Hyundai acquires SoftBank's 9.65% Boston Dynamics stake for $325 million

The transaction closes SoftBank's exit path established during Hyundai's 2021 purchase of an 80% stake valued at $880 million. Boston Dynamics becomes a wholly owned subsidiary with no external minority holders. Deployment plans remain unchanged, with electric Atlas humanoids scheduled for initial tasks at the Metaplant EV facility in Georgia by 2028.

Primary data from the deal terms and prior valuation place Boston Dynamics enterprise value near $1.1 billion at acquisition. Hyundai Mobis actuator supply chains now operate under complete internal control. CES 2026 demonstrations showed remote-piloted Atlas locomotion, yet operational metrics require 99.9% reliability and rapid task learning per CEO statements reported by Business Insider.

This acquisition follows a pattern of automotive groups absorbing advanced mobility platforms. Tesla's Fremont Optimus integration and Figure AI's BMW trials illustrate parallel consolidation. Hyundai gains direct factory testbeds and component integration without licensing friction, unlike pure-play robotics firms reliant on external customers.

Atlas sequencing work at Metaplant will expand to heavier assembly by 2030 if reliability thresholds hold. Controlled environments allow precise measurement of uptime gains versus traditional automation, providing data absent from public demos.