United Robotics Group acquires SoftBank Robotics Europe

United Robotics Group (URG) is a European robotics company founded by Thomas Hahn and Wassim Saeidi in 2021, unifying young service robotics companies into a unique ecosystem. URG acquired [Softbank robotics](/companies/softbank-robotics) Europe (developer of Pepper robot) in 2022, gaining the Paris-based service robot portfolio.

Pepper is a semi-humanoid robot manufactured by Aldebaran Robotics (formerly SoftBank Robotics Europe, now part of [United robotics group](/companies/united-robotics-group)), designed to read emotions and interact with humans in retail, banking, hospitality, and healthcare settings. Unveiled in Tokyo in June 2014 by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, Pepper was the first commercial robot marketed as having a heart, with approximately 27,000 units produced before manufacturing was paused in 2020-2021 due to weak demand. Aldebaran Robotics was acquired by SoftBank in 2012 for USD 100 million, rebranded as SoftBank Robotics in 2016, sold to United Robotics Group in 2022, and rebranded back to Aldebaran before entering receivership in 2025.