Hyundai has acquired an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics in a deal that valued the company at $1.1 billion with the remaining 20% retained by Softbank. Hyundai sees the acquisition as a major step forward in its strategic transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider.

According to Hyundai:

The merger with Boston Robotics will allow us to merge and expand our future mobility concept including autonomous cars, logistics and Urban Air Mobility. To celebrate the occasion, we want to show our vision for ‘Progress for Humanity’ by presenting a whole new era of robots to the world. An era in which robots are fun, capable and visible companions for humankind that will take our current mobility services to new heights.

What's the benefit for Boston Dynamics? The company has was founded in 1992 and the past decade has seen two changes of ownership  - being acquired by Google in 2013 and then by Softbank in 2017. Despite almost 30 years in the robotics industry it they only started selling robots last year. Their first robot to be sold is Spot, its quadruped robot that has a price tag of $74,500 and the company suffers from lack of experience in the mass production - something that no big deal for Hyundai. 

Continuing in the tradition of using dance to showcase robots, Hyundai has brought out its own video featuring Spot and Altas: 

Commenting on the possibility of expanding robotic production and the potential role of robots Hyundai states: 

Despite significant progress over the past decade, robotics is a technically difficult field in need of a lot of funding. That being said, robots have already been assisting humans behind the scenes, carrying out dangerous and dull tasks in factories and beyond. They have also enabled us to explore previously unreachable environments, from the deep oceans to deep space. And today, the robotics have the potential to greatly improve the quality of our lives at work, at home, and at play by providing us all with support for all kinds of tasks. The merger with Boston Robotics will allow us to merge and expand our future mobility concept including autonomous cars, logistics and Urban Air Mobility. 

More Information

Hyundai Motor Group Completes Acquisition of Boston Dynamics from SoftBank

Hyundai Welcomes Boston Dynamics to ‘the Family’ with Special Video Showing BTS Dancing with Robots

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