Hyundai Motor Group has decided to make American robotics company Boston Dynamics a wholly owned subsidiary by acquiring SoftBank Group’s stake of around 10%. With this strategic acquisition, the South Korean automobile giant will deploy advanced robotics across its manufacturing and other operations.
The deal is expected to give Hyundai Motor Group greater strategic flexibility to manage Boston Dynamics, allowing the vehicle maker to make long-term decisions on investments, business strategy, and a potential initial public offering (IPO).
Hyundai plans to begin deploying Atlas, Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot, at its Georgia manufacturing plant from 2028. As per the reports, the robot will initially handle parts-sequencing tasks, following which its role will get expanded to a broader range of manufacturing processes, including component assembly by 2030.
The acquisition also comes as Hyundai Motor’s South Korean labor union has intensified industrial action over annual wage negotiations after staging two-hour partial strikes and unveiling plans for four-hour strikes from July 20 to July 22.
As per the Yonhap News Agency, the union has demanded that the automaker set aside 30% of its net income for bonuses, apart from guaranteeing job security, raising concerns over the growing adoption of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) on assembly lines.
Apart from its investment in Boston Dynamics, Hyundai, along with its affiliate Kia Corp., is also developing its humanoid robots, which the unions see as an alleged attempt at replacing human workers with new technologies.
“Around 2,000 of Hyundai’s 24,676 unionized workers are expected to retire every year on average by 2032. If the company does not hire new workers, the union membership would fall by nearly 10,000, or about 40% of the current workforce by 2032,” the union said.
Hyundai acquired an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021. The latest announcement appeared to have little impact on the automaker’s shares, as investors are more focused on Boston Dynamics’ valuation.
Shin Yoonchul, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, told Reuters that the transaction price implied a valuation of about five trillion won for Boston Dynamics.
“The muted market reaction suggested investors were questioning whether the valuation previously assigned to the robotics company was justified, rather than viewing the deal as Hyundai Motor Group buying SoftBank’s stake at a discount,” the analyst noted.