It has gained official status. This morning, Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai) declared that the acquisition of a controlling share in Boston Dynamics had been finalized. Boston Dynamics is presently 80% owned by Hyundai, while 20% is owned by SoftBank via one of its affiliates.
Dec. 2020 saw the announcement of the agreement. Boston Dynamics was valued at $1.1 billion when Hyundai purchased the controlling stake from Softbank for roughly $880 million.
In the past seven years, Boston Dynamics has had three different owners. In 2013, Google purchased it, then in 2017, Softbank Group purchased it. Since its inception, it has mostly worked as an R&D firm, but after being acquired by Softbank, a new emphasis on commercialization became apparent.
This morning, Hyundai unveiled a video describing the purchase. The film shows the Atlas humanoid dancing with a child and the Spot quadruped serving as a guide dog, but it doesn’t actually reveal anything else. Recently, Ernestine Fu of Hyundai suggested that Boston Dynamics’ technology could help Hyundai realize its notion of a walking car.
“Hyundai wants to create cutting-edge robotics technologies that improve people’s lives, increase safety, and advance mankind as a whole. Boston Dynamics and Hyundai are anticipated to be able to take advantage of each other’s strengths in construction, logistics, manufacturing, and automation as a result of the agreement “In a statement released this morning, Hyundai said. “Together, [Hyundai] and Boston Dynamics will build a robotics value chain that includes everything from manufacturing robot components to intelligent logistics options. Boston Dynamics will also get support from [Hyundai] as it expands its product line, global sales footprint, and service network.”
Spot, the first industrial robot from Boston Dynamics, debuted in June 2020. Numerous Spots are currently in use throughout the globe, and the business just unveiled Spot Arm, a robotic arm that transforms Spot into a mobile manipulation platform.
Stretch, a portable manipulator made to move boxes out of trucks and around warehouses, was recently unveiled by the RBR50 firm. Stretch will initially concentrate on truck unloading when it launches in 2022 for an undisclosed price, and will eventually expand its capabilities to include palletizing. A few partners are actively testing Stretch.
VP of engineering Kevin Blankespoor stated that Boston Dynamics is “moving hard into the warehouse space” when the company launched Stretch.
“Since the release of Atlas, the warehouse space has undoubtedly piqued our interest. That’s when we realized how large a market this is and how much room there is in the warehouse for mobility robots.” Added he, “We have a rapidly expanding warehouse robotics team, which I am in charge of. And it involves the creation of the Stretch robot, the Pick vision system, and a fleet management software system that enables the coordination of several robots for the purpose of performing tasks.”
What is ahead for Hyundai and Boston Dynamics is still a mystery. The partnership has the potential to be advantageous to both parties in a number of ways. The trip has now officially started.
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Boston Dynamics was officially acquired by Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday, according to a statement. Boston Dynamics received a $1.1 billion valuation from the acquisition, which was announced in December. With the acquisition, Hyundai gains an 80 percent controlling position in the business, while the former owner, Softbank, keeps a 20 percent stake.
The agreement should provide Boston Dynamics a secure home, as the company has produced the most remarkable robots in the world despite frequent ownership changes. The corporation was separated from MIT in 1992 and relied heavily on DARPA research grants for the majority of its existence. In 2013, as part of a transient interest in robotics spearheaded by Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android, Google purchased the independent Boston Dynamics. The company was no longer dependent on military contracts thanks to Google, but when Rubin left the company a year later, his interest in robots went with him.
Hyundai completes the acquisition of a majority stake in Boston Dynamics.
This morning, Hyundai said that the purchase of Boston Dynamics was complete. The revolutionary robotics business is valued at $1.1 billion thanks to the deal, which was disclosed in late 2020. Future financial information has not been made public by the companies.
Boston Dynamics, which was formerly owned by SoftBank, is now under the ownership of the South Korean automotive behemoth. Boston Dynamics was acquired by the Japanese investment firm from Google, which had held the company for less than three years, and served as the company’s de facto interim owner.
Boston Dynamics saw the commercialization of its first two products since launching around 30 years ago, even though its time with Softbank wasn’t much longer than its period under Google/Alphabet X. This year, the business announced the (still impending) release of Stretch, an improved version of its warehouse robot, Handle. Last year, the company brought its quadruped robot Spot to market.
Boston Dynamics has insisted on keeping its own research division despite changing ownership over the years, which has resulted in less commercial technology like the Atlas humanoid robot. It is unclear how this will operate under the leadership of Hyundai, but the business does appear to have a stake in continuing a forward-thinking strategy.
When the partnership was announced, Boston Dynamics CEO Rob Playter said, “We and Hyundai share a view of the transformational power of mobility and look forward to working together to accelerate our plans to enable the world with cutting-edge automation, and to continue to solve the world’s hardest robotics challenges for our customers.”
In a $1.1 billion deal, Hyundai purchases Boston Dynamics from SoftBank.
In a deal valued at $1.1 billion, the world’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Group, has agreed to acquire control of Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group.
Hyundai will own 80% of the company, according to a statement from Boston Dynamics, and SoftBank will own the other 20%. Chairman Euisun Chung, one of the wealthiest individuals in Korea with a net worth of $3.5 billion, is in charge of Hyundai.
The agreement would “lend synergies” to autonomous vehicles, according to the release, and will take advantage of Boston Dynamics and Hyundai’s respective capabilities in manufacturing, logistics, and automation. Aiming to become a “Smart Mobility Solution Provider,” a wide goal that includes autonomous cars, Hyundai, the second-largest business in Korea after Samsung, has ambitious plans to invest more than $50 billion over the next five years.
According to Boston Dynamics, Hyundai has already made significant investments in the creation of cutting-edge technology, such as autonomous driving, smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robotics, and environmentally friendly automobiles. Hyundai and the major European chemical company Ineos only last month agreed to study the possibility of collaborating on the development of hydrogen technology for the automaker’s hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
According to Yu Yuansheng, a senior analyst at Lux Research based in Singapore, “the acquisition of Boston Dynamics would bring in-house some of the market-leading capabilities, technologies, and know-how, and provide a big boost for Hyundai’s goals.” Yu cites Hyundai’s Vest EXoskeleton, a wearable robot it launched last year to help manufacturing employees. In order to assist persons with disabilities in walking, Hyundai is currently developing medical robots.
Hyundai purchased Boston Dynamics, but the future of its profitability is still unknown.
On June 21, 2021, Hyundai paid Softbank $1.1 billion to acquire Boston Dynamics. The eventual goal for profitable products is enhanced but remains unclear under the new ownership as the sector-leading company is passed between IT and manufacturing goliaths.
Boston Dynamics now has a controlling 80% ownership stake from Hyundai, while 20% still belongs to Softbank. The transaction offers a tidy return for Softbank, which has been experiencing tremendous difficulties in 2020 as its most prestigious companies such as Uber and WeWork suffered heavily. Softbank acquired the company itself from Google in 2017 for for $165m.
Hyundai acquires Boston Dynamics, a maker of robots, for $1.1 billion.
Boston Dynamics was formally purchased by Hyundai Motor Group on Monday, with the revolutionary robotics firm being valued at $1.1 billion. Boston Dynamics now has a majority interest in the South Korean automotive behemoth, moving it one step closer to its objective of developing the field of robots and mobility.
Since its 1992 separation from MIT, Boston Dynamics, a longtime pioneer in this field, has created a number of nimble, mobile robots. The most well-known product of the company is perhaps Spot, a quadrupedal robot dog that can open doors, climb stairs, and even dance. In addition to the hundreds of other robots Boston Dynamics provides for the mining, manufacturing, and construction industries, Spot entered the commercial market last year. Stretch, the company’s first commercial robot designed exclusively for warehouses and distribution hubs, was also recently introduced.
Google bought Boston Dynamics in 2013, and Japanese investment company SoftBank acquired it from Google in 2017 for $100 million before adding an additional $37 million in 2019. Currently, SoftBank owns 20% of the business, with Hyundai owning the remaining 80%.
Hyundai has been more active recently in the field of robotics, introducing a new “walking vehicle” that can travel over rough terrain on its legs or be carried by a drone. Additionally, the corporation claims to have “significantly invested” in the advancement of technologies like driverless vehicles, artificial intelligence, urban air mobility, and smart manufacturing. In order to achieve its ultimate objective of becoming a “smart mobility solution provider,” this acquisition of Boston Dynamics is a “important step.”
When the merger was first announced last December, Hyundai chairman Euisun Chung said in a statement, “The synergies formed by our union offer exciting new avenues for our companies to fulfill our purpose — enabling open and safe movement and [a] better plane of life experiences for humanity.” As the world’s population ages and undergoes a digital change, “We will also contribute to society by boosting its safety, security, and public health.”
Additionally, it is anticipated that this agreement will enable Hyundai and Boston Dynamics to more effectively combine their respective capabilities in industries like manufacturing, shipping, building, and automation. Additionally, Boston Dynamics’ product line will be expanded along with its global sales and service footprint, according to Hyundai. Together, the businesses hope to establish a sort of “robotics value chain” that takes care of everything from production to marketing.
At its Mountain View and Waltham offices, as well as online, Boston Dynamics is now hiring for dozens of tech positions.
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21st of June 2021, BOSTON, SEOUL, South Korea, and TOKYO /PRNewswire — Following the receipt of regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions, the Hyundai Motor Group (the Group), Boston Dynamics, Inc., and SoftBank Group Corp. (SoftBank) today announced the completion of the Group’s acquisition of a controlling interest in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank. The transaction gave the mobile robot company a $1.1 billion market value. No additional financial information was provided.
Following the closure, the Group will own 80% of Boston Dynamics, while SoftBank will keep the remaining 20% of the company through one of its affiliates.
Many of the top industrial companies in the world have successfully incorporated the nimble, mobile robots developed by Boston Dynamics into their commercial processes. Modern robotics has chances for quick development and the ability to improve society by making work safer and more efficient.
With the acquisition of Boston Dynamics, the Group takes yet another significant step toward its strategic transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider and secures a dominant foothold in the robotics industry. The Group has made significant investments in the development of future technologies, including as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), urban air mobility (UAM), smart manufacturing, and robotics, in order to accelerate this change.
The Group’s goal in the robotics sector is to create cutting-edge technologies that improve people’s lives, foster safety, and realize development for humanity.
Boston Dynamics and the Group should be able to take advantage of each other’s strengths in manufacturing, logistics, construction, and automation thanks to the agreement. The Group and Boston Dynamics will work together to develop a robotics value chain, from the production of robot components to intelligent logistics solutions. The Group will also assist Boston Dynamics with its ongoing global sales and service expansion and product portfolio development.
In June 2020, Boston Dynamics began selling Spot(r), its first commercial robot. Today, the company has hundreds of robots working in a range of sectors, including mining, manufacturing, oil and gas, power utilities, and construction. StretchTM, the business’s first commercial robot created especially for distribution centers and warehouses, was also recently unveiled by the company.
The Group also unveiled a new film today to demonstrate how it will use Boston Dynamics’ expertise to promote mobility for humanity. You may see the video on Hyundai’s YouTube channel.