Softbank Group (Softbank)

Canvas Category Consultancy : Company : Venture Capital

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Primary Location Minato, Tokyo, Japan

Financial Status TYO: 9984

The aim of our company is to contribute to people’s happiness through the Information Revolution, and become the corporate group needed most by people around the world. To achieve our vision, SoftBank strives to create an ideal society where everyone can feel the convenience, comfort, and safety, by the power of digital technology on top of the strong foundation of our businesses.

Assembly Line

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Sets Up Industrial Robotics Facility With SoftBank

📅 Date:

✍️ Author: Matthew Martin

🏢 Organizations: Softbank


Saudi Arabia’s new $100 billion investment firm announced a string of deals Tuesday, including partnerships with SoftBank Group Corp. and a Chinese surveillance equipment maker to set up local manufacturing facilities, as part of the kingdom’s efforts to transform itself into an industrial powerhouse.

The new vehicle, Alat, and SoftBank will invest as much as $150 million to establish a fully-automated manufacturing and engineering hub in Riyadh. The venture will build industrial robots based on intellectual property developed by SoftBank, with the first factory set to open in December.

Read more at Bloomberg

SoftBank Group and Symbotic Establish New Warehouse-as-a-Service Joint Venture

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🔖 Topics: Partnership

🏢 Organizations: SoftBank, Symbotic, GreenBox Systems


SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE: 9984, “SoftBank”) and Symbotic Inc. (Nasdaq: SYM), a leader in A.I.-powered automation technology for the supply chain, today announced the establishment of GreenBox Systems LLC (“GreenBox”), a new joint venture to address the more than $5001 billion annual warehouse-as-a-service market opportunity. Concurrently, Symbotic also announced an approximately $7.5 billion new customer contract with GreenBox, who will be the exclusive provider of Symbotic systems in the warehouse-as-a-service market, and will make supply chain services available to customers.

SoftBank and Symbotic own 65% and 35% of GreenBox, respectively, with the joint venture established today. GreenBox will initially be funded with $100 million of capital contributed pro rata by Symbotic and SoftBank to fund operating expenses and initial system purchases. After Symbotic’s initial $35 million pro rata capital contribution, the contract is expected to be accretive to Symbotic’s annual free cash flow (net of capital contributions).

Read more at Symbotic News

🦾 Retail robotics startup Telexistence raises $170M

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✍️ Author: Maria Deutscher

🔖 Topics: Funding Event

🏢 Organizations: Telexistence, SoftBank, Airbus


Telexistence Inc., a startup developing artificial intelligence-powered robots for the retail sector, today announced that it has raised $170 million in funding. One of the investors in the Series B round was SoftBank Group Corp. Last month, SoftBank signaled that it plans to step up the pace of its AI investments following a year of limited venture capital activity. The company scaled back its participation in startup funding rounds last year to address market headwinds. Besides SoftBank, Telexistence’s latest raise also included the participation of several other backers. Among them were Airbus Ventures, Monoful Partners, KDDI Open Innovation and Globis Capital Partners.

In FamilyMart stores, the shelves that hold packaged goods are often embedded into the walls. Behind each shelf is a corridor accessible only to employees and a merchandise storage area. When a certain product runs out, employees enter the corridor, pick up new merchandise from the storage area and place it on the shelf. Telexistence’s TX SCARA robot automates the task. It’s a mobile robot arm designed to operate in the employee-only corridor between a store shelf and the merchandise storage area. The TX SCARA can detect when a product is out of stock, pick up new merchandise from the storage area and place it on the relevant part of the shelf.

Read more at Silicon Angle

Proposed Tender Offer From SoftBank Group to Acquire Balyo’s Shares

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🔖 Topics: Acquisition

🏢 Organizations: SoftBank, Balyo


Through its portfolio of automated robotic forklift technologies, Balyo is complementary to SoftBank’s existing investments in the Transportation and Logistics industries. This acquisition will also provide access to SoftBank’s global network of 470+ technology-led companies with scope to develop new commercial relationships for mutual benefit. Balyo’s Board of Directors believe that through this partnership, the Company will benefit substantially from SoftBank’s technological and commercial expertise while also securing the necessary financial resources to reach its full potential.

