Hyundai Takes Full Control of Boston Dynamics to Accelerate Humanoid Robot and AI Strategy

Hyundai Motor has announced plans to acquire SoftBank Group’s remaining stake in Boston Dynamics, giving the South Korean automaker full ownership of the robotics company as it expands its artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics ambitions.

The company confirmed that SoftBank exercised its contractual put option for its remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics. Hyundai and its affiliates are currently reviewing the rights and obligations tied to the transaction. While the companies did not disclose financial details, South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper previously estimated the stake to be worth around $325 million.

Hyundai first became the majority owner of Boston Dynamics in 2021 and has since made robotics a central part of its long-term growth strategy alongside electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and software-defined mobility.

With complete ownership, Hyundai expects to accelerate the commercialization of Physical AI by combining Boston Dynamics’ advanced robotics expertise with Hyundai’s manufacturing technologies, mobility solutions, and global production network. The company believes this integration will strengthen its position in the rapidly growing industrial automation and AI-powered robotics market.

A major focus of the strategy is Atlas, Boston Dynamics’ next-generation humanoid robot. Earlier this year, Hyundai introduced a production-ready version of Atlas and plans to deploy the robots at its electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Georgia starting in 2028.

The automaker aims to scale production capacity to as many as 30,000 humanoid robots annually. Initially, the robots will perform industrial tasks such as logistics operations and welding before gradually taking on more sophisticated manufacturing functions, including component assembly, by the end of the decade.

Despite the strategic announcement, Hyundai Motor shares fell 3.6% in Seoul trading, although the decline was smaller than the broader KOSPI index, which dropped 5.8% during a technology-led market selloff. SoftBank shares edged down just 0.1%, outperforming Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, which declined 2.3%.

Hyundai’s latest move underscores the growing competition among global manufacturers to integrate AI-driven robotics into production facilities, with humanoid robots expected to play an increasingly important role in improving efficiency, automation, and future manufacturing capabilities.