China blocks SoftBank's $5.4 billion purchase of ABB Robotics
Chinese regulators have prohibited SoftBank's $5.375 billion deal for ABB Robotics, citing worries about robot data going abroad to train AI models.
China's foreign investment security review office has prohibited SoftBank Group's planned $5.375 billion purchase of ABB's robotics division, ABB confirmed to The Robot Report. The Financial Times reported the block first. Officials are said to worry that robotics data could move overseas and be used to train AI models. The agreement was signed more than a year ago.
China has a say because it matters a lot to ABB. Orders from China for ABB Robotics rose from $662,000 in 2024 to $928,000 in 2025, and business there grew 32% in the third quarter of 2026. Roughly 90% of the robots ABB sells to Chinese customers are built in its Shanghai factory. ABB says it and SoftBank remain in close dialogue and are working constructively on the deal.
Why it matters
The decision fits a wider pattern. In April, China stopped Meta from buying the AI startup Manus for $2 billion. In the United States, a Section 232 report on robot imports has been submitted, which could lead to tariffs, and the FCC has banned new foreign-made advanced robots such as humanoids and quadrupeds. Neither ABB nor SoftBank has said whether the deal can be reshaped, for example by carving out China. Watch for any restructured offer or an appeal, and for further comment promised by The Robot Report.
