SoftBank plans US IPO for new AI and robotics company Roze

In short: SoftBank is planning a US stock market listing for a new AI and robotics company called Roze, possibly as soon as this year.

What happened

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is planning to create a new business called Roze and list it on a US stock exchange. Listing a company, often called an IPO, means selling shares to the public for the first time (like putting a company on a public marketplace where anyone can buy a small piece of it).

People familiar with the plan told the Financial Times that Roze could be listed as early as this year. They said SoftBank executives are discussing a valuation that could reach $100 billion. SoftBank has not said how much of Roze it would sell, but it has often kept a majority stake when it lists companies, and it still owns nearly 90 percent of Arm, which listed in 2023.

Roze is expected to be involved in building data centers, which are large buildings filled with computers that run online services (you can think of them as warehouses for computing power). SoftBank is already working on data center projects, including a large one in Ohio. The plan is also expected to involve ABB Robotics, a business SoftBank agreed to buy last year in a deal that valued it at $5.4 billion.

SoftBank declined to comment. The Financial Times also reported that some people inside SoftBank are skeptical about the proposed valuation and timeline, citing economic and geopolitical uncertainty and the crowded calendar of other potential major IPOs.

Why it matters

This plan shows how much SoftBank is betting on AI infrastructure, especially data centers, which require huge amounts of money to build. If Roze goes public, it could bring in cash to support SoftBank’s broader AI investments, including its large commitments to OpenAI.

Source: Financial Times