in the development of artificial intelligence.

Although SoftBank pushed into humanoid robotics a decade ago with its Pepper robot before scaling back, its recent investments in the sector include Berkshire Grey and AutoStore, alongside leading a $40 billion funding round in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and $6.5 billion purchase of chip design company Ampere in March, news agency Reuters reported.

SoftBank's focus on robotics

The deal means ABB has abandoned its original decision to spin off and separately list its industrial automation business, which competes with Japan's Fanuc and Yaskawa, as well as Germany's Kuka, in the manufacturing of factory robots.

The decision is the first major move under ABB CEO Morten Wierod, who took charge last year, following years of struggling sales and falling profitability within the robots unit. The robotics division, which employs 7,000 people and generated sales of $2.3 billion last year or 7% of ABB's total revenues — saw limited operational crossover with the rest of the company, which primarily focused on electrification and automation.

ABB announced to shareholders in April its decision to spin off robotics but decided to sell instead because the SoftBank deal provided money immediately, Wierod told Reuters.

What's next for ABB?

The acquisition is expected to close in mid- to late-2026 and will generate cash proceeds of roughly $5.3 billion, ABB told Reuters.

"We always said that robotics is a market with much higher volatility. And that's what we've seen over the years, both when it comes to growth, but also margins," Wierod said. “So it is a bit of a different market than, say, the rest of ABB today, which is focusing on electrification and automation.”

ABB will spend the proceeds from the sale on developing new technology and production capacity in electrification and automation, and may also consider funding new acquisitions, Wierod said. "We do have firepower to also do bigger acquisitions, so we're not excluding bigger deals," he added.