SoftBank is discussing a plan to acquire a majority stake in humanoid robot developer 1X Technologies, which has received investment from OpenAI, The Information reported on Aug. 26 local time.

SoftBank is proceeding with the talks on the basis of a valuation of about $6 billion for 1X Technologies, The Information said.

If the investment goes through, SoftBank would be able to strengthen its robotics business capabilities and 1X Technologies would secure funding needed to expand its soft-body home robot, the report said.

1X Technologies, a 12-year-old startup, sought to raise $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation last fall but raised an amount that was less than half its target.

The investment talks are ongoing and terms may change. SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son (손정의) has stressed that physical devices combining robotics and AI will create the next $1 trillion company.

In October last year, SoftBank agreed to acquire the Swiss ABB robotics business unit for $5.4 billion. In November, it also invested in Agile Robots, which unveiled an industrial humanoid.

In October last year, 1X Technologies began taking pre-orders for its robot Neo at $20,000 per unit and received more than 10,000 orders in a week, but has not yet delivered the robot to customers, The Information said.