Pepper goes on sale in Japan this coming weekend, but in advance of that launch SoftBank has revealed that Alibaba and manufacturer Foxconn have invested $118 million each in its robotics division.
Pepper, which is manufactured by Foxconn, is initially a household robot. SoftBank has made 1,000 models available for early adopting consumers who want to be the first to plonk down 198,000 JPY (approximately $1,600) to put the humanoid in their home. Customers are, however, subject to monthly service fees of up to 24,600 JPY ($200) over the course of a three-year contract.
