SoftBank Group is in negotiations to acquire a majority stake in 1X Technologies, a humanoid robotics developer backed by OpenAI, in a deal that would value the startup at approximately $6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The investment would bolster SoftBank's robotics ambitions while giving 1X a longer financial runway to bring its soft-bodied humanoid robots into everyday households, where they aim to assist users with various domestic chores. The 12-year-old startup had planned to raise $1 billion last autumn, but two sources said the final amount raised was less than half of that target. Talks are still ongoing, and the terms of the deal could still change.

Despite the high costs and immense technical challenges of building AI robots that can think, act, and move safely like humans, the deal discussions signal that investor enthusiasm for the humanoid robot sector remains undiminished. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who has long invested in and controlled multiple robotics companies, has predicted that the combination of artificial intelligence with physical hardware will produce the next trillion-dollar company. Son has publicly stated, "SoftBank's next frontier is physical AI."

According to other sources, OpenAI also considered acquiring this robot maker last year, but those talks ultimately fell through. OpenAI had internal plans for a humanoid robot project, but its priority was overtaken by the collaboration with former Apple chief designer Jony Ive, and OpenAI acquired the startup founded by Ive last year. OpenAI's robotics business lead departed in March of this year, citing concerns over the company's rushed push into a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense.

In June, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told startups at a Y Combinator event, as relayed by an attendee, that he is very bullish on humanoid robots, noting they have the potential to accelerate the construction of data centers. OpenAI first invested in 1X back in 2023, with the investment aimed at supporting startups that get early access to OpenAI's early-version large language models.

For years, Son has viewed robotics as a core pillar of the AI era. However, some of his early investments in the robotics space did not yield ideal returns: SoftBank discontinued its Pepper humanoid robot in 2020, sold 80% of Boston Dynamics the following year, and completed the disposal of its remaining stake in the company, which develops humanoid robots, robot dogs, and industrial robotic arms, in July of this year.

But advances in AI technology have reignited SoftBank's enthusiasm for the robotics sector. In October of last year, SoftBank finalized a $5.4 billion deal to acquire the robotics division of Swiss automation giant ABB, which primarily manufactures robotic arms for manufacturing use. SoftBank has also invested in Agile Robots, which released an industrial humanoid robot in November of last year. Over the past two years, SoftBank has held acquisition talks with several industrial humanoid robot companies, including Agility Robotics.

Around Son's robotics strategy, SoftBank has established a new entity called Roze AI, focused on AI and robotics, with plans for a listing by the end of this year or early next year. SoftBank is currently working on refinancing its bridge loan to OpenAI. After its next $10 billion investment lands, SoftBank's total committed investment in OpenAI will reach $65 billion.

For 1X, the $6 billion valuation represents a pullback from its previous equity transfer valuation, but it is still a significant jump compared to the $820 million valuation from January 2025, even though the company's current revenue scale is likely still quite low. This capital will support 1X's continued development of AI models, which require enormous computing power, as well as robot hardware iterations.

In October of last year, 1X opened pre-orders for its lightweight humanoid robot Neo at a price of $20,000 per unit, with delivery planned for 2026. 1X says it received more than 10,000 orders in the first week of pre-sales, but to date, it has not delivered a single unit to any customer. In January of this year, the company unveiled its world model, an AI system that can predict the next frame of a video and is adapted for robot control — a technical approach that has become a major point of divergence in the physical AI field this year. In July, 1X published technical details of its five-fingered dexterous hand, which uses a tendon structure in the forearm, with motors routed through the wrist and extending into the fingers, to achieve hand movements.