SoftBank’s ambitious push into robotics just hit a wall in Beijing. Shares dropped 6.8% after Chinese regulators rejected the company’s planned $5.4 billion purchase of ABB’s robotics arm, a deal central to SoftBank’s artificial intelligence and automation strategy.
The collapse lands at a delicate moment. China has grown increasingly wary of foreign control over technologies that feed AI development, particularly systems involving physical infrastructure and industrial data. ABB confirmed the veto on its end, though both companies say discussions remain open.
At issue: robotics data leaving China. The National Development and Reform Commission flagged concerns that information generated by ABB’s machines could flow overseas and train AI models, including those linked to OpenAI, a SoftBank-backed startup. That risk carries weight because roughly 30% of ABB’s robotics revenue comes from China, where the Swiss firm operates a major manufacturing and R&D hub in Shanghai.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has repeatedly called physical AI, the fusion of robots with advanced computing, one of his highest investment priorities. This rejection undercuts that vision. It also follows China’s earlier unraveling of Meta’s attempt to buy AI firm Manus, signaling a broader regulatory squeeze on cross-border tech deals.
SoftBank faces trouble beyond robotics as well. Payments company OPay, another portfolio holding, pulled its $304 million U.S. IPO after an unidentified overseas regulator raised questions.
The failed takeover stalls SoftBank’s industrial automation ambitions and clouds future tech partnerships with China. Attention now shifts to whether SoftBank and ABB can restructure the deal or satisfy Beijing’s data security demands.
