SoftBank Acquires ABB Robotics to Boost AI-Enabled Automation

ABB Group is selling its robotics business, which includes some vision technologies, to SoftBank Group for $5.375 billion, canceling previous plans to spin off the unit.
Oct. 9, 2025
2 min read

What You Will Learn

  • ABB will sell its robotics division to SoftBank for $5.375 billion, reversing earlier plans to spin off the unit.
  • The acquisition aligns with SoftBank's strategy to invest in AI-enabled robotics.
  • ABB's robotics division has developed a camera system as well machine vision software functionality for automation tasks.
Courtesy of ABB
Figure 1: ABB Robotics recently launched OmniCore EyeMotion software, designed to provide image acquisition and recognition and is integrated with RobotStudio, ABB's robot programming and simulation tool.

Figure 1: ABB Robotics recently launched OmniCore EyeMotion software, designed to provide image acquisition and recognition and is integrated with RobotStudio, ABB's robot programming and simulation tool. 

ABB Group plans to sell its robotics business, also known as ABB Robotics, to SoftBank Group, a Japanese technology conglomerate, for $5.375 billion, the companies say.  

With this decision, ABB (Zurich, Switzerland) also cancels plans announced in April to spin off the robotics division as a separate listed company.

In addition to industrial, mobile and other robots, SoftBank's acquistion will give it access to some AI-enabled machine vision technologies designed to enable robots to “see” the world around them and act autonomously.  

For example, ABB Robotics announced in September that is was investing an undisclosed sum in LandingAI (Mountain View, CA, USA), which markets a deep learning-enabled vision tool. ABB also had said it would integrate the tool from LandingAI into its own software suite.

Related: ABB Robotics Partners with LandingAI to Accelerate AI-Enabled Robotics Applications

Also in September, ABB launched OmniCore EyeMotion, AI-enabled machine vision software that enables object recognition, segmentation, and contextual understanding for robots, ABB says. The software tool streamlines the integration of any robot powered by OmniCore controllers with third-party cameras and sensors, ABB says.  

Courtesy of ABB
Figure 2: ABB sells a smart camera system, Integrated Vision, for robotic tasks.

Figure 2: ABB sells a smart camera system, Integrated Vision, for robotic tasks. 

For many years, ABB has sold an IP67-rated smart camera system that includes modules for such tasks as product localization and inspection. Camera models provide resolutions ranging from 800 X 600 to 2448 X 2048.

For its part, Softbank Group (Minato, Japan), an investment firm, says it is actively investing in AI-enabled robotics to propel its vision of combining robotics and physical AI to enhance automation. “The acquisition is part of this strategy and is expected to significantly strengthen SBG’s AI robotics business.”

SoftBank Group already has other investments in robotics including Berkshire Grey (Bedford, MA, USA), AutoStore (Nedre Vats, Norway), Agile Robots (Munich, Germany), and Skild AI (Pittaburgh, PA, USA), the company says.

In conjunction with the divestiture, ABB announced that Sami Atiya, president of the robotics and discrete automation business will leave ABB by the end of 2026. The company also will combine its discrete automation business with process automation. 

ABB and SoftBank expects the transaction to close in mid-to-late 2026.

 

 

About the Author

Linda Wilson
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Linda Wilson

Editor in Chief

Linda Wilson joined the team at Vision Systems Design in 2022. She has more than 25 years of experience in B2B publishing and has written for numerous publications, including Modern Healthcare, InformationWeek, Computerworld, Health Data Management, and many others. Before joining VSD, she was the senior editor at Medical Laboratory Observer, a sister publication to VSD.         

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