SoftBank is in talks to acquire a majority stake in humanoid robot maker 1X at a valuation of $6 billion.

BlockBeats News, August 27th, according to The Information, sources revealed that SoftBank is in talks to acquire a majority stake in the startup 1X Technologies, which is a human-like robot development company backed by OpenAI. This transaction will value the company at approximately $6 billion. This investment will support SoftBank's ambitions in the robotics field and provide more funding for 1X to introduce robots with flexible body designs into consumer households to help users with household chores. The 12-year-old startup had attempted to raise $1 billion last fall at a valuation of $10 billion, but reportedly only managed to secure less than half of the target.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has long been an investor and owner in robotics developers. He predicts that the combination of robotics technology and artificial intelligence in physical devices will create the next trillion-dollar company. Another indication is that OpenAI and 1X reportedly discussed the acquisition of 1X last year, but the negotiations eventually fell through.