❯ SoftBank in talks for a majority stake in humanoid maker 1X at a $6 billion valuation

control, not participationSoftBank is in talks to buy a majority stake in OpenAI-backed humanoid robot maker 1X at a valuation of about $6 billion, with terms still subject to change, The Information reported. The price sits well below the $10 billion valuation 1X sought last year, when it planned a $1 billion raise and landed less than half of it.

product and orders1X’s flagship NEO is built for household chores, priced at $20,000 outright or $499 a month, and the company says its first-year capacity of 10,000 units sold out in five days — though no robot has actually reached a customer yet. For SoftBank this follows a pattern: last year it agreed to buy ABB’s robotics business for $5.4 billion, and when it first engaged 1X in 2023 the pre-money valuation was just $375 million. In three years the price on SoftBank’s books rose more than tenfold while delivery stayed at the reservation stage.

from investing to consolidatingMoving from investor to controlling owner says Masayoshi Son wants the production line itself rather than a financial return. The valuation anchor for humanoid robotics shifts down with it — $10 billion could not get funded last year, $6 billion buys the whole company this year, and the discount the private market applies to “not yet delivered” is now explicit. Meanwhile, Tesla is still working toward a consumer launch for Optimus.

▪ SIGNALThe distance between sold out and delivered is the entire difference between a $10 billion valuation and a $6 billion one.