Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese technology investment giant SoftBank announced this Friday that China blocked its $5.4 billion acquisition of Swiss-Swedish industrial robot maker ABB Robotics.

First modification: 06/11/2026 - 14:03

This operation announced last year had been promoted by SoftBank as part of its foray into the fast-growing sector of robots powered by artificial intelligence.

ABB Robotics specializes in industrial machinery, such as large robotic arms capable of precise movements in factories.

Its parent company, ABB Group, says China is its second largest market, where more than 90% of sales come from locally manufactured products and services.

However, Beijing, which is in the middle of a diplomatic dispute with Tokyo, has been tightening control over artificial intelligence and other sensitive technologies.

SoftBank reported that on Wednesday it received a notification from Chinese regulators "informing it that the acquisition of ABB's robotics business in China had been prohibited."

He indicated that together with ABB they were "working constructively on the transaction."

ABB confirmed on Thursday that SoftBank informed it of the regulatory blockage.

When the acquisition was announced in October 2025, SoftBank, a major investor in OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, called it part of its AI-focused business strategy.

It is not the only AI-related operation that the Chinese government has blocked in recent months.

In April, the Asian giant stopped the acquisition of the startup Manus, an artificial intelligence agent capable of performing real-world tasks, by Meta, owner of Facebook, after a regulatory review.

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© 2026 AFP

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