Hyundai Motor Group to Acquire SoftBank's Remaining 9.65% Stake in Boston Dynamics for USD 325 Million
Hyundai Motor Group (005380.KS) is set to take full control of Boston Dynamics, acquiring SoftBank Group's residual 9.65% stake for USD 325 million (approximately KRW 500 billion at the current exchange rate of KRW 1,538 per dollar), according to South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper. The group's board is scheduled to vote on the deal on June 22, 2026, which would make the Waltham, Massachusetts-based robotics firm a wholly owned Hyundai subsidiary — the culmination of a five-year robotics wager that began with an USD 880 million purchase of an 80% stake from SoftBank in 2021.
The implied enterprise valuation of Boston Dynamics at USD 325 million for 9.65% is approximately USD 3.4 billion, roughly three times the USD 1.1 billion valuation placed on the company at the time of the original 2021 deal. Korean brokerages have pencilled in far more ambitious figures: KB Securities estimates Boston Dynamics could be worth roughly KRW 128 trillion, while Hanwha Investment & Securities puts the potential valuation as high as KRW 150 trillion, pending a Nasdaq IPO that Hyundai has been preparing as an option for 2027.
SoftBank's exit is driven by a put option embedded in the original acquisition agreement, which entitled the Japanese conglomerate to sell its remaining shares back to Hyundai if Boston Dynamics failed to list within four years of the June 2021 deal — a deadline that lapsed in 2025. Hyundai secured a one-year grace period, but with that window closing in June 2026, SoftBank notified Hyundai of its intention to exercise the option.
Part B: Robotics Push Meets Governance Rationale
Beyond the balance-sheet arithmetic, full ownership of Boston Dynamics serves a dual strategic purpose for Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun.
On the industrial side, Hyundai plans to deploy approximately 25,000 Atlas humanoid robots across its global manufacturing facilities beginning in 2028, with the commercial unit priced below USD 320,000. A production version of Atlas is expected to begin work at Hyundai's electric vehicle plant near Savannah, Georgia — where the group has invested more than USD 7.6 billion — placing it in direct competition with Tesla's Optimus and privately held Figure AI in what is shaping up to be the defining commercial humanoid race of the decade.
On the governance side, full Boston Dynamics ownership is closely linked to Chung's ongoing effort to unwind Hyundai's circular shareholding structure, the only major Korean conglomerate that still maintains such an arrangement. A Boston Dynamics IPO — if it proceeds — would give Chung, who holds a personal 22.6% stake in the robotics firm, a potential windfall that local brokerages estimate at more than USD 13 billion, funds that could in turn be used to address inheritance tax obligations arising from the estate of his late father Chung Mong-koo and to reform the group's cross-ownership web linking Hyundai Mobis (012330.KS), Hyundai Motor (005380.KS), Kia (000270.KS), Hyundai Glovis (086280.KS), and Hyundai Steel (004020.KS).
Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter departed last month, with CFO Amