SoftBank Group
PublicJapanese multinational investment holding company founded in 1981 by Masayoshi Son. Acquired Aldebaran Robotics (creator of Pepper) and Boston Dynamics, later selling 80% of Boston Dynamics to Hyundai for $880 million. Now focused on AI investments through its Vision Fund.
Introduction
SoftBank was founded in 1981 by Masayoshi Son, who built it from a software distributor into Japan's third-largest company. Early bets on Yahoo and Alibaba ($20M → $100B+) defined Son's investment style.
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Management Team
Company Story
SoftBank Group is a Japanese multinational conglomerate founded by Masayoshi Son in 1981. With its $100 billion Vision Fund, SoftBank has shaped the robotics industry, from acquiring Aldebaran (Pepper, NAO) in 2012, to briefly owning Boston Dynamics, to its $5.375 billion acquisition of ABB's robotics division in 2025.
History
In 2012, SoftBank acquired Aldebaran (NAO, Pepper) for $100 million. Pepper, unveiled in 2014, sold 1,000 units in 60 seconds at launch. However, production paused in 2021 due to weak demand. SoftBank acquired Boston Dynamics in 2017 but sold 80% to Hyundai in 2021 for $880 million.
Son launched the $100 billion Vision Fund, rebuilding the robotics portfolio through Berkshire Grey, AutoStore, Agile Robots, Fourier, and Skild AI.
On October 8, 2025, SoftBank announced the $5.375 billion acquisition of ABB's robotics division (7,000 employees, $2.3 billion revenue). Son declared "SoftBank's next frontier is Physical AI," creating one of the world's most comprehensive robotics ecosystems.