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Hyundai Motor Buys 80% of Robotics Firm Boston Dynamics (bloomberg.com) 40

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
Hyundai Motor Group agreed to buy a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics in a deal that values the mobile robot firm at $1.1 billion. From a report: Hyundai Motor, along with some associated companies and Chairman Euisun Chung, will acquire an 80% interest in the U.S. robotics company from SoftBank Group, leaving the Japanese firm with a 20% share, the companies said in a statement Friday. The deal was first reported by Bloomberg News in November. South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group has been beefing up its research in robotics as it expands further into electric and autonomous vehicles. Carmaker Hyundai Motor plans to spend over 60 trillion won ($55 billion) in the next five years in these areas to become one of the world's leading auto manufacturers. The broader empire is also exploring practical uses for industrial robots. "The combination of the highly complementary technologies of Hyundai Motor Group and Boston Dynamics, and the continued partnership of SoftBank, will propel development and commercialization of advanced robots," the companies said, helping to create a "robotics value chain ranging from robot component manufacturing to smart logistics solutions."
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Hyundai Motor Buys 80% of Robotics Firm Boston Dynamics More

Hyundai Motor Buys 80% of Robotics Firm Boston Dynamics

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  • I'm no bigwig investor by any means, but $1.1 billion valuation on Boston Dynamics seems low.

    • Being that they are mostly R&D and doesn't have mass consumer production, it probably a key reason for a lower evaluation.
      1.1 Billion is a lot of money. it just seems small next to the mega corps we are hearing about Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet...

      • It is a lot of money, but given the growing role robotics plays in modern manufacturing, and that it will likely play in the future [prnewswire.com] in markets it's barely entered [except in Japan] like elder care and hospital care, or in other industries like agriculture, it'd be cheap at twice the price. Boston Dynamics seems to be well out ahead of the competition in terms of functionality of walking robots, and they are only going to gain relevance in the future.

        $1.1Bn is pocket money for megacorps, and an absolute song

      • Being that they are mostly R&D and doesn't have mass consumer production, it probably a key reason for a lower evaluation

        I thought they were heavily into the "defense" budget.

        I don't see how Trump could let them fall into oriental hands so easily.

    • Low? It's the 3rd owner in 7 years, and no one has an idea how to monetize it. I love Boston Dynamics as much as the next guy, but for all we know, these walking robots could be the next videophone. It might be 20-30 years before it's clear how they could be used.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cusco ( 717999 )

        I used to work for the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, I can see immediate utility with a bit more intelligence.

        Hundreds of thousands of senior citizens are institutionalized every year, many of them could stay at home for several years longer with a minimum of assistance. Someone to help them out of bed or the chair, remind them to take their meds and bring them with some water, check their vital signs, do some light housekeeping, bring the phone or remote control, and call for help if necessary.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      The military turned away from them because robot soldiers were deemed unethical and a violation of international law. International law requires that human judgement be used to take a life on the battlefield. You can't just have autonomous killing machines.

      So, the military pulled its contracts and BD was gobbled up by the Alphabet Megalodon.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cusco ( 717999 )

        Big Dog was designed as a pack mule, not a killing machine, which is well within the permissible limits of 'military ethics' (an oxymoron if there ever was one). Contrary to DARPA's expectations the generals actually prefer the poor grunts labor under 40 kilo packs all day for some reason.

    • I'm no bigwig investor by any means, but $1.1 billion valuation on Boston Dynamics seems low.

      Why? They are a company that produces next to nothing has no serious income and is good at only R&D (really good at that). They effectively are worth little more than their staff and IP. And since they don't bilk consumers for advertisers they don't get tech unicorn status.

  • With all thats going on in the world, do the C-suites in these firms really look no further than their own bank balances? Don't they have even the smallest bit of patriotism. Yes I know this was softbanks decision, but who sold them to softbank in the first place? Ditto ARM in the UK. Perhaps the screw-you-i'm-alright-jack attitude is a pre-requisit for attaining a C-suite position in the first place.

    • do the C-suites in these firms really look no further than their own bank balances?

      No, they don't.

    • Re:What is it with western companies selling out? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ZombieCatInABox ( 5665338 ) on Friday December 11, 2020 @09:54AM (#60819238)

      Don't they have even the smallest bit of patriotism.

