SoftBank invests $2.8 billion in Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore PUBLISHED BY Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group has struck a $2.8 billion deal for a 40 percent stake in Norwegian warehouse automation company AutoStore, in the latest round of long-term bets in e-Commerce and robotics. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Monday and later confirmed by AutoStore in an update on its website. The Japanese group behind the world’s largest technology fund announced on Monday that will buy the stake from U.S. buyout group Thomas H Lee Partners and Sweden’s EQT in a deal worth $7.7 billion.