ABB has announced that it is selling this business to SoftBank – a Japanese financial holding company with a heavy emphasis in technology.
SoftBank owns significant stakes in major companies like Nvidia and T-Mobile, and recent reports have suggested that the firm is carving out a strategic growth plan specific to AI.
And that’s likely where ABB comes in.
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In a statement, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son called physical AI his company’s “next frontier,” adding that “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.”
Son’s reference to Artificial Super Intelligence – or, ASI – is a theory the company head has espoused in the past. He describes ASI as a type of AI that is 10,000 times smarter than any human genius, and Son believes this technology is about ten years away.
Of course, such lofty ambitions also come with a massive price tag: the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, will cost SoftBank roughly $5.4 billion.
This deal marks a strategy shift for ABB as well. The company that had earlier hinted at spinning off its robotics division into a separately listed company. Company chairman Peter Voser said the divestment “will create immediate value to ABB shareholders.”
Voser added, however, that ABB’s overall ambitions are “unchanged” and that the company “will continue to focus on [its] long-term strategy, building on [its] leading positions in electrification and automation.”
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