Will Hyundai Motor Group's full ownership of Boston Dynamics fast-track its listing?
SoftBank exercised its put option on its 9.65 percent stake in Boston Dynamics earlier this month, with Hyundai affiliates to absorb that stake to establish the robot maker as a fully owned subsidiary.
The research version of Atlas, left, stands alongside its mass-production variant at CES 2026.
YONHAP
Hyundai Motor Group is set to acquire full ownership of Boston Dynamics, a U.S. robot developer, after SoftBank exercised its put option on its stake, a deal poised to accelerate the commercialization of its humanoids and its prospective public listing.
Hyundai said on Thursday that SoftBank exercised its put option on its 9.65 percent stake in Boston Dynamics earlier this month, with Hyundai affiliates to absorb that stake to establish the robot maker as a fully owned subsidiary. Which entities will take on what proportion remains under deliberation, but the transaction must be finalized within 90 days of the put option’s exercise.
Currently, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung holds 22.6 percent, Hyundai Motor 28 percent, Kia 17.2 percent, Hyundai Mobis 11.3 percent and Hyundai Glovis 11.25 percent. SoftBank holds the remaining 9.65 percent.
Established in 1992 as an MIT spinoff and acquired by Google in 2013, Boston Dynamics was later sold to SoftBank in 2017. SoftBank subsequently divested 80 percent of its holding to Hyundai in 2021 under the condition that it could sell its remaining stake to Hyundai should the company fail to go public within four years.
Boston Dynamics is known for its humanoid robot Atlas and four-legged robot dog Spot, which was deployed in security details for U.S. President Donald Trump and across manufacturing facilities.
Hyundai Motor Group unveiled Atlas and its plans to establish a production capacity exceeding 30,000 units annually by 2028 — with the goal of deploying more than 25,000 units across Hyundai and Kia plants globally — at CES 2026 in January.
The robot’s main job will be sequencing tasks for parts sorting, allowing the company to validate on-site operations and build reliability before expanding the robot’s scope to parts assembly starting in 2030.
Hyundai’s full ownership is expected to give considerable momentum to Boston Dynamics’ path toward an initial public offering, which is reported to be in 2027. Market observers currently peg the company's valuation at upward of 30 trillion won ($20.3 billion) — around 20 times the $1.1 billion valuation at which Hyundai completed its acquisition in 2021.
“Hyundai Motor Group is building an end-to-end AI robotics value chain that combines Boston Dynamics’ expertise in AI robotics with the group’s manufacturing capabilities, mobility technologies and global value chain,” Hyundai said in a statement. “Through this integrated approach, [Hyundai Motor] aims to accelerate the development, validation and commercialization of physical AI technologies and robotics solutions.”
BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]
