TechTribe-One News Desk | October 8, 2025
SoftBank Group is deepening its commitment to “physical AI” with a major move — acquiring ABB Group’s robotics business for $5.375 billion. The deal, announced Wednesday, positions the Japanese tech conglomerate to play a central role in the next phase of intelligent automation.
The acquisition, which is still subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by mid-to-late 2026, according to SoftBank’s official statement. Once finalized, Sami Atiya, head of ABB’s Robotics Division, will leave the company.
Based in Zurich, Switzerland, ABB’s robotics business employs about 7,000 people and offers a wide range of industrial robots and automation solutions for applications such as picking, cleaning, and painting. The unit generated $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024, representing roughly 7% of ABB’s total income. However, that figure was slightly down from $2.5 billion in 2023, prompting ABB’s decision earlier this year to spin off the robotics division.
SoftBank says it plans to “reignite sales” and integrate ABB’s expertise into its broader robotics ecosystem — one that already includes strategic investments in AutoStore, Skild AI, and Agile Robots, as well as its in-house SoftBank Robotics Group, launched in 2014.
“SoftBank’s next frontier is physical AI,” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group. “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.”
Robotics now stands as one of SoftBank’s four strategic pillars, alongside AI chips, AI data centers, and energy. The company says these pillars reflect its long-term mission to advance artificial super intelligence (ASI) and redefine the future of human-robot collaboration.
SoftBank emphasized that the “Information Revolution” is evolving — from the eras of PCs and the internet to smartphones, and now into the AI-driven phase. With ABB Robotics joining its portfolio, the group appears determined to lead that transition.