COMPANIES · ROBOTICS & PHYSICAL AI

ABB Robotics

The robotics division of Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB, making industrial robot arms, collaborative robots and factory automation software. ABB agreed in October 2025 to sell the division to SoftBank Group.

EnablerRobotics & physical AI
What it does

The robotics division of Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB, making industrial robot arms, collaborative robots and factory automation software. ABB agreed in October 2025 to sell the division to SoftBank Group.

Why it matters

It is one of the four large Western and Japanese industrial robot makers, and its sale to SoftBank is one of the clearest signs that capital raised on AI expectations is being used to buy physical robot manufacturing rather than build it. The division is also integrating NVIDIA simulation tooling and Skild AI's robot foundation model into its product line.

How it makes money

Manufacturers and system integrators buy its robot arms, controllers, cobots and automation software, plus service contracts.

Geography

Sweden and Switzerland

AI stack position

Robotics, autonomous systems and physical AI. Companies bringing AI into the physical world: self-driving cars, humanoid robots, drones and factory automation. This is often called "physical AI." Open the robotics lens.

Competitors

Connections (4)

Every connection below is tied to a readable source, date, classification and statement of its limits. A company source establishes what that company stated; it does not necessarily provide independent confirmation.

Current relationships (1)

NVIDIA partners with ABB Robotics
Partners withCurrent
NVIDIA said ABB Robotics is integrating Omniverse libraries and Isaac simulation frameworks into virtual commissioning solutions and integrating Jetson modules into its controllers for edge AI inference.

Source: 2026-03-16 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Reported operating

Limits: NVIDIA's own release. It does not establish payment, volumes, exclusivity, or how the pending sale of ABB Robotics to SoftBank Group affects the arrangement.

NVIDIA and Global Robotics Leaders Take Physical AI to the Real World ↗

Dated or announced (2)

ABB Robotics agreed to integrate the robot model of Skild AI
Partners withDated / announced
Skild AI announced that ABB Robotics will integrate the Skild Brain into its robot portfolio, with ABB saying the integration will help customers scale industrial automation more quickly.

Source: 2026-03-19 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Secondary reporting of an on-record executive statement · Announced; not confirmed operating

Limits: An announced integration carried on Skild AI's own site, with a quoted ABB statement. It does not establish that any ABB product shipping today includes the Skild Brain, the commercial terms, or an exclusive arrangement.

The Reindustrial Revolution: Partnering with ABB Robotics, Universal Robots, and NVIDIA ↗
SoftBank Group agreed to acquire ABB Robotics
AcquiredDated / announced
ABB announced on 8 October 2025 that it had agreed to divest its Robotics division, with about 7,000 employees and 2024 revenues of 2.3 billion dollars, to SoftBank Group at an enterprise value of 5.375 billion dollars, with closing expected in mid to late 2026.

Source: 2025-10-08 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Primary-source statement · Announced; not confirmed operating

Limits: An agreement announced by ABB. It does not establish that the sale has completed, that regulatory approvals were obtained, the final price paid, or how the division will be operated under SoftBank ownership.

ABB to divest Robotics division to SoftBank Group ↗

Comparisons (1)

KUKA competes with ABB Robotics
Competes withComparison only
The Robot Report grouped KUKA and ABB Robotics, together with FANUC and Yaskawa, as four industrial automation leaders integrating the same NVIDIA simulation tooling into their virtual commissioning products.

Source: 2026-03-18 · reviewed 2026-09-24

Evidence: Analytical comparison · Product/market overlap

Limits: Being grouped by a trade publication establishes overlapping markets, not relative share, revenue or the outcome of any competitive bid. The source does not compare the two companies directly.

NVIDIA works with global robotics leaders to make physical AI a reality ↗
Evidence for this profile

ABB to divest Robotics division to SoftBank Group ↗
Reviewed

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Inclusion in this database is not an endorsement of a company or its securities. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell anything, and none of it is individualized investment advice. See the disclosures. Data: AI Map v3.22, released .