Hyundai To Buy Waltham-Based Boston Dynamics

WALTHAM, MA —The Waltham-based company behind the futuristic and somewhat intimidating robot dog called "Spot" is soon to have a new owner.

Hyundai is set to buy Boston Dynamics, a 300-person company valued at $1.1 billion, according to a news release.

"Hyundai Motor Group believes that the robotics market has potential for significant growth in the future," the company said in a statement.

The South Korean tech giant will be taking an 80 percent stake in the company, leaving the other 20 percent to Softbank Group, the company's former owner. The deal is expected to close next summer.

"Boston Dynamics’ commercial business has grown rapidly as we've brought to market the first robot that can automate repetitive and dangerous tasks in workplaces designed for human-level mobility," said Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter in the statement. "We and Hyundai share a view of the transformational power of mobility and look forward to working together to accelerate our plans to enable the world with cutting edge automation, and to continue to solve the world’s hardest robotics challenges for our customers."

The robot dogs are designed to perform tasks in situations where humans can't. Last year Massachusetts State Police Tested Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog for use during police work. And this year the technology has been used this year amid the pandemic to encourage distancing in parks.

Boston Dynamics was a 1992 spin off from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2013, Google bought the company and then in 2017, they sold it to SoftBank.

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