SoftBank ties up with Iris Ohyama to recharge robotics ambitions

FILE PHOTO: The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato

SoftBank Group Corp's robotics unit announced on Wednesday a joint venture with Japanese electronics maker Iris Ohyama, as the conglomerate looks to juice up its robotics business.

SoftBank Robotics, whose Pepper robot is a symbol of the company and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son's grand technological ambitions, is an outlier, as the group eschews operating businesses in favour of investing.

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Iris Ohyama, a household goods and electronics maker, is seen at the company's office in Kakuda, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, September 3, 2020. REUTERS/Sam Nussey

The joint venture, Iris Robotics, offered an ambitious forecast of 100 billion yen ($965 million) in sales by 2025, but provided little detail on future products at a press conference.

Household goods maker Iris Ohyama, which has a 51% stake in the venture, is becoming an increasingly potent force in Japan's electronics sector as it moves steadily up the value chain.

Last month, SoftBank announced the sale of robotics firm Boston Dynamics to Hyundai Motor Group and its chairman.

(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Arun Koyyur)