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Masayoshi Son''s investment powerhouse is reportedly negotiating a controlling interest in OpenAI-backed humanoid maker 1X Technologies, at a figure well under the valuation the company pursued last September.
In a bid to solve labor shortages and aging infrastructure, the Japanese industrial giant is partnering with academic researchers to develop autonomous AI capable of reflexive, human-like dexterity across multiple robot form factors.
Moving beyond its established wheeled Torobo platform, Tokyo Robotics has demonstrated a new bipedal prototype featuring robust self-balancing and real-time whole-body teleoperation.
In a massive escalation of the robotic software race, SoftBank and NVIDIA are reportedly in talks to invest over $1 billion in Skild AI, tripling the startup''s valuation as it details its "omni-bodied" brain technology.
A new Kyoto-based coalition brings together Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Renesas, and JAE to build an "All-Japan" supply chain for humanoid hardware, mirroring similar national strategies in Korea and China.
Andy Rubin, known for creating Android and leading Google''s past robotics efforts, is reportedly operating ''Genki Robotics'' in stealth mode, tapping into Japan''s engineering talent.
Following mixed results with its Pepper robot, SoftBank is reportedly intensifying its search for investments in next-generation humanoid robotics, targeting AI-driven companies like Agility Robotics and Skild AI.
The Japanese convenience store giant will partner with robotics firm Telexistence to deploy "Astra," a humanoid robot powered by a Vision-Language-Action AI model, aiming to tackle labor shortages and redefine in-store operations.
