The humanoid robot Atlas is unveiled at a Hyundai Motor Group press conference held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 5 (local time), one day before the opening of “CES 2026,” the world’s largest consumer electronics and IT show. Las Vegas — Cho Tae-hyung
Hyundai Motor Group will acquire the stake in Boston Dynamics held by SoftBank. With the deal, Hyundai Motor (005380) Group will secure 100% ownership of Boston Dynamics. As decision-making and business execution for Boston Dynamics are streamlined, the commercialization of physical artificial intelligence (AI), including the humanoid robot “Atlas,” is expected to accelerate.
Hyundai Motor Group said on the 16th that in early July it exercised a put option (a right to sell common shares) on the Boston Dynamics stake held by SoftBank under a contract signed in 2020. Each shareholder company within Hyundai Motor Group has begun discussions on the acquisition process and the division of the stake in accordance with internal procedures. Hyundai Motor Group did not disclose the size of SoftBank’s remaining stake or the acquisition price, but the industry believes it acquired the 9.65% stake for $325 million (about 487.5 billion won). At the time Hyundai Motor Group acquired Boston Dynamics in 2021, SoftBank held a 20% stake, but its ownership gradually declined through capital increases.
Hyundai Motor Group has been reviewing ways to expand investment cooperation with Boston Dynamics as part of its long-term robotics strategy. The aim is to accelerate robot development, mass production, external cooperation, and factory deployment amid intensifying global competition for robotics supremacy. Tesla is known to be entering mass production of its humanoid robot “Optimus” at the end of this year. Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy Atlas into the production process at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia, U.S., in 2028.
Boston Dynamics has recently unveiled a series of robot technologies it has steadily developed, strengthening its position as a leading robotics company. On the 5th, Atlas successfully demonstrated a performance of delivering the match ball to the referee during halftime of the Brazil-Norway round-of-16 match at the “FIFA World Cup 2026,” held at a stadium in New Jersey, New York, U.S.
In May, Atlas stably lifted a compact refrigerator weighing 23 kilograms and moved it to a table, proving that it possesses not only the whole-body control capability required at real work sites but also the ability to handle external objects.
“Atlas,” a humanoid robot developed by Hyundai Motor Group affiliate Boston Dynamics. Photo courtesy of Boston Dynamics
Some speculate that this stake acquisition is related to the group succession process of Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Euisun Chung. Before the acquisition of SoftBank’s stake, Boston Dynamics’ ownership structure consisted of HMG Global with 56.3%, Chairman Chung with 22.5%, and Hyundai Glovis with 11.25%. HMG Global is owned 49.5% by Hyundai Motor, 30.5% by Kia, and 20% by Hyundai Mobis. Because Chairman Chung holds a substantial stake of more than 20%, if Boston Dynamics succeeds in an IPO (initial public offering) at a high market value, Chung would obtain funds to acquire a stake in Hyundai Mobis, which sits at the top of the group’s circular ownership structure.
A Hyundai Motor Group official said, “Hyundai Motor Group and Boston Dynamics will continue to strengthen the competitiveness of the robotics business while pursuing synergy creation.” The official added, “We will realize manufacturing innovation, build a global robot ecosystem, and expand a future industrial ecosystem in which robotics, AI, and energy are organically combined.”