ABB has agreed to sell its Robotics division outright to Japan’s SoftBank Group, the companies confirmed this week. The transaction transfers ABB’s industrial robot arms, autonomous mobile robots and AI and software platforms into a new SoftBank-owned global robotics business.
The strategic logic
SoftBank has been assembling a vertically integrated physical AI portfolio for years, anchored by Arm, OpenAI investments and a deep bench of industrial and humanoid robot bets. Folding ABB Robotics into that portfolio gives SoftBank one of the largest installed industrial robot bases in the world, alongside ABB’s RobotStudio software and recent generative AI cell-design tools.
What stays at ABB
ABB will retain its core Electrification, Motion and Process Automation businesses, the segments that generate the bulk of its operating profit and that the company has been emphasizing in investor communications. The Robotics business has long sat slightly outside ABB’s core, which has fueled periodic carve-out speculation.
Implications for the robotics sector
The deal continues a wave of robotics consolidation in 2026 that includes Mobileye’s $900 million purchase of Mentee Robotics and Locus’s acquisition of Nexera Robotics. With SoftBank as owner, ABB Robotics will be able to invest more aggressively in physical AI, including tighter integration with NVIDIA Isaac and a likely closer relationship with OpenAI on embodied agent tooling.
Path to close
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in the EU, US and China, with the parties guiding to a 2026 close. Existing ABB Robotics leadership is expected to remain in place under SoftBank ownership.
Reporting based on coverage from Robotics and Automation News and Manufacturing Dive.