Re:Hyundai in talks to acquire Boston Dynamics
by stowie1012 on Monday November 09, 2020 @05:52PM
(#25040945)
Hyundai Motor is in talks to acquire Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group. The deal could be worth as much as $1 billion.
Boston Dynamics was founded in 1992 as a spin-off out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was acquired by Google in 2013 and sold to Softbank in 2017. The company has mainly operated as an R&D organization since it was founded. But a new emphasis on commercialization was evident after it was acquired by Softbank.
If the deal comes to fruition, it would be another in a string of non-core asset sales by Tokyo-based Softbank Group. The Japanese conglomerate has been hit hard by a series of soured bets, including WeWork and Uber Technologies. In September 2020, Softbank sold Arm to NVIDIA for $40 billion.
Boston Dynamics was founded in 1992 as a spin-off out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was acquired by Google in 2013 and sold to Softbank in 2017. The company has mainly operated as an R&D organization since it was founded. But a new emphasis on commercialization was evident after it was acquired by Softbank.
If the deal comes to fruition, it would be another in a string of non-core asset sales by Tokyo-based Softbank Group. The Japanese conglomerate has been hit hard by a series of soured bets, including WeWork and Uber Technologies. In September 2020, Softbank sold Arm to NVIDIA for $40 billion.