China blocks SoftBank's $5.4B ABB Robotics deal on data security grounds
lukas_m_ziegler · x · 2026-11-10
China blocked SoftBank's $5.4B acquisition of ABB Robotics on data security grounds—not market share (competition regulators had already cleared it in February).
- Per the FT, regulators worried robotics data generated in China could flow abroad to train AI models, including OpenAI's, given SoftBank's investor status
- China is 30% of ABB's robotics revenue; ABB's global robotics HQ and a $150M mega factory are in Shanghai
- Second major tech deal China blocked this year, after ordering Meta to unwind its Manus acquisition
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