ABB Sells Robotics Division to SoftBank Group

ABB has announced that it has sold its ABB Robotics division to SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese investment conglomerate that recently has invested in other robotics technology, for $5.375 billion and not pursue its earlier intention to spin off the business as a separately listed company. The transaction is expected to close in mid-to-late 2026, and at that point, Sami Atiya, president of the ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation business will step down, ABB officials report.

“SoftBank will be an excellent new home for the business and its employees, says Morton Wierod, ABB CEO. “ABB and SoftBank share the same perspective that the world is entering a new era of AI-based robotics and believe that the division and SoftBank’s robotics offering can best shape this era together. ABB Robotics will benefit from the combination of its leading technology and deep industry expertise with SoftBank’s state-of-the-art capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and next-generation computing. This will allow the business to strengthen and expand its position as a technology leader in its field.”

Says Masayoshi Son, chair and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp.: “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.”

See also: ABB Press Automation Solutions, ABB Inc.

Technologies: Pressroom Automation

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