Hyundai Motor Group units and its chairman have agreed to buy an 80% stake in robot maker Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group Corp for around 800 billion to 900 billion won ($736 million-$828 million), a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
Hyundai Motor Group units and its chairman have agreed to buy an 80% stake in robot maker Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group Corp for around 800 billion to 900 billion won ($736 million-$828 million), a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. Hyundai can leverage the robot technology to expand automation at its unionised car factories, as well as design autonomous vehicles like self-driving cars, drones and delivery robots, analysts said. The move comes after newly-promoted chairman Euisun Chung pledged to reduce reliance on traditional car manufacturing, saying robotics will account for 20% of the company’s future business, with car-making taking up 50%, followed by urban air mobility at 30%. Chung will own a 20% stake in Boston Dynamics, while Hyundai Motor and its affiliates, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, will hold a combined 60% stake, two people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential.
