ABB Group to sell ABB Robotics to SoftBank for $5.375B

One of the world’s largest industrial automation providers is changing owners. ABB Group today said it is divesting its ABB Robotics & Discrete Automation division to SoftBank Group Corp. for $5.375 billion.

The Zurich-based company had announced plans to spin off the unit during an earnings call in April. At the time, it noted that orders and revenues had fallen sharply from 2023 to early 2025.

With 2024 revenues of $2.3 billion, ABB Group said ABB Robotics represented about 7% of its revenues and had an operational EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin of 12.1%. The division has about 7,000 employees, while ABB said it has a total of about 110,000 worldwide.

ABB Robotics’ U.S. headquarters and factory are in Auburn Hills, Mich. In March, it said it planned to invest $120 million in expanding production in the U.S. The company’s portfolio includes industrial automation, force- and power-limited robot arms, and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) acquired with ASTI Mobile Robotics for $191 million in 2021.

“SoftBank’s offer has been carefully evaluated by the board and executive committee and compared with our original intention for a spin-off,” stated Peter Voser, chairman of ABB. “It reflects the long-term strengths of the division, and the divestment will create immediate value to ABB shareholders.”

“ABB will use the proceeds from the transaction in line with its well-established capital allocation principles,” he added. “Our ambitions for ABB are unchanged, and we will continue to focus on our long-term strategy, building on our leading positions in electrification and automation.”

SoftBank beefs up robotics portfolio — again

“SoftBank’s next frontier is physical AI,” asserted Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group. “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.”

Not only has SoftBank invested in robotics companies, but it has also owned several over the years, with mixed results. The Tokyo-based company‘s robotics unit also produces the Whiz floor cleaner.

SoftBank acquired humanoid service robot maker Aldebaran Robotics for $100 million in 2012, rebranded it as SoftBank Robotics in 2016, and sold it as SoftBank Robotics Europe to United Robotics Group in 2022. In June 2025, Aldebaran went into receivership.

In 2018, SoftBank invested $375 million in Zume Pizza, which shut down two years later. In 2019, it gave Nuro.ai $940 million, and the driverless delivery vehicle maker reached a $6 billion valuation in August 2025.

SoftBank acquired legged robot developer Boston Dynamics from Alphabet in 2017 and sold it to Hyundai Motor Group for $880 million in 2021.

In addition, SoftBank took a 40% stake in warehouse automation provider AutoStore for $2.2 billion in 2021. In 2023, SoftBank merged with Berkshire Grey in a cash deal worth about $375 million.

“SoftBank will be an excellent new home for the business and its employees,” said Morten Wierod, ABB CEO. “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.”

Editor’s note: RoboBusiness 2025, which will be next week in Santa Clara, Calif., will feature tracks on physical AI, design and development, enabling technologies, business, field robotics, and humanoids.

Ali Raja, managing director of automation for industries, and Thomas-Tianwei Wang, lead AI application engineer at ABB Robotics, will be among the speakers. Register now to attend.

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Company to restructure after ABB Robotics sale

As a result of the sale of its robotics division, ABB plans adjust its reporting structure and move to three business areas in the fourth quarter of 2025. As announced in April, the company will move its Machine Automation division from the robotics group into its Process Automation one.

ABB Group said the divestment of the robotics division will result in a non-operational pre-tax book gain of approximately $2.4 billion with expected cash proceeds, net of transaction costs, of about $5.3 billion. It expects separation costs of around $200 million, about half of which was already included in its 2025 guidance. ABB estimated transaction-related cash tax outflows for local business carve-out of $400 million to $500 million.

The companies said they expect the transaction to close, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, in mid-to-late 2026. The Robot Report has reached out to ABB for further comment, and we will update this article when and if we hear back.

President Sami Atiya to leave

ABB also announced that Sami Atiya, president of its Robotics & Discrete Automation business area and a member of its executive committee, will leave ABB by the end of 2026. He will step down from ABB’s executive committee at the end of 2025 and will continue to support the robotics business and the carve-out process in 2026 as a strategic advisor.

“It has been an honor to serve ABB, and I would like to thank our employees as well as customers for the close partnership since I joined ABB,” Atiya said. “I am convinced that with the acquisition by SoftBank, our robotics business will be in excellent hands, creating a platform for growth that will benefit from the numerous opportunities in automation and AI that we are seeing across many industries and geographies.”

Wierod added: “Since joining ABB almost 10 years ago, Sami has played an instrumental role in building a robotics business that covers everything from industrial robots to state-of-the-art collaborative and autonomous mobile robots, backed by some of the most advanced software and AI solutions.”