Hyundai to fully acquire Boston Dynamics in $325M deal

Hyundai Motor Group is set to acquire SoftBank Group's remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics for $325 million, a deal that would give the South Korean automaker full ownership of the robotics company behind the humanoid robot Atlas.

The acquisition, first reported by South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper and confirmed by Reuters, was triggered by SoftBank exercising a put option that was built into the original 2020 deal structure. Major Hyundai affiliates including Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Hyundai Mobis are expected to hold extraordinary board meetings on June 22 to approve the transaction.Yahoo+2

From $1.1 Billion to $3.4 Billion

The $325 million price for a 9.65% stake implies a valuation of roughly $3.4 billion for Boston Dynamics — more than triple the $1.1 billion valuation placed on the company when Hyundai first acquired its 80% controlling stake from SoftBank in December 2020. Hyundai paid approximately $880 million for that initial stake, with the deal closing in June 2021.kucoin.com+2

As part of the transaction, Hyundai will also sell the Robotics & AI Institute, a research center co-founded with Boston Dynamics in 2022, to SoftBank for approximately $100 million. The RAI Institute, led by Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert, had received $424 million in investment from Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Hyundai Mobis.mk+1

Atlas and a Nasdaq IPO

Full ownership is expected to give Hyundai greater decision-making agility as it pushes to commercialize Atlas, which was unveiled in its product form at CES 2026 in January. The company has said all Atlas deployments are fully committed for 2026, with units shipping to Hyundai's Robotics Metaplant Application Center and Google DeepMind Alphabet Inc. ↗ 0.84%. Hyundai plans to build a U.S. production facility capable of manufacturing 30,000 Atlas robots annually by 2028.알파경제+1

The buyout also clears the path toward a potential Nasdaq listing for Boston Dynamics. Industry sources and analysts have indicated that Hyundai has been reviewing an IPO from multiple angles, with some market observers expecting a listing as early as next year. The put option's expiration deadline had effectively forced Hyundai's hand on the ownership question before it could proceed with listing preparations.KyungHyangSinmun+3