Hyundai to buy SoftBank stake, taking full control of Boston Dynamics

Hyundai Motor Group is moving to take full control of Boston Dynamics by buying SoftBank Group’s remaining 9.65 percent stake for $325 million. The transaction would turn the Waltham, Massachusetts, robotics company into a wholly owned subsidiary, giving Hyundai complete control over one of the world’s most closely watched names in advanced automation.

The deal would also close a long ownership arc that began with Hyundai’s $1.1 billion agreement in December 2020 to acquire a controlling interest from SoftBank. That purchase closed in June 2021, when Hyundai took an 80 percent stake and SoftBank kept the remaining 20 percent through an affiliate. Hyundai is expected to hold a board meeting on June 22 to approve the latest purchase, which follows a put option negotiated in the original agreement.

For Hyundai, full ownership would do more than simplify the cap table. It would give the conglomerate tighter governance over Boston Dynamics’ direction, capital spending and commercialization path at a time when robotics is moving from lab demonstrations toward factory and field deployment. Hyundai already owns just over 90 percent of the company, but eliminating the last minority stake would remove any ambiguity over control and make it easier to align Boston Dynamics’ products with Hyundai’s vehicle, logistics and industrial systems.

That integration is already visible in the product lineup. Boston Dynamics introduced a fully electric Atlas in April 2024 and said it was retiring the hydraulic version, a signal that the company was reorienting its best-known robot for real-world applications. Boston Dynamics now positions Atlas for enterprise work such as material handling, barcode scanning and workflow integration. Spot is used for industrial inspections, while Stretch has been deployed in logistics and retail, showing a business that is increasingly selling tools for production environments rather than only showcasing robotics research.

Hyundai and Boston Dynamics deepened that strategy in April 2025, when they announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities and produce more robots. Hyundai Motor Company went further on June 5, 2026, saying it would deploy four customized Spot robots at FIFA World Cup 2026 venues as part of its largest mobility and robotics deployment for the tournament. That public use case matters: it suggests Hyundai wants Boston Dynamics embedded not just in concept programs but in visible operations tied to global events and industrial customers.

SoftBank’s exit would end a long partnership, while Hyundai’s buyout points to a more mature phase for industrial robotics, where control over platforms, manufacturing and commercialization matters as much as engineering breakthroughs. For Hyundai, Boston Dynamics is no longer just a high-profile bet. It is becoming a core asset in a broader automation strategy.