      Short answer: No, they don't.

      We're not talking about mom and pop's repair shop or the diner at the corner of the street. At the level of companies like Hyunday or Boston Dynamics, the business world is totally sociopathic and completely amoral.

      • Don't they have even the smallest bit of patriotism.

        Short answer: No, they don't.

        We're not talking about mom and pop's repair shop or the diner at the corner of the street. At the level of companies like Hyunday or Boston Dynamics, the business world is totally sociopathic and completely amoral.

        What is so amoral about a Korean auto manufacturer buying a robotics company from a Japanese conglomerate?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Daverd ( 641119 )
        For what it's worth, it was Google doing the selling out, originally. https://www.investopedia.com/n... [investopedia.com]

    • There is a saying "Corporations are People"
      There is also an other saying "A person is smart. But people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

      A Corporation is dumb, panicky and dangerous. We sanely should never assume a corporation will make a high minded moral decision, no matter which person is running it. Because there are so many factors and pressures and other people needs and moral that will cause immoral decisions to be made. Thus is why Corporation really should have oversight and

    • Do you have something against the Japanese or the Koreans? IIRC, they're our friends. Maybe patriotism doesn't have to be quite so aggressively "eff off" to literally anyone who isn't you.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Viol8 ( 599362 )

        "They're our friends."

        For now. But besides that, any profits will be heading overseas.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Pascoea ( 968200 )

        Maybe patriotism doesn't have to be quite so aggressively "eff off" to literally anyone who isn't you.

        I'm all about pushback on blind patriotism, but I don't feel like GPs reaction falls in that category. My grandfather could have told you all about when, in his lifetime, Japan went from friend to enemy in an afternoon. There is nothing wrong with taking a hard look at a company and coming to the conclusion that maybe it's not a good idea to sell them to another country, even if they are currently friendly.

      • Do you have something against the Japanese or the Koreans? IIRC, they're our friends. Maybe patriotism doesn't have to be quite so aggressively "eff off" to literally anyone who isn't you.

        Don’t confuse governments and citizens. There are many countries with shitty governments and decent people.

    • You think Youtube views were going to pay for the operation? At some point those robots needed to get a job. Selling $75,000 robot dogs probably wasn't going to lead to profitability any time soon.

    • Don't they have even the smallest bit of patriotism.

      Patriotism is not a virtue.

  • We know (Score:3)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Friday December 11, 2020 @09:55AM (#60819244)

    Somebody told us here 2 days ago.
    Spot still isn't happy today, even if he's a good boy.

    • No they didn't. This is the first story saying Hyundai bought 80% of Boston Dynamics. If you think the speculative story from 2 days ago told you this then you didn't read the story 2 days ago. Hell you clearly didn't even read the headline properly.

  • Bye Bye U.S. Tech Industry... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by bjwest ( 14070 ) on Friday December 11, 2020 @09:56AM (#60819252)
    One more teck company sold off to Asia. First the production industry moved offshore, now we're working on selling off our technology industry. Soon, the U.S. won't be producing shit but poor people.
  • Hyundai will begin manufacturing futuristic sex robotz starting in 2021. Company officials are projecting the production of the Positronic Pimp starting sometime around fourth quarter 2026.
  • Some folks argue unrestricted capitalism is the best thing for a country. This story is an example of unrestricted capitalism.
    1) Company develops new concept with American government/university funding.
    2) Spins off and continues development of products with American government funding for 20 years.
    3) Sells itself to offshore interests for... Profit!

    Tax payer left with nothing, no jobs, no tax revenue after new owner decides it is more profitable to ship the knowledge overseas and build it there.

    There you ha
    • Dear god, are you suggesting the solution is for American workers and Americans to have ownership stake in what they produce? I feel like that should have been thought of quite awhile ago and have a name or something. But since it removes the dictatorship of an elite few and democratically hands it to the people it must be very beloved and very American.

  • I hope they actually have one viable plan other than.

    1. Robots
    2. ??
    3. Productivity

  • We heard about it last week on this same site [slashdot.org].
  • So it’s 2020 and we don’t have moon colonies, flying cities, or even real flying cars yet. But I bet you never thought you could own one of these sweet walking cars now did ya? With robotics technology, nothing is pedestrian!

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