SoftBank Group will acquire ABB’s robotics business for $5.375 billion, the companies said Wednesday, after ABB previously announced plans in April to spin the unit out as a separate company. The purchase price, approved by SoftBank’s board, covers a carve-out holding company to be based in Zurich and the roughly 7,000 employees who work in the division. SoftBank expects the deal to close in mid-to-late 2026, subject to regulatory approvals in the European Union, China, and the United States.

The deal fits a strategy SoftBank says it has been laying out: treating physical AI as the next frontier. The company lists AI chips, AI robots, AI data centers, and energy as its four investment pillars, and says the ABB unit will sit alongside existing robotics bets including SoftBank Robotics Group, AutoStore, Berkshire Grey, Agile Robots, and Skild AI. ABB’s robotics business reported $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024, down slightly from $2.5 billion a year earlier. Sami Atiya, who runs the division, will exit once the deal closes, according to ABB.

In prepared remarks, SoftBank chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son framed the acquisition as part of a broader push to fuse artificial superintelligence with robotics. ABB CEO Morten Wierod said SoftBank would be an excellent new home for the business and its employees.