SoftBank bets on physical AI
SoftBank created a new venture to build an AI that can autonomously control machines and robots by 2030, and it’s working with industrial groups including Sony, Honda and Nippon Steel. The move is framed as part of a broader robotics push and sits alongside government interest in "sovereign AI." (theverge.com)
Physical artificial intelligence is software that turns a model’s predictions into motion, and SoftBank is backing a new company to build that kind of system for robots and machines by 2030. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) The new firm, called Nihon AI Kiban Moderu Kaihatsu, was established with SoftBank, NEC, Honda Motor and Sony Group as its main backers, with each holding a stake of about 10 percent or slightly more. A SoftBank executive was appointed president, and the company plans to hire about 100 artificial intelligence developers and engineers. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) SoftBank and NEC are expected to build the underlying model, while Honda and Sony are expected to apply it in cars, robots, video games and semiconductors. Nippon Steel, Kobe Steel and Japan’s three megabanks — MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank — are investing as minority shareholders. (asahi.com) (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) The company is targeting a 1 trillion-parameter foundation model, the kind of base system that other software can be adapted from for specific jobs. Its longer-term target is software that can control robots on its own, moving beyond text and image generation into physical action. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) (asahi.com) Japan’s industry ministry is taking applications for domestic foundation-model projects through the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, and the program is set to provide a total of 1 trillion yen over five years from fiscal 2026 through 2030. The new company plans to apply for that support. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) (asahi.com) (nedo.go.jp) The push comes as Japanese officials are expanding their artificial intelligence policy machinery. Japan’s Cabinet Office said it held the fourth meeting of its specialist artificial intelligence strategy panel on April 9, 2026, and listed an artificial intelligence and semiconductors working group among its active policy bodies. (www8.cao.go.jp) SoftBank is making this bet alongside a separate alliance with OpenAI. On November 5, 2025, SoftBank Group and OpenAI said they had launched SB OAI Japan to sell “Crystal intelligence,” an enterprise product planned for Japan in 2026, with SoftBank using it first inside its own operations. (group.softbank) That leaves SoftBank pursuing two tracks at once: imported software for office work through OpenAI, and a domestic model aimed at factory equipment, vehicles and robots through the new venture. Japan’s corporate backers are betting the second track fits the country’s manufacturing base more directly. (group.softbank) (asahi.com) (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) If the plan holds, the first milestone is not a chatbot but a Japanese-built base model that domestic companies can adapt. The final test is the one SoftBank set at the start: software that can move machines without waiting for a person to tell it every step. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp)
