Many MindedBeijing halts SoftBank's $5.3B bid for ABB's robot unit over AI data
China's Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review has blocked SoftBank Group's planned purchase of ABB Robotics. ABB Robotics confirmed the block to The Robot Report on November 5, 2026. ABB agreed in October 2025 to sell the division to the Japan-based company for $5.3 billion. The reported concern is that data used to train AI models could be transferred overseas.
The unit is large. It is Zurich-based, has installed over 500,000 robots worldwide, employs about 7,000 people, and has its US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Analyst Samantha Mou of Interact Analysis said ABB moved faster than FANUC, KUKA and Yaskawa to combine AI with its products, and that long-term R&D costs may have motivated the sale. Her colleague Ash Sharma said carving China out of the global deal would be extremely challenging, because China is a critical market.
This is a setback for cheaper, more widely available machines. Industrial robots get cheaper when manufacturers can pool capital, data and volume across borders. Each deal blocked on data-security grounds pushes the industry toward separate regional supply chains. It lands alongside other friction: a recent US FCC ban on new models of certain connected devices, including legged robots and AMRs, and a US Commerce Department finding that robotics and machinery imports threaten national security, which could lead to tariffs.
The outcome is unresolved. ABB Robotics says it and SoftBank are in close dialogue and working constructively on the transaction. Commenter Robert Little said talks might still find a way forward. The data-transfer motive comes from unnamed sources cited by a Financial Times reporter on X, not from an official statement. Other commentary, including talk of China-Japan tension, is opinion.
Source: The Robot Report