If you’re a long-time reader of Stuff, odds are you’ve seen something that Boston Dynamics has done. The robotics company is responsible for several interesting robots, include Spot and Atlas –two of the creepiest bots to walk the Earth. Because, well… they’re likely to make it to retail at some point. And they’re faster than us.
Boston Dynamics started life as a standalone company before being bought up by Google in 2013. It was then sold to Softbank in 2017. And, now, it may be headed to a new home, as Huawei is supposedly in talks with the robot maker’s parent company.
Being Boston Dynamics
It’s not exactly a done deal, however. The robotics company could change hands for as much as $1 billion, which makes for a bit of a change. The previous deals, when Google acquired the company and when it was sold to Softbank, haven’t had a monetary value disclosed. But, as Bloomberg notes, the deal between Softbank and Hyundai is far from final and may never take place. But it’d be a lot cooler if it did.
And that’s because Hyundai, rather than just being a vehicle manufacturer, also does a surprising amount of work in the robotics sphere. Their focus is largely industrial but the company also has an eye on the future — like with the walking Hyundai Cradle robot car which might actually make it to market. And the South Korean company also has its eye on just the sort of innovation that Boston Dynamics is keen on, making the potential deal seem like a great idea.
Source: Bloomberg