TAIPEI: Hon Hai Technology Group said the company is to collaborate with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to invest ￥14.5 billion (US$118.25 million) each in a robotics subsidiary of Japan’s Softbank Corp.
Hon Hai and Alibaba are to each hold ownership stakes of 20 percent in Softbank Robotics Holdings Corp, while Softbank is to control 60 percent of its subsidiary following the completion of the investment, Hon Hai said in a statement.
Under the terms of the agreement, the paid-in capital of Softbank Robotics would be ￥72.5 billion.
“Foxconn is pleased to be partnering with Softbank and Alibaba as part of our effort to drive the advancement of robotics engineering,” Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou said in the statement.
Hon Hai said that the strategic alliance with Alibaba and Softbank would facilitate the sale of Softbank’s Pepper robot and other robotic products on the global market.
“With Softbank’s advanced software and Internet technologies, and Foxconn’s hardware component integration, Pepper has grown rapidly… in the past year,” Gou told a Web-broadcasted press conference in Japan.
Gou said that robotics development is a strategic area of focus for Foxconn as the company continues to invest its capabilities in intelligent manufacturing.
Softbank founder and chief executive officer Masayoshi Son said he is excited to partner with Alibaba and Foxconn to face the challenge of going global with the bank’s robotics business.
“We will aim to be the No. 1 robotics company,” Son said.
Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma said he foresees robotics becoming a critical field that catalyzes technological breakthroughs in many sectors, such as public services, healthcare, research and in the home.
He said the alliance would pave the way for robotics research and development, stressing that with cutting-edge technologies, he thinks robotics can positively impact millions of lives.
