Hyundai Completes Buyout of Boston Dynamics Stake

Hyundai Motor Group has announced plans to acquire SoftBank Group's remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics for $325 million, which would make Boston Dynamics a wholly owned subsidiary of the group (Reuters, June 19; UPI, June 23). Hyundai originally acquired an 80% controlling stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank in 2021 in a transaction valued at $1.1 billion; subsequent capital increases reduced SoftBank's ownership to about 10% (UPI). The purchase follows a put option SoftBank retained when it sold control of Boston Dynamics to Hyundai; SoftBank exercised that right, triggering the current transaction (Reuters; StartupFortune).

Multiple Hyundai Motor Group affiliates - including Hyundai Motor, Kia, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis - each hold shares in Boston Dynamics and must each complete their own board approval procedures (UPI, June 23). A Hyundai Motor Group official told Asia Today that a decision on the remaining stake could be made around July 20, 2026, which the official identified as the deadline for SoftBank to exercise its put option (UPI; Asia Today). Reuters earlier reported that board meetings at Hyundai affiliates were expected in late June to review the proposed purchase. Kia reportedly held a board meeting in late June to discuss its share of the acquisition (UPI).

Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy approximately 25,000 Atlas humanoid robots across its factories beginning in 2028, starting with parts-sequencing work at its Metaplant in Savannah, Georgia (Korea Herald; StartupFortune). KED Global reported in January 2026 that Boston Dynamics is targeting a list price for Atlas near $320,000 per unit - framed as below the cost of two years of U.S. manufacturing payroll for two workers - citing sources briefed on the plan (KED, Jan. 20, 2026). Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter has said Atlas would need to learn new factory tasks within a day or two and reach 99.9% reliability before being broadly useful on production floors (StartupFortune).

KED Global frames the full acquisition as a step that could accelerate a potential Boston Dynamics IPO and is tied to Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung's corporate governance restructuring and inheritance tax planning (KED, June 21). Some Korean brokerage estimates have placed Boston Dynamics' potential value at more than 30 trillion won (about $19 billion), though that figure remains speculative given that the company has not yet reached full-scale commercialization (UPI). For SoftBank, the exit lets it redeploy capital toward AI infrastructure; StartupFortune cites SoftBank's reported $41 billion OpenAI position and its new Roze AI venture - focused on AI-built data centers and physical infrastructure - as the larger capital destination.

Full ownership removes the minority-stake put option that required Hyundai to manage SoftBank as a co-investor with exit rights. Under sole ownership, Hyundai can align Boston Dynamics' product roadmap directly with its automotive and logistics operations. Competitors in the humanoid space include Tesla Optimus and Figure AI, but Boston Dynamics' advantage is access to a vertically integrated customer - Hyundai's own factories - with known layouts, high-volume cycles and a supply chain connection through Hyundai Mobis for Atlas actuators (StartupFortune).

• •Board approval completions and regulatory filings from Hyundai Motor, Kia, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis confirming the close.
• •Final transaction announcement around the July 20 option-exercise deadline.
• •Atlas deployment updates from Hyundai's Georgia Metaplant; those results will clarify whether the 2028 humanoid commercialization timeline is on track.
• •Boston Dynamics IPO signals from Hyundai, which Korean brokerages have linked to corporate governance moves at the group level (KED).