The deal marks a major push by SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son into robotics, as he expands investment activity after a period of retrenchment.
SoftBank, whose forays into robotics include the humanoid Pepper, has investments in the segment, including in Berkshire Grey and AutoStore.
The deal means ABB has abandoned its original decision to spin off and separately list the industrial automation business, which competes with Japan’s Fanuc and Yaskawa, as well as Germany’s Kuka in making factory robots.
The decision is the first major move under ABB CEO Morten Wierod, who took charge last year, and comes after the robotics business has struggled with falling profitability and sales in recent years.
“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,” said Wierod in a statement.
“ABB Robotics will benefit from the combination of its leading technology and deep industry expertise with SoftBank’s state-of-the-art capabilities in AI, robotics and next-generation computing,” he added.
