SoftBank Looks to Invest $75 Million in OpenAI-Backed Humanoid Robotics Startup

In tech, all software roads eventually lead to hardware. Look no further than OpenAI’s Sam Altman dreaming up an artificial intelligence-powered personal device with ex-Apple designer Jony Ive and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Another topic the three men may have discussed at Ive’s San Francisco studio: existing AI hardware companies that Altman is excited about, given his wide array of investments.

So perhaps it’s no coincidence that SoftBank is now in talks to buy shares of 1X Technologies, a Norwegian humanoid robotics company that OpenAI previously funded.