Hyundai Motor Group on Friday announced to acquire controllingstake from SoftBank in consumer robot maker Boston Dynamics in a deal thatvalues the company at $1.1 billion.
Hyundai is taking about 80 per cent stake in the companywhile Softbank will retain around 20 per cent through an affiliate.
Hyundai Motor Group, together with Boston Dynamics, willcreate robotics value chain ranging from robot component manufacturing to smartlogistics solutions.
The deal, for which financial details were not disclosed,came as Hyundai Motor Group envisions the transformation of human life bycombining world-leading robotics technologies with its mobility expertise.
"We are delighted to have Boston Dynamics, a worldleader in mobile robots, join the Hyundai team. The synergies created by ourunion offer exciting new pathways for our companies to realize our goal --providing free and safe movement and higher plane of life experiences forhumanity," said Euisun Chung, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group.
The acquisition will mark another major step for Hyundai MotorGroup toward its strategic transformation into a smart mobility solutionprovider.
Hyundai has already invested substantially in development offuture technologies, including in fields such as autonomous driving technology,connectivity, eco-friendly vehicles, smart factories, advanced materials,artificial intelligence (AI), and robots.
Boston Dynamics is the established leader in developingagile, mobile robots that have been successfully integrated into variousbusiness operations.
The deal is also expected to allow Hyundai Motor Group andBoston Dynamics to leverage each other's respective strengths in manufacturing,logistics, construction and automation.
Masayoshi Son, Representative Director, Corporate Officer,Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group said that "Boston Dynamics is at theheart of smart robotics.
"We are thrilled to partner with Hyundai, one of theworld's leading global mobility companies, to accelerate the company's path tocommercialization," he said in a statement.
Boston Dynamics is also entering the logistics automationmarket with the industry leading Pick, a computer vision-based depalletizingsolution, and will introduce a mobile robot for warehouses in 2021.
"We and Hyundai share a view of the transformationalpower of mobility and look forward to working together to accelerate our plansto enable the world with cutting edge automation, and to continue to solve theworld's hardest robotics challenges for our customers," said RobertPlayter, CEO of Boston Dynamics.
(Source: IANS)