Softbank plans IPO for new AI and robotics company valued at up to $100 billion

Softbank is planning to launch and take public a new AI and robotics company called Roze in the United States, the Financial Times reports. The IPO could happen as early as this year, with a target valuation of up to $100 billion. Roze would build data centers and could incorporate the recently acquired ABB Robotics.

According to the report, Softbank founder Masayoshi Son wants to use the IPO to offset the company's massive spending, including its roughly $30 billion investment in OpenAI. An analyst day is planned for July at a data center in Texas. Some Softbank executives reportedly view both the valuation and the timeline as overly ambitious, especially given current geopolitical uncertainties.

Softbank is already pushing up against its own debt limits and needs to sell assets to keep funding its spending spree.