ABB Robotics

ABB Robotics is a division of ABB Ltd responsible for the design, manufacture, and sale of industrial robots, collaborative robots (cobots), and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Its history dates to 1974, when ASEA (ABB's predecessor) introduced the IRB 6 model — one of the first fully electric, microcomputer-controlled industrial robots. In 1988, ASEA merged with Brown, Boveri & Cie to form ABB, and the robotics division continued operations under the new name. Principal manufacturing centres are located in Västerås (Sweden, since 1974), Shanghai (China, factory opened 2022), and Auburn Hills (USA). Key products include the IRB family of 6-axis robots, the GoFa cobot, the dual-arm YuMi, the FlexPicker delta robot, the OmniCore control platform (launched 2024), and RobotStudio software (since 1998). In 2024 the division generated revenues of approximately USD 2.3 billion and employed around 7,000 people. In October 2025, ABB Ltd signed an agreement to sell the division to SoftBank Group for USD 5.375 billion; the transaction is pending regulatory approvals and is expected to close in mid-to-late 2026.