SoftBank acquires ABB’s robotics business for $5.4B in push to merge AI and robotics

SoftBank is making another bold move to cement its place in the future of AI and robotics. The Japanese investment group announced Wednesday it has agreed to buy ABB’s robotics business in a $5.4 billion deal, setting the stage for what founder and CEO Masayoshi Son calls the era of “Physical AI.” The acquisition signals a clear push to fuse artificial intelligence with advanced robotics—a vision Son has been pursuing for more than a decade.

“The Acquisition is part of this strategy and is expected to significantly strengthen SBG’s AI robotics business. ABB’s robotics business is a globally recognized brand, known for its reliability and high performance, supported by extensive sales channels and customer relationships. SBG is well-positioned to reignite the robotics business’s growth, particularly through investment in cutting-edge technologies such as AI,” SoftBank said in a statement.

SoftBank first ventured into humanoid robotics in the mid-2010s with its Pepper robot, which was introduced with big ambitions but eventually scaled back. That early experiment didn’t stop the company from doubling down on the sector. In recent years, it has backed companies like Berkshire Grey and AutoStore, led a $40 billion funding round in OpenAI, and acquired chip designer Ampere for $6.5 billion. This latest purchase from ABB marks another step in Son’s strategy to make SoftBank a central player in building intelligent machines that can interact with and transform the physical world.

“SoftBank’s next frontier is Physical AI,” Son said in a statement, framing the deal as part of a long-term plan rather than a standalone investment.

For ABB, the sale marks a major strategic shift. The Swiss engineering group had originally planned to spin off and list its robotics unit separately. But under new CEO Morten Wierod, ABB reversed course, deciding that a direct sale to SoftBank offered immediate cash and a clean exit from a business that hasn’t fully aligned with its core focus areas. ABB’s robotics division, which employs 7,000 people, generated $2.3 billion in revenue last year—about 7% of the company’s total—but struggled with declining profitability and limited crossover with ABB’s main electrification and automation units.

Investors seemed to approve of the move. ABB’s shares opened 2% higher in Zurich after the announcement. Swiss bank Zuercher Kantonalbank said it had expected the robotics business to be valued at slightly under $4 billion if it had gone public, meaning the $5.4 billion sale price came in well above those expectations. SoftBank’s shares ended the day down 2%, Reuters reported.

For ABB, the deal clears the way to double down on electrification and automation, where the company sees stronger margins and more stable growth. The proceeds—roughly $5.3 billion—will be channeled into technology development, capacity expansion, and potential acquisitions. “We do have firepower to also do bigger acquisitions, so we’re not excluding bigger deals,” Wierod told Reuters.

The transaction is expected to close between mid- and late-2026, pending regulatory approval. If completed, it will mark one of SoftBank’s biggest bets since its investment spree in AI and chip companies earlier this decade. And it brings Son’s long-running vision into sharper focus: a future where AI doesn’t just exist in software but moves, builds, and interacts with the real world through machines.