SoftBank to buy ABB's robot business for $5.4 billion in push to merge AI and robotics

The logo of ABB is pictured at the Global Industries exhibition in Villepinte near Paris, France, March 26, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

ZURICH/TOKYO (Reuters) -SoftBank Group has agreed to buy the robotics business of Swiss engineering group ABB in a $5.4 billion deal, as the Japanese investor forges ahead with a strategy to fuse robotics and artificial intelligence.

The acquisition, announced on Wednesday, is the latest by founder and CEO Masayoshi Son to establish Softbank as a core player in the development of artificial intelligence.