Tokyo (AFP)
Japan's SoftBank Group on Friday announced the sale of around 80% of its stake in Boston Dynamics to South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor, a deal valuing the US robotics company at $ 1.1 billion (900 million euros ).
SoftBank Group, which will retain 20% of the capital, bought Boston Dynamics in 2017 from Alphabet, the parent company of Google, for an unpublished amount.
Coming from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the early 1990s before being acquired by Alphabet in 2013, Boston Dynamics is one of the world leaders in the sector of mobile and intelligent robots to perform various tasks (handling, inspection in hazardous areas, etc.).
The videos of his creations, with shapes evoking the world of science fiction, reach millions of views on Youtube as they are bluffing, as is the price of these technological jewels, hardly profitable for the moment.
Its first commercial robot, the all-terrain quadruped Spot, launched in June.
Like the Japanese Toyota, Hyundai Motor is also developing its own robots with artificial intelligence, not only for its core business in mobility as well as in logistics, but also for services such as health and personal care. elderly.
The transaction between SoftBank Group and Hyundai is expected to be finalized by June 2021, according to a joint statement.
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