Japan bets on "open source" to revive its status as a major robotics nation

The prospect of merging dormant data from manufacturing sites with artificial intelligence (AI) is driving increasing competition in robot development. Triggered by SoftBank Group’s (SBG) acquisition of Swiss industrial giant ABB’s robotics business, Yaskawa Electric and Fanuc have subsequently announced initiatives such as collaboration and open control-related software. Japanese companies, which have fallen behind China and the U.S. in the field of “physical AI” that allows machines to operate autonomously, are hopeful this will help restore their status as a “robot powerhouse.”

“By merging (super AI that transcends human intelligence) with robotics technology, we will achieve an epoch-making evolution,” said Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group. SoftBank Group announced in October 2025 that it would acquire ABB’s robotics subsidiary, ABB Robotics, for $5.375 billion. This company is ranked among the “Big Four” of global industrial robotics, alongside Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric, and Germany’s KUKA, which is part of China’s Midea Group.

“SoftBank Shock”

ABB’s cumulative shipment has exceeded 500,000 units, including industrial robots, automated guided vehicles, and collaborative robots that assist humans. SoftBank’s “cross-industry” acquisition has shocked the industry. The reason is that SoftBank is expected to stand out among the Big Four in the field of physical AI by merging its own AI technology with robotics.

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