Exclusive Hyundai Motor Company acquires Boston Dynamics

Photo = Hankyung DB

Hyundai Motor Group will soon acquire Boston Dynamics, a leader in global robot development. It is the first large-scale merger and acquisition (M&A) after Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Eui-sun Eui-sun was elected Chairman in October.

According to the investment banking industry (IB) on the 8th, Hyundai Motor Group will conclude negotiations with the Softbank Group of Japan, owner of Boston Dynamics, in detailed terms such as prices, and will officially announce the acquisition soon. Hyundai Motor Group subsidiaries such as Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Mobis decided to share shares to take over, and the price is known to be between 800 billion and 900 billion won, which is slightly less than 1 trillion won. won originally known. About half of this is covered by the Hyundai Motor Company.

Boston Dynamics is a company famous for the robot dog ‘Spot’. After parting ways with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research center in 1992, it was acquired by Google in 2013 and then Softbank in 2017. Spot, first introduced in 2015, attracted attention for its ability to walk and run on all fours and climb stairs.

Hyundai Motor Group, which has selected Robotics as one of the future growth engines, is expected to accelerate its concern in the future mobility market with this acquisition. Chairman Chung said in a public meeting with executives and employees in October last year, “(Hyundai Motor Group’s future food) will be 50%, 30% will be personal aircraft (PAV) and 20% will be robotics.”

After establishing a robotics team within the group in 2018, President Chung has invested in autonomous driving startup Forty-to-Dot and US robot startup Real-Time Robotics. Earlier this year, it announced plans to invest 100 billion won in personal vehicles, robotics, and last-mile mobility over the next five years. The IB industry expects Hyundai Motor Group to be actively involved in mergers and acquisitions related to other fields of mobility.

Reporter Kim Chaeyeon / Lee Sangeun

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