在 AI 兴起并重塑机器人产业之际，日本企业正透过收购伙伴或采用开放原始码软体来追赶「physical AI」机器人。SoftBank Group 于 10 月宣布以 53.8 亿美元收购瑞士 ABB 的机器人业务；ABB 与日本的 Fanuc、Yaskawa Electric 以及由中国 Midea Group 拥有的德国 Kuka 并列为工业机器人「四大」之一。SoftBank 董事长兼 CEO Masayoshi Son 表示，将把 Artificial Super Intelligence 与机器人融合。ABB 机器人事业迄今出货逾 50 万台，涵盖运输机器人与可与人协作的机器人；此交易使作为场外者的 SoftBank 以其 AI 技术为 ABB 带来超越其他三家的可能性而震动产业。

SoftBank 先前已投资约 20 家机器人公司，多为新创；2018 年自 Google 收购 Boston Dynamics（以 Atlas 双足机器人闻名），并在 2021 年将多数股权出售给 Hyundai Motor 后保留部分持股。透过 ABB 交易，SoftBank 目标是强化机器人研发，并建立以自主机器人与车辆运作的工厂园区以因应美国劳动力短缺；集团去年转向「cluster」策略，将旗下机器人公司纳入新的中介控股单位以促进综效。传统机器人主要用于制造业，以预先编程的控制软体执行例行任务，这一直是日本在 Fanuc 与 Yaskawa 等公司带动下的强项，能以极低误差确保精准动作；但生成式 AI 兴起后，自主 AI agents 的出现使焦点转向可即时搜集并分析资料、在缺乏人类控制下学习的通用型机器人。

在此竞争中，关键将是来自照护、物流与自动驾驶等实际运作环境的大型且广泛的资料集；SoftBank 希望把其新创投资组合中的资料与软体，与 ABB 的硬体结合。日本企业在 1980 年代约控制全球机器人市场 80%，但 International Federation of Robotics 的资料显示该份额在 2024 年已降至约 40%，而 Tesla 与中国 Unitree Robotics 等对手在「用于控制机器人的资料量」成为核心后崛起。面对转变，日本公司更趋开放合作：Fanuc 于 12 月宣布与 Nvidia 合作并导入工业机器人的开放原始码控制软体，从过去封闭原始码转向，让 AI 工程师能在模拟环境中为 Fanuc 机器人开发、测试并搜集资料；Fanuc 社长兼 CEO Kenji Yamaguchi 指出可把「世界的智慧」纳入机器人。Yaskawa 亦于 12 月与 SoftBank Corp. 合作，开发能在办公大楼、医院与商业设施中执行任务的系统；Yaskawa 社长 Masahiro Ogawa 表示将以 AI 扩大应用范围。Yaskawa 自 2023 年起销售 AI 工业机器人、也与 Nvidia 合作，并已与外部公司进行约 100 项 proof-of-concept；其正考虑与 Nvidia 及 Fujitsu 的三方合作，并收购人形机器人新创 Tokyo Robotics 以运用马达技术开发适用于精细作业的人形机器人驱动元件。PwC Consulting 合伙人 Yushi Segawa 指出，美国 physical AI 新创在 Big Tech 充足资金支持下正尝试各种想法，而日本企业长期不愿对外合作的作风正成为创新的障碍。

As AI rises and reshapes robotics, Japanese companies are trying to catch up in “physical AI” robots by acquiring partners or adopting open-source software. SoftBank Group announced in October a $5.38 billion deal to acquire the robotics business of Switzerland-based ABB; ABB is considered one of the industrial-robot “big four” alongside Japan’s Fanuc and Yaskawa Electric and Germany’s Kuka, owned by China’s Midea Group. SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said the goal is to fuse Artificial Super Intelligence and robotics. ABB’s robotics division has shipped more than 500,000 units to date, including transport robots and collaborative robots designed to work alongside humans; the purchase by an industry outsider jolted the sector because SoftBank’s AI could help ABB outpace the other three.

SoftBank had previously invested in about 20 robotics companies, mostly startups; it acquired Boston Dynamics from Google in 2018—known for the Atlas bipedal robot—and retained a partial stake after selling most of it to Hyundai Motor in 2021. With the ABB deal, SoftBank aims to strengthen robotics development and build factory complexes using autonomous robots and vehicles to address U.S. labor shortages; last year it pivoted to a “cluster” strategy, placing its robotics companies under a new intermediate holding unit to drive synergies. Conventional robots have mainly served manufacturing, running routine tasks with preprogrammed control software, a long Japanese strength led by firms such as Fanuc and Yaskawa that deliver precise motion with minimal error; but generative AI, and the emergence of autonomous AI agents, is shifting attention toward general-purpose robots that can collect and analyze data instantly and learn without human control.

In this new competition, the key will be large, wide-ranging datasets from real operating environments—nursing care, logistics, and autonomous driving among them; SoftBank wants to combine data and software from its startup portfolio with ABB’s hardware. Japanese companies controlled around 80% of the global robotics market in the 1980s, but International Federation of Robotics data shows that share slumped to around 40% in 2024, as rivals such as Tesla and China’s Unitree Robotics emerged when the quantity of data used to control robots became central. Under this pressure, Japanese players are taking a more open approach: Fanuc announced in December a tie-up with Nvidia featuring open-source control software for industrial robots, reversing its previously closed-source stance so AI engineers can develop for Fanuc robots, test, and collect data in a simulated environment; Fanuc President and CEO Kenji Yamaguchi said this would bring “the world’s wisdom” into robots. Yaskawa also announced in December a partnership with SoftBank Corp. to develop systems that work in office buildings, hospitals, and commercial facilities; Yaskawa President Masahiro Ogawa said AI would expand applications. Yaskawa has sold AI-equipped industrial robots since 2023, collaborated with Nvidia, and conducted around 100 proof-of-concept projects with outside companies; it is considering a three-way collaboration with Nvidia and Fujitsu and has bought humanoid-robot startup Tokyo Robotics to develop motor-based drive components for intricate tasks. PwC Consulting partner Yushi Segawa said U.S. physical-AI startups are trying many ideas with ample funding from Big Tech, while Japan’s reluctance to collaborate externally is increasingly a hurdle to innovation.