The South Korean firm is pursuing its ambitions in robotics with the acquisition of Boston Dynamics, the company famous for its robot-dog Spot. The company, which successively belonged to Google and Softbank, is particularly renowned for its know-how in the design of handling machines.
If the news is official since December 2020, the acquisition is finalizing these days. In the scarcity, purchase an amount close to a billion dollars for 80% of the company’s shares. The remaining 20% remain in the hands of the previous majority owner, Softbank.
A strategic purchase in the mobility market.
The acquisition of Boston Dynamics is the first of the Chaebol since Chung Euisun took over the presidency of Hyundai Motors Group. The robotics company is renowned for offering particularly advanced technologies without managing to generate profits with them.
Boston Dynamics has significant technological know-how like the video that created the craze at the end of 2020. Spot, a robot dog in his state, had attracted the New York police and the French army for patrols or demining operations. Atlas, the humanoid, is distinguished by the ability to chain the movements of gymnastics. Spot and Atlas are the spearheads of today’s robotics.
The mobility challenges are unprecedented, and robotics has the best assets to respond to the most complex problems (disability, arduousness, etc.). However, between the unpopularity of machines in replacing humans and the difficulty of technology to generate profit, Hyundai must take up a significant challenge to achieve a sustainable scale-up of the company.