Key Points
- SoftBank is buying ABB’s robotics division for $5.4 billion.
- The move is part of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s big push into “Physical AI.”
- Son believes that combining robotics with super-smart AI will be a revolutionary force.
- For ABB, the deal represents a change of plans, as the company had been looking to spin off the division.
Japanese tech giant SoftBank has agreed to buy the robotics division of Swiss engineering firm ABB for $5.4 billion. The deal marks a significant move by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son to strengthen his company’s position in the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence, which he views as the next major technological frontier.
Son has a grand vision for what he calls “Physical AI.” He believes that by combining robotics with “Artificial Super Intelligence” (ASI)—his term for AI that is 10,000 times smarter than humans—it will “propel humanity forward.” This acquisition is a key piece of that puzzle.
For ABB, the sale is a change of plans. The company had been exploring the possibility of spinning off its robotics business as a separate, publicly listed entity. Now, it will sell the division to SoftBank, a move ABB says will create “immediate value” for its shareholders.
This isn’t SoftBank’s first foray into robotics. The company famously backed a humanoid robot called “Pepper” a decade ago, a bet that ultimately failed. But with the recent explosion in AI, robotics has re-emerged as a key focus for Son.
SoftBank has been aggressively investing in all areas of the AI ecosystem, from chip designer Arm to OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. This acquisition of a major industrial robotics player shows just how serious Son is about building a dominant force in the coming AI-driven world.
