SoftBank in Talks to Take Majority Stake in Humanoid Robot Firm 1X at $6B Valuation, Betting on "Physical AI" as Next Trillion-Dollar Arena

SoftBank is in talks to acquire a majority stake in humanoid robot company 1X Technologies, backed by OpenAI, at a valuation of approximately $6 billion. 1X had sought to raise $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation last year, but the fundraising fell short of half its target. OpenAI had also previously discussed an acquisition with the company, but no deal was reached. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has identified "physical AI" as the company's next strategic frontier.