Japan bets on "open source" to revitalize its status as a major robotics power

The integration of dormant data and artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing sites is driving fierce competition in robot development. Taking the opportunity of SoftBank Group (SBG) acquiring Swiss industrial giant ABB’s robotics division, Yaskawa Electric and Fanuc have announced collaborations and initiatives to open control-related software. Japan, which has fallen behind the U.S. and China in the field of “physical AI” that enables machines to operate autonomously, is hoping to revive its status as a major robotics nation through these efforts.

“By integrating super AI (ASI), which surpasses human intelligence, with robotics technology, we aim to achieve a revolutionary evolution,” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman and President of SoftBank Group. In October 2025, SoftBank announced it would acquire ABB Robotics, a subsidiary of ABB, for $5.375 billion. This places the company alongside Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric, and Germany’s KUKA (owned by China’s Midea Group) as the “Big Four” in global industrial robotics.

“SoftBank Impact”

ABB’s cumulative shipments have exceeded 500,000 units, including industrial robots, automated transport robots, and collaborative robots that assist human workers. SoftBank’s “cross-industry” acquisition has shocked the industry. The reason is that SoftBank hopes to leverage its AI technology combined with robotics to stand out among the top four in physical AI.

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