Japanese investing conglomerate SoftBank Group is buying a robotics company as the financial behemoth says physical AI is its next frontier.
SoftBank Group agreed to buy the robotics division of Swiss engineering firm ABB for $5.4 billion. The move is part of a number of investments and acquisitions by SoftBank as it looks to position itself at the center of the artificial intelligence boom.
SoftBank's plans to set up a joint venture with OpenAI to bring artificial intelligence services to corporate customers in Japan are significantly behind schedule, according to a source familiar with the matter.
SoftBank's $2 billion stake could help the chip maker gain customers and increase Intel's earnings per share.
Shares of SoftBank Group plunged as much as 9.17% Wednesday, leading losses across technology counters in Asia. Losses were also seen in other technology stocks in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, following declines in tech counters in Wall Street spurred by artificial intelligence darling Nvidia.
Intel (INTC) shares jumped on Tuesday as investors responded to signals the Trump administration may throw the company's troubled foundry business a lifeline.
When Lip-Bu Tan stepped down from the SoftBank Group board in 2022 at a time when the Japanese company was grappling with soured investments, his parting message offered advice on how Masayoshi Son's conglomerate could strengthen its business.
SoftBank announced on Tuesday a $2 billion investment in Intel that will add to the Japanese tech investor's ambitious bet on artificial intelligence and the chip industry.
Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, ETR:INL) shares jumped 4% after hours after a double dose of good news. The struggling chipmaker has secured a $2 billion capital injection from SoftBank, while the Trump administration is weighing a far larger equity stake.
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has agreed to make a $2 billion investment in Intel in a deal described as a commitment to advanced technology and semiconductors in the United States.
SoftBank is investing $2 billion in Intel common stock, paying $23 per share. The investment aligns with SoftBank's focus on AI and semiconductor expansion in the US.
Present and former OpenAI employees are looking to sell nearly $6 billion worth of the ChatGPT maker's shares to an investor group comprising SoftBank Group , among others, valuing it at $500 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.