Hyundai Acquires Full Control of Boston Dynamics After SoftBank Sells Final Stake for $325 Million

Hyundai Motor Group has acquired full control of Boston Dynamics, purchasing SoftBank's remaining 9.65 percent stake for $325 million. The deal, reported by Startup Fortune, closes SoftBank's involvement with the Waltham, Massachusetts robotics company and makes Boston Dynamics a wholly owned Hyundai subsidiary.

The transaction follows a put option that SoftBank retained when Hyundai bought an 80 percent stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021 for roughly $880 million, valuing the company at about $1.1 billion at that time. SoftBank had acquired Boston Dynamics from Alphabet in 2017, after Google purchased the robotics lab in 2013.

Atlas humanoid robot set for Hyundai EV plant

Hyundai and Boston Dynamics publicly demonstrated the electric Atlas humanoid robot at CES in Las Vegas on January 5, 2026. The Associated Press reported that the life-sized robot stood up, walked around the stage, and was remotely piloted during the demonstration.

Production versions of Atlas are expected to begin work at Hyundai's electric vehicle plant near Savannah, Georgia by 2028. Key details include:

• The Savannah plant is Hyundai's first dedicated EV manufacturing facility in the United States.
• Atlas will handle tasks such as material handling and repetitive assembly operations.
• Hyundai aims to prove the commercial viability of humanoid robots in heavy industrial settings.

Implications for robotics commercialization

Boston Dynamics robots gained global fame through YouTube videos long before they found commercial applications. The SoftBank exit, while worth $325 million, is notable because it removes a financial layer that had separated Hyundai from direct control of the robot maker. Hyundai can now integrate Boston Dynamics' R&D directly into its manufacturing operations without the distraction of a minority investor.

If Atlas deployment succeeds at the Georgia plant, analysts say Hyundai could expand humanoid robot use across its global factory network. The timeline from 2026 demo to 2028 deployment is aggressive by industry standards. Success would position Hyundai as a leader in industrial humanoid robotics, moving beyond the hype that surrounded earlier Spot and Atlas demonstrations.

What comes next is a focused two year grind: hardening Atlas software for factory conditions, training crews in Savannah, and proving that a humanoid robot can outperform traditional fixed automation in real production lines.