SoftBank prepares to sell Boston Dynamics to South Korean Hyundai

Known for its advanced autonomous robots, the American company Boston Dynamics may come under the control of the South Korean industrial conglomerate Hyundai, writes Bloomberg.

The sale of the asset is being negotiated by Japan's SoftBank, which bought it from Google in 2017. The amount of that transaction was not disclosed, but this time the company is valued at about $1 billion, the agency writes.

Former MIT startup Boston Dynamics products, including the bipedal robot Atlas and the four-legged mules BigDog and LittleDog, have gained a lot of popularity online, but are not profitable.

The hope for military orders as a cargo platform for rugged terrain did not come true either: the “mules” from Boston Dynamics turned out to be too noisy. The inability to create a mass commercial product was the main reason for the sale of Google.

Hyundai has its own advanced production of industrial robots, but its synergy with Boston Dynamics products is not obvious, Bloomberg notes.

You can read about the latest woes of SoftBank itself here .