SoftBank snaps up ABB's robotics biz for $5.4B to fuel 'physical AI' dreams

Japanese tech goliath gets grabby with industrial automation as ABB shelves spin-off plans

SoftBank Group has added more arms to its portfolio, this time of the robotic kind.

The Japanese tech goliath is pushing ahead in its pursuit of "artificial super intelligence" after agreeing to buy ABB's robotics business for a cool $5.4 billion. The companies announced the deal, which remains subject to regulatory approval, late on Wednesday, 8 October.

Under the agreement, ABB will carve out its robotics division into a new holding company before transferring ownership to SoftBank. The sale marks a walkback from ABB's earlier plan to spin off the unit as an independently listed firm, a move it had been preparing since April.

"SoftBank's next frontier is physical AI. 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," gushed SoftBank Group CEO, Masayoshi Son.

ABB chair Peter Voser struck a more measured note, saying the offer "was carefully evaluated by the Board and Executive Committee and compared with our original intention for a spin-off," and that the divestment "reflects the long-term strengths of the division" while delivering "immediate value to ABB shareholders."

ABB Robotics – which employs around 7,000 people and turned over $2.3 billion last year, about 7 percent of ABB Group revenues – has long been one of ABB's most visible technology businesses, supplying arm-like industrial bots for assembly, painting and packaging. But it had little overlap with the Swiss firm's other divisions, which predominantly focus on electrical infrastructure and automated process systems.

ABB chief executive Morten Wierod had pitched the spin-off earlier this year as a way to "support value creation in both the ABB Group and in the separately listed pure-play robotics business." SoftBank's offer appears to have accelerated that thinking.

For Son, the acquisition slots neatly into his grand plan to dominate what he calls "physical AI" – the convergence of artificial intelligence software with machines that can interact with the real world. ABB's factory-floor know-how joins a growing stable of robotics plays that includes AutoStore, Agile Robots and Berkshire Grey.

SoftBank shares jumped as much as 13 percent following the announcement, while ABB's stock edged higher in Zurich. The deal, if approved, will hand Son another hardware-heavy puzzle piece in his decades-long quest to turn SoftBank into the beating heart of the machine-age empire. ®