Hyundai's Robotics Takeover
Hyundai Plans Full Ownership of Boston Dynamics, Buys SoftBank's Final Stake for $325 Million
Key Points
Hyundai’s expansion into Boston Dynamics is tied to a broader push with Nvidia: the companies agreed to deepen their partnership, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang meeting Hyundai’s Euisun Chung to discuss plans for “AI-powered manufacturing, mobility, and robotics,” aiming to move automation and robotics from testing into real production using Hyundai’s global manufacturing network.
The SoftBank buyout would follow Hyundai’s initial acquisition of a controlling stake: Hyundai took an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021 in a deal valuing the company at around $1.1 billion, and the transaction is described as effectively capping a multi-year consolidation period that began when Hyundai first took control.
Hyundai has also pointed to concrete use-cases for Boston Dynamics hardware: one report says Hyundai plans to deploy Boston Dynamics’ humanoid Atlas robots at its electric-vehicle manufacturing facility.
Reporting details from Reuters’ coverage of the Maeil Business Newspaper article indicate the transaction’s timing and rationale are based on “unnamed industry sources,” and Hyundai Motor and SoftBank did not respond to requests for comment.
Hyundai Motor Group is set to buy SoftBank's remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics for $325 million, according to Reuters citing Maeil Business Newspaper. The deal would make the American robotics company a wholly owned Hyundai subsidiary. Hyundai's board is scheduled to vote on the transaction on June 22.
The move caps a five-year takeover that began in 2021, when Hyundai paid roughly $880 million for an 80% controlling stake, valuing Boston Dynamics at $1.1 billion. At $325 million for just 9.65%, the implied valuation today is around $3.4 billion — triple the original price tag. Hyundai and SoftBank did not respond to requests for comment, Reuters noted.
SoftBank Exercises Put Option to Force Final Sale
SoftBank is not selling voluntarily. The Japanese investment giant is exercising a "put option" — a contract clause from the 2021 deal that lets SoftBank force Hyundai to buy back the remaining shares at a set price. That clause was baked in when Hyundai first took control, Maeil Business Newspaper reported. SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son is exiting just as Boston Dynamics shifts from research lab to factory floor.
Some analysts call it a "modest exit." SoftBank held the company through its most expensive research years and is now walking away right as commercial sales begin to ramp up, according to Global Banking & Finance Review. Internal estimates from Hyundai Glovis suggest Boston Dynamics could be worth as much as $22 billion today — meaning SoftBank may be leaving enormous upside on the table.
Atlas Robots Headed to Hyundai's Georgia EV Factory
Full ownership removes what analysts at Invezz call "minority-holder friction." With no outside shareholder to answer to, Hyundai can fast-track Boston Dynamics hardware into its own factories. The primary target is the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia. There, electric Atlas robots are set to handle "parts sequencing" — picking and placing heavy EV components on the assembly line.
Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter called the new all-electric Atlas "the best robot we have ever built" at CES 2026. Hyundai's goal is to mass-produce 30,000 Atlas units per year by 2028, according to PCMag. Labor analysts are watching closely to see whether Atlas truly works alongside human workers or simply replaces them.
Nvidia's Jensen Huang Calls Hyundai Best Positioned for Physical AI
The Boston Dynamics deal does not stand alone. On June 8, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang flew to Seoul and met Hyundai Executive Chair Euisun Chung at Hyundai's Yangjae headquarters, according to The Asia Business Daily. Huang said, "In the era of physical AI... no one is better positioned than Hyundai." The two sides agreed to deepen a partnership covering AI-powered manufacturing, mobility, and robotics.
Nvidia is also joining Hyundai's "AI Valley" project in Saemangeum, South Korea. The hub will cost 9 trillion Korean won — about $5.87 billion — and will combine AI data centers with robotics clusters, according to AzerNews. Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs are expected to power Boston Dynamics hardware as part of the alliance.
Big Ambitions Face One Stubborn Risk: Turning Robots Into Profit
Investor enthusiasm is real, but so are the warning signs. ValueTheMarkets flags that Boston Dynamics must move well beyond demonstration videos and "parts sequencing" pilots. The company needs to prove it can sell humanoid robots to outside industries at a profit and at scale. So far, no robotics company has done that reliably.
One analyst note cited by Gadget Review says the deal could speed internal adoption at Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Motor, but warns that robotics progress may stay "stuck in prototypes" without a clear path to scalable, profitable commercialization. The board vote on June 22 will make the ownership official. What happens after that is the harder question.
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