ABB Robotics: Surprise acquisition by Softbank and future direction

Industrial Robots ABB Robotics Becomes Part of Softbank's "Physical AI" Strategy

2025-10-17 From Ralf Steck | Translated by AI 5 min Reading Time

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On the one hand, it has been known since April that ABB wanted to spin off its robotics division, but the acquisition by the Japanese Softbank Group was a surprising twist. I am curious to see what will become of the industrial robot provider ABB Robotics under the umbrella of Softbank's Physical AI strategy.

ABB Robotics is the world's third-largest manufacturer of industrial robots by revenue.(Image: ABB Robotics) — ABB Robotics is the world's third-largest manufacturer of industrial robots by revenue.
(Image: ABB Robotics)

In mid-April, ABB published the press release "ABB plans spin-off of the Robotics division as an independently listed company," announcing that it intended to spin off the robotics division from the ABB Group and take it public. The peculiar word "list" incidentally originates from the French word "Cote," meaning price list.

Third-Largest Manufacturer of Industrial Robots Worldwide

In 2023, the ABB Robotics division ranked third worldwide in revenue, with 3.5 billion US dollars, following Mitsubishi Electric (11.1 billion US dollars) and Kuka Robotics (4.2 billion US dollars, source: Statista). Since 2019, when the divisions were accounted for separately under the decentralized operating model ABB Way, the division has achieved double-digit margins in most quarters. Following an unusually volatile market situation, during which ordering behavior normalized after a phase of advanced purchases during times of strained supply chains, the market has evidently stabilized, which has supported the division's order growth.

The ABB Robotics division employs around 7,000 people. In 2024, it generated revenue of $2.3 billion, contributing approximately 7 percent of ABB's total group revenue. The operational EBITA margin in 2024 was 12.1 percent.

In order to spin off the robotics division, the Machine Automation division, which currently forms the Robotics & Manufacturing Automation business area together with ABB Robotics, will become part of the Process Automation business area. According to ABB, this creates synergies in the field of software/control technologies, which should enable the divisions to provide better customer value. The Machine Automation division holds a leading position in the high-end segment of solutions based on PLCs, industrial PCs, servo drives, industrial transport systems, and vision and software.

Sale to Softbank Instead of IPO

However, the plan changed, and on October 8, ABB announced that the originally intended spin-off of the business as an independent joint-stock company will no longer be pursued. Instead, ABB signed an agreement to sell its Robotics division to SoftBank Group Corp. for an enterprise value of 5.375 billion USD. Sami Atiya, head of the Robotics & Manufacturing Automation business area and member of the Group Executive Committee, will leave the company by the end of 2026. He will step down from the Group Executive Committee at the end of 2025 and support the Robotics division and the carve-out process in 2026 as a strategic advisor.

When looking at the buyer, SoftBank Group, one might initially rub their eyes in surprise. According to Wikipedia, SoftBank is "a Japanese telecommunications and media conglomerate with business areas in broadband television, fixed-line telecommunications, e-commerce, internet, robotics, technology, service, finance, media, and marketing." However, SoftBank also manages the world's largest investment fund in the technology sector.

Within the extensive corporate conglomerate, however, there are some interesting companies pointing in the right direction: As early as 2012, the company acquired significant shares in the French robot manufacturer Aldebaran, which now belongs 95 percent to the Japanese investor. Aldebaran is known, among other things, for its small humanoid robots called Nao, which have been used since 2007 to host the RoboCup robot soccer league. Also visually well-known is the service robot Pepper, whose production ended in 2020.

Better known for two- and four-legged robots is Boston Dynamics, which Softbank acquired from Google or its parent company Alphabet in 2017. In 2020, Softbank exited Boston Dynamics again and sold 80 percent of the robotics pioneer to Hyundai for about $880 million.

Softbank Invests Heavily in AI Companies

Also in 2017, SoftBank began establishing the Vision Fund investment fund, which invested over 100 billion USD in AI companies. And lastly, in the current year, SoftBank founded a joint venture with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The joint venture, named SP OpenAI Japan, aims to bring the advanced enterprise AI system Cristal Intelligence into practice.

Cristal Intelligence is set to be implemented in SoftBank companies, including Arm Holdings, whose chip designs form the basis of the majority of all smartphone chips, as well as Apple desktop computers since 2020. SoftBank plans to invest three billion dollars annually to introduce OpenAI technology into its business areas. Another joint venture with Oracle and OpenAI, named Stargate, aims to build an AI infrastructure in the USA.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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ABB Robotics Becomes Part of the "Physical AI" Vision

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son envisions the future in intelligent machines that can act not only digitally but also physically. The renowned industrial robot manufacturer ABB Robotics, an established company whose products are widely used in the industry, naturally fits into this master plan, in contrast to the aforementioned robotics companies. Following the announcement of the acquisition, SoftBank's stock rose by more than eleven percent.

In this context, the deal makes a lot of sense. AI and robotics are like two pieces of a puzzle, with AI revolutionizing the control of robots. AI-powered vision systems and sensors enable a robotic arm to intelligently and purposefully grasp, move, and place objects. These technologies are now coming into practical application, and with SoftBank's AI expertise—which extends far beyond the mentioned companies—the new robotics company is excellently positioned for this.

A vision for 300 years—Genius or hubris?

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son thinks on a grand scale: At the 2010 shareholder meeting, he announced "SoftBank's Next 30-Year Vision", which not only outlines the next 30 years but also postulates that the company will exist for 300 years. SoftBank aims to become "the corporate group needed most by people around the world" and to achieve this "by accelerating human progress and increasing happiness for all through the information revolution."

Another (translated) quote from this vision: "The realization of a superintelligence with truly high-dimensional emotions such as 'kindness' and 'love' is the correct evolutionary path for brain computers. This is my belief. At SoftBank Group, we want to create a society where superintelligent computers coexist with humans to contribute to our happiness, just as one person makes another happy or as machines enable us to live a happier life."

I feel uneasy when people with almost unlimited possibilities postulate such visions—because today, with the power of their companies, their influence in business and politics, and the opportunities of the digital age, they are indeed capable of realizing such visions.

One only has to think of Elon Musk, who not only takes the landing platforms for his SpaceX rockets from the science fiction novels of Iain Banks. But he is actually working on implementing science fiction technologies and scenarios. Unfortunately, these often involve rather dystopian scenarios.

This means that it is no longer "the market," we consumers, and governments deciding on the advancement of technologies shaping our future, but rather individual, sometimes quite eccentric "visionaries" and billionaires. I don't find that particularly reassuring.

A comment by Ralf Steck