Read more at Business Wire

Berkshire Grey Enters into Definitive Merger Agreement with SoftBank Group for Go-Private Transaction

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🔖 Topics: Acquisition

🏢 Organizations: Berkshire Grey, SoftBank


Berkshire Grey, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGRY), today announced that the Company has entered into a definitive merger agreement with SoftBank Group Corp. and its affiliate. Under the agreement, SoftBank will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of the Company not currently owned by SoftBank for $1.40 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $375 million. SoftBank, a strategic investment holding company with stakes in AI, smart robotics, IoT, telecommunications, internet services, and clean energy technology providers, has been an investor in Berkshire Grey since 2019.

Read more at Globe Newswire

SoftBank-Backed CloudMinds Weighs $500 Million Hong Kong IPO

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✍️ Author: Pei Li

🔖 Topics: Funding Event

🏢 Organizations: CloudMinds, SoftBank


Artificial intelligence-powered robot developer CloudMinds Inc. is considering a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise as much as $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The Shanghai-based firm is working with China International Capital Corp. and Haitong International Securities Group Ltd. on preparations for the share sale, the people said. A listing could take place as early as this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

Read more at Bloomberg

SoftBank-backed Chinese robot maker, JAKA, to build plant in Toyota's backyard

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🔖 Topics: Cobot

🏢 Organizations: JAKA, Softbank, Aramco


JAKA is one of a number of companies looking to challenge Denmark-based Universal Robots’s lead in collaborative robots, also called co-robots, which play a complementary role to the hulking machines on automated assembly lines. Other contenders include Japan’s Fanuc and Chinese startup Elite Robot. JAKA’s advantage comes from the size of its home market, as well as its track record as a Toyota supplier. The company’s mean time between failure is 80,000 hours, the equivalent of one incident every nine years or so.

JAKA now makes all of its robots in Changzhou, China, at a factory with an annual capacity of about 10,000 units. For JAKA, the Nagoya plant is not only about serving Japanese buyers. In preparation for the expansion, JAKA Robotics raised a total of 1 billion yuan ($148 million) from investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Prosperity7 Ventures, a fund under Saudi Aramco.

Read more at Nikkei Asia

JAKA Robotics raises $150M for collaborative robots

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✍️ Author: Brianna Wessling

🔖 Topics: Funding Event

🏢 Organizations: JAKA Robotics, Temasek, Softbank


JAKA Robotics has raised $150 million in Series D funding. This follows a $50 million Series C funding round earlier in 2021. JAKA plans to use the Series D funding to further support globalization of the company and the research and development of its collaborative robot (cobot) arm.

Read more at Robot Report

Excited to Announce Aquabyte’s $25M Series B

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🔖 Topics: Funding Event

🏢 Organizations: Aquabyte, Softbank


In 2017, Aquabyte was an idea and a prototype. The prototype was a camera powered by AI and Machine Learning, to capture and analyze images of underwater fish.

So today, five years since that initial prototype in my San Francisco bathtub, I am proud and grateful to announce that we have completed our Series B funding. I am grateful for the commitment of SoftBank Ventures Asia, The Nature Conservancy, Westerly Winds, New Enterprise Associates, Costanoa Ventures, ArcTern Ventures, Alliance Venture, and Struck Capital who are joining us as investors, friends, and true partners.

Read more at Aquabyte Blog

RightHand Robotics Secures $66 Million in Series C Funding

📅 Date:

🔖 Topics: funding event

🏢 Organizations: RightHand Robotics, Safar Partners, THL, SoftBank, Zebra Technologies


RightHand Robotics, a leader in data-driven, autonomous robotic picking solutions for order fulfillment, announces today that it has secured $66 million in a Series C financing led by top growth investors: Safar Partners, a technology venture fund; Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P. (“THL”), a leading investor in automation and supply chain; and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which is part of the SoftBank Group. Zebra Technologies, Epson and Global Brain also join this round, along with previous investors GV, F-Prime Capital, Menlo Ventures, Matrix Partners and Tony Fadell’s Future Shape. Previous rounds were led by Menlo Ventures and Playground Global.

RightHand Robotics intends to use the funds to accelerate product and business development, while scaling its global presence and partner network. The company will also expand its offices and invest in talent acquisition to support overall growth plans.

Read more at RightHand Robotics Latest