SoftBank is creating a robotics company that builds data centers — and already eyeing a $100B IPO

Source: TechCrunch

In Brief

Tech companies are racing to build out infrastructure that can further drive the automation boom. Japanese multinational SoftBank reportedly plans to create a new company designed to automate the creation of that infrastructure.

Image Credits: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg / Getty Images

SoftBank’s New Robotics Venture

• SoftBank is assembling a new business called Roze AI, originally reported by the Financial Times (source).
• Roze aims to make data‑center construction in the U.S. more “efficient,” according to the Wall Street Journal (source).
• The company plans to achieve this by deploying autonomous robots to help build server farms.

Potential IPO

• SoftBank is already preparing Roze for an IPO, with some executives targeting a public offering in the second half of 2026.
• The desired valuation could be around $100 billion, as reported by the FT.
• TechCrunch reached out to SoftBank for more information.

Related Initiatives

• Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has co‑founded a startup called Project Prometheus, which plans to acquire firms in major industrial sectors and modernize them using AI (TechCrunch article).

SoftBank’s Track Record

• SoftBank has a history of backing unconventional startups. It notably invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Zume, an AI‑driven pizza‑delivery startup that went bankrupt in 2023 (Fortune article).
• The FT notes that some within SoftBank have expressed skepticism about the valuation and the proposed timeline for an IPO.