Frequently referred to as Hyundai Motors, the Hyundai Motor Company (Korean: hyeondaejadongca; Hanja: Xian Dai Zi Dong Che ; RR: Hyeondae Jadongchalisten)
In Ulsan, South Korea, Hyundai runs the largest integrated auto manufacturing facility in the world, with a 1.6 million-unit production capacity per year. Around 75,000 employees work for the company internationally. Hyundai sells cars through 5,000 dealerships and showrooms in 193 different countries.
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History[edit]
When Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of Kia in 1998, the group was created. Hyundai currently controls 33.7% of Kia Motors as of March 31, 2011.
The Hyundai Motor Group said on May 22, 2022, that by the year 2025, it would invest an extra $5 billion in the United States. With the investment, collaboration with US businesses would be strengthened in fields like urban air mobility, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, and robotics. President Biden made the announcements while on a trip to South Korea.
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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.
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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.
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.”
A Guide to Automobile Companies
The major automakers with present presences in the United States are listed below, along with the brands they sell.
BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce are all owned by BMW Group. Smart and Mercedes-Benz are owned by Daimler AG. Lincoln and Ford are owned by Ford Motor Co. Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac all belong to General Motors. Hummer is back as a GMC subsidiary brand. In order to co-develop EVs, GM and Honda have an official collaboration. Acura and Honda are owned by Honda Motor Co. It collaborates with GM. Sony Honda Mobility is the name of the electric vehicle firm they founded with Sony. Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia are all owned by Hyundai Motor Group. Mazda is owned by Mazda Motor Corp. Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Infiniti are all owned by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Following the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot S.A., a new company called Stellantis was created. According to the explanation, the word is derived from the Latin verb “stello,” which means “to dazzle with stars.” Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram are now under Stellantis and are FCA brands that are offered in the United States. Other Stellantis automobile brands include Citroen, DS Automobiles, Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall. Subaru is owned by Subaru Corp. Jaguar and Land Rover are owned by Tata Motors. Owned by Tesla. Lexus and Toyota are owned by Toyota Motor Corp. Additionally, it owns stock in Suzuki and Subaru. The automotive brand VinFast, along with VinHomes, VinBigData, VinBioCare, and VinBrain, are all owned by VinGroup. Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Scout, and Volkswagen are all brands owned by Volkswagen AG. Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus are all brands owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (ZGH).
Boston Dynamics is acquired by Hyundai.
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.
What led Hyundai to acquire Kia?
In 1997, Kia declared bankruptcy after becoming a stand-alone autonomous company. In 1998, Hyundai Motor Group made the decision to buy the automaker in order to keep it viable.
Are Hyundai and Kia owned by the same company?
Some people consider Hyundai and Kia to be simply rebadged versions of the same cars. The two brands do have a close relationship, despite the fact that this is not the case. Hyundai acquired Kia in 1998 and now owns 51% of the business. The two corporations are now regarded as sisters because that share has decreased to around a third.
Hyundai and Kia frequently use one another’s vehicle platforms as a result of their tight cooperation. Do the cars from both brands have the same engines?
How are Hyundai and Kia vehicles stolen?
Certain types and models of Kia and Hyundai cars from 2010 to 2021 that require mechanical keys rather than key fobs and push buttons to start the car are being targeted by thieves. Young kids are the majority of the burglars, and they hot wire the automobile using a USB cord.