SoftBank to Create Industrial Robots for Saudi Arabia

SoftBank has partnered with Alat, a company launched by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), to create an automated manufacturing hub where next-generation industrial robots will be built.

Alat has been given $100 billion by the PIF to bring automation technologies to industries across the region, to establish Saudi Arabia as a leading figure in smart, sustainable tech.

The robots created under the new SoftBank venture will be used for a range of manufacturing and assembly tasks and will “radically transform” the manufacturing industry.

The partners will invest up to $150 million to establish a fully automated manufacturing and engineering hub in Riyadh that will serve local and global demand. 

Under the venture, the partners will build industrial robots based on intellectual property developed by SoftBank Group and its affiliates, according to a statement.

The first factory is slated to open this December.

“We want this to be the start of a game changer for manufacturing around the world,” said Amit Midha, Alat’s CEO. “Together with SoftBank Group, we see an immense market opportunity for robotics both in the Kingdom, the Gulf, and globally,

“With this initial set-up, we predict a contribution of $1 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2025. Our ambition is to fundamentally transform industrial manufacturing by robots, manufactured in the Kingdom.”

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“The combination of Saudi Arabia’s vision, economic growth, and leading logistics location coupled with abundant access to green energy and Alat’s mandate to manufacture sustainably, made this strategic partnership between us very compelling,” said Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s CEO. “Today’s announcement marks a historic milestone for how future manufacturing will take place.”

The news comes as part of Saudi Arabia’s roadmap to launch fourth industrial revolution technologies by 2030, with the kingdom setting its sights on having 32,000 smart, sustainable factories up and running in the country by 2035.

Alat also announced partnerships with Carrier Corporation, China's Dahua Technology and The Saudi Technology and Security Comprehensive Control Company, to promote sustainable manufacturing and help move the companies towards a zero-carbon model.