Shares of SoftBank surged 11.43% on Thursday, following the Japanese tech giant’s announcement of a $5.4 billion acquisition of the robotics division of Swiss engineering firm ABB — a move that cements SoftBank’s growing dominance in the global AI and robotics landscape.

The acquisition, pending global regulatory approval, marks a significant shift in ABB’s strategy, as the company will no longer pursue plans to spin off its robotics arm as a separate listed entity.

“SoftBank’s next frontier is Physical AI,” said Masayoshi Son, the company’s visionary founder. “Together with ABB Robotics, we will unite world-class technology and talent under our shared vision to fuse Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) and robotics — driving a groundbreaking evolution that will propel humanity forward.”

Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) — Son’s concept of AI that is 10,000 times smarter than humans — lies at the heart of SoftBank’s long-term mission. The company has been strategically investing across the AI ecosystem, with notable holdings including chip designer Arm and a significant stake in OpenAI.

In parallel with the ABB deal, SoftBank-owned British chipmaker Graphcore is preparing to invest $1.3 billion in India, including establishing a new research hub, according to Bloomberg. The investment announcement is expected during U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to India this week, accompanied by a business delegation.

Meanwhile, Japan’s markets responded positively to the developments — the Nikkei 225 climbed 1.77% to close at 48,580.44, reaching a new record high, while the Topix index advanced 0.68% to 3,257.77.

This latest acquisition reinforces Masayoshi Son’s bold vision to place SoftBank at the epicenter of the global AI revolution, uniting robotics, chips, and Artificial Super Intelligence into a single transformative ecosystem.