Sets Direction for the Next Era of Physical AI
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 29, 2026); SoftBank Robotics America today announced its 10-year, diamond anniversary, marking a decade of helping service industries adopt autonomous robotics and setting the company’s direction for the next decade of Physical AI.
Over the past 10 years, SoftBank Robotics America has helped move robotics from early experimentation into real-world enterprise deployment. What began with human-centered robotics has evolved into scalable automation programs across cleaning, facilities management, and emerging service workflows.
The company’s journey reflects a broader shift in the market. Robotics is no longer defined by individual machines or isolated pilots. It is becoming a strategic operating capability for organizations looking to improve productivity, consistency, labor efficiency, customer experience, and employee experience.
“Ten years of deployment has taught us a simple lesson: robotics value compounds when it is designed around the outcome,” said Naoki Mikoshiba, EVP Corporate Strategy and Management, SoftBank Robotics America. “The technology matters, but the real value comes from making robotics work reliably inside complex operations. That is where customers see better economics, better performance, and better experiences for their teams.”
Building the Foundation for the Next 10 Years
SoftBank Robotics America’s first decade helped establish the operating foundation required for robotics at scale. The company has supported enterprise customers across multiple industries and locations, helping them adopt autonomous solutions in environments where reliability, service, governance, and measurable outcomes matter.
Today, SoftBank Robotics America solutions clean more than 5.5 million square feet daily. The company has supported more than 2.5 million autonomous tasks, cleaned more than 5 billion square feet, and now processes nearly 200 billion data points each day across its connected automation ecosystem. These operating learnings now shape the company’s next chapter.
“The first 10 years gave us the experience, data, partnerships, and operating discipline required for what comes next,” said Brady Watkins, President and GM, SoftBank Robotics America. “The next decade will not be about one product category. It will be about orchestrating Physical AI across service industries so customers can automate more workflows, manage complexity, and create durable business outcomes.”
From Robotics Deployment to Physical AI Orchestration
SoftBank Robotics America is expanding its role from robotics deployment to Physical AI orchestration. This means helping customers assess, select, deploy, service, govern, and scale autonomous solutions across multiple use cases and technology partners. The company’s orchestrator model is designed to give customers a practical path from initial deployment to broader automation programs. That includes fleet visibility, service support, operational data, partner coordination, workflow integration, and outcome measurement.
This model has been shaped through strategic partnerships with companies including Gausium, Direct Supply, Flagship Facility Services, LCS, Sabra, Green Clean Commercial, and Matternet. Together, these relationships reflect the expanding role of autonomous systems across floor care, intelligent facilities management, and last-mile delivery.
Gausium has recognized SoftBank Robotics America with Platinum Service Elite status for enterprise-scale deployment and fleet management of more than 100 autonomous cleaning solutions, underscoring the company’s ability to support robotics programs beyond the initial sale.
The Next Era: Integrated, Outcome-Based Automation
The next phase of SoftBank Robotics America’s strategy will focus on helping service organizations move from isolated automation use cases to integrated operating models.
This includes:
• Expanding automation across cleaning, facilities management, delivery, and adjacent service workflows
• Building broader partner ecosystems around Physical AI
• Using data to improve visibility, governance, and performance
• Helping customers evaluate automation based on measurable business outcomes
• Reducing repetitive, dull, dirty, and potentially dangerous work for people
The company’s recent launch of SBX intelligent facilities management, including the acquisition of Green Clean Commercial, reflects this broader direction. SBX is designed to bring digital facilities operations, automation, service delivery, and data-driven performance into a more integrated model.
The company’s partnership with Matternet also reflects the same strategic direction: expanding autonomous technology beyond indoor robotics and into additional workflows where automation can improve service delivery.
A Decade of Learning, A Decade of Acceleration
SoftBank Robotics America’s 10-year, diamond anniversary milestone is not only a look back. It is a signal of where the company believes the market is going.
“As robotics becomes more capable, customers will need more than access to technology,” said Watkins. “They will need trusted partners who can help them decide what to deploy, how to operate it, how to measure it, and how to expand it. That is the role we are built to play.” Watkins added: “We are grateful to the people, customers, and partners who helped build the first 10 years of SoftBank Robotics America. Now we are focused on the next 10: more selection, better service, stronger ecosystems, and more outcome-based automation programs for the industries that need them most.”
