Pomegra
SoftBank is in advanced talks to acquire a controlling interest in OpenAI-backed humanoid robot startup 1X Technologies at a $6 billion valuation - a 40% discount to the $10 billion the Norwegian company sought just months ago.
Key Takeaways:
- SoftBank is negotiating a majority stake in 1X Technologies at a reported $6 billion valuation, down from $10 billion targeted in fall 2025.
- 1X's NEO home humanoid robot, priced at $20,000, drew over 10,000 preorders in its first week of availability.
- OpenAI, already a backer, had separately explored a full acquisition of 1X in 2025 before those talks ended without a deal.
Lead
SoftBank Group is in talks to acquire a majority stake in 1X Technologies, the Norwegian humanoid robotics startup backed by OpenAI, at a valuation of approximately $6 billion. The discussions, first reported by The Information and dated to late August 2026, mark a significant step in SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son's escalating bet on humanoid robotics - and a notable valuation reset for a company that sought $10 billion just a year ago, having raised less than half its $1 billion fundraising target at the time.
What Is 1X Technologies?
Founded in Norway, 1X Technologies builds androids designed to work alongside humans in home and industrial settings. Its flagship product, the NEO robot (also marketed as Neo Gamma), is a bipedal humanoid priced at $20,000. The company began taking paid reservations with U.S. deliveries starting in 2026 and logged more than 10,000 preorders in its opening week.
1X gained broader visibility in 2025 after its robot appeared alongside NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, delivering a jacket in what became a widely circulated demonstration. The company has also inked a commercial deal to place up to 10,000 NEO units across the portfolio companies of investment firm EQT between 2026 and 2030, targeting manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics operations.
OpenAI has been a backer since at least 2023, when 1X was raising at a pre-money valuation of roughly $375 million. That figure makes the current $6 billion discussion look like a steep climb - though context matters. OpenAI itself reportedly explored a full acquisition of 1X in 2025 before those discussions collapsed.
Why Is the Valuation $6B and Not $10B?
The gap between 1X's aspirations and the current offer reflects a wider cooling on private humanoid robot valuations after a period of frenzied investor interest. 1X set out in fall 2025 to raise $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation and came away with less than half the capital sought. That outcome signaled that institutional appetite for the sector, while still present, had grown more selective.
At $6 billion, SoftBank would be pricing in execution risk. NEO has yet to ship at meaningful commercial scale. Preorders and a single enterprise logistics deal are promising signals, not proof of a production-grade supply chain. Humanoid robots remain among the most technically demanding consumer products ever attempted, with failure modes across motors, battery life, navigation, and safety that no company has fully solved in real-world conditions.
What Does SoftBank Get From This?
For SoftBank, a majority stake in 1X would extend a robotics portfolio that already spans industrial arms and construction automation. Son has made no secret of his belief that humanoid robots will reshape the global labor market within this decade. A controlling interest, rather than a minority position, gives SoftBank operational influence over 1X's technology roadmap, hiring, and commercialization strategy - a posture closer to ownership than investment.
The deal structure would also give SoftBank direct exposure to any upside from 1X's enterprise pipeline with EQT, and potentially leverage the existing OpenAI relationship in ways a passive investor could not.
What Comes Next for 1X?
The talks are ongoing and terms could change. If an agreement is reached, the transaction would likely require approvals in Norway, where 1X is headquartered. Norwegian authorities have shown increased scrutiny of foreign acquisitions of strategic technology companies.
For the broader humanoid robot sector, a SoftBank majority acquisition at $6 billion would establish a data point that acquirers, not venture rounds, may now set the price ceiling for unproven robotics startups.
Outlook
A deal at $6 billion would close a chapter on 1X's independent fundraising ambitions and open a different one under SoftBank's control. The valuation discount relative to last year's target is real, but SoftBank's resources - capital, distribution relationships, and tolerance for long development timelines - could accelerate NEO's path to commercial scale. Whether 1X can actually deliver tens of thousands of functioning home androids remains the central question that no term sheet answers.
