Industry experts discuss China’s block on SoftBank’s acquisition of ABB Robotics

Yesterday ABB Robotics confirmed that The robot report that China’s Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review blocked SoftBank Group Corp.’s planned acquisition of ABB Robotics. Regulators had expressed concern that data for training artificial intelligence models could be transferred abroad.

ABB Robotics is already a major robotics manufacturer and supplier in China. The Zurich-based firm said it and SoftBank are “in close dialogue and are working constructively on the transaction.”

Other countries are moving to protect what they see as sovereign physical AI. For example, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently banned new models of some advanced connected devices, including legged robots and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Companies like Intel and Husqvarna have already received conditional approvals.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Commerce determined last week that imports of robotics, industrial machinery and related components pose a threat to the U.S. economy and national security. This could lead to tariffs.

Government investigations may directly affect major robotics and AI companies. European antitrust scrutiny over Amazon’s proposed acquisition of iRobot was one of the reasons the deal was terminated, with iRobot subsequently entering bankruptcy proceedings. The robotic vacuum pioneer was later acquired by Picea Robotics Co., based in Shenzhen, China.

ABB Robotics focused on automation and artificial intelligence

ABB Robotics said it is the only company whose integrated portfolio includes industrial automation, software, force- and power-limited cobots and AMR. The company said its “versatile, autonomous robotics” helps companies of all sizes in industries including automotive, electronics and logistics.

ABB Robotics has installed more than 500,000 robots worldwide and employs approximately 7,000 people. Its US headquarters are in Auburn Hills, Michigan. In October 2025, parent company ABB said it had agreed to sell its robotics division to Japan-based SoftBank Group Corp. for $5.3 billion.

“Considering the intense competition in traditional robotics, established manufacturers like ABB will need to lead the charge in AI-driven robotics to protect their margins,” said Samantha Mou, senior analyst at Interact Analysis. “However, achieving this goal will require significant investment. Significant long-term research and development costs could be a key factor behind ABB’s decision to sell its robotics business.”

“Compared to other Big 4 suppliers [FANUC, KUKA, and Yaskawa]ABB has already been quick to combine AI with its products, which is an area where it can have synergy with SoftBank,” Mou said The robot report. He said companies in Europe, Asia and the Americas hope that artificial intelligence, already used to facilitate scheduling, monitoring and predictive maintenance, can be generalized to more processes.

“AI offers ABB Robotics considerable potential,” Robert Little, a business development consultant and former head of robotics strategy at Novanta Inc., said on LinkedIn. “But turning this potential into commercially useful systems requires sustained investment. In my humble opinion, sustaining such investment within ABB becomes a more difficult decision when robotics has to compete for funding with higher-margin companies. ABB has also seen limited synergies between robotics and the rest of the business.”

“SoftBank made sense,” he added. “ABB brings robot manufacturing, application expertise and established customer relationships. SoftBank could bring further investment and a clear focus on artificial intelligence.”

Sovereign physical AI becomes a strategic concern

“After Astra, robotics data has become more strategic,” he posted Financial times journalist Zijing Wu, in reference to the GPT-6 model that OpenAI released in September and that Chinese AI companies have used to train their models.

“The NDRC [China’s National Development and Reform Commission] was concerned about moving robotic data overseas, where it could be used to train artificial intelligence models, including those developed by OpenAI, in which SoftBank is a major investor, the sources said,” Wu said on X.

Countries have become increasingly aware of the competitive advantage promised by the convergence of automation and artificial intelligence.

“What makes this especially significant is that industrial robotics is increasingly being viewed not simply as manufacturing equipment, but as a strategically important technology at the intersection of automation, data and artificial intelligence,” said Ash Sharma, managing director of Interact Analysis. The robot report.

“China is a key market for ABB Robotics, so separating Chinese operations from a global transaction of this scale, would be extremely challenging,” he added. “More broadly, this highlights how robotics data, intellectual property and local manufacturing capacity are becoming important considerations in cross-border mergers and acquisitions as physical AI develops.”

Ahmed Humayun, market manager for defense manufacturing at Gecko Robotics, wrote on LinkedIn: “This move reflects Chinese concerns about asset transfers to Japan during a period of heightened Sino-Japanese tension, but [it] also shows concerns about robotic data generated in China being transferred overseas to train foundation models. The most recent example of China showing its economic strength and demonstrating that it has many levers to prevent intellectual property and goods from leaving its territory, even if developed by foreign companies.”

“I was worried this might happen,” Little said. “Over the years I have seen ABBChina’s strength is growing. Where do we go from here?

“My opinion: ABB has built a strong presence in China, but heavily subsidized Chinese robot makers are becoming stronger competitors at home and expanding in Europe,” he wrote. “This creates more pressure on prices and margins, which were not that large to begin with, decline further.”

“There may still be negotiations that find a way forward,” Little concluded. “For now, ABB is in trouble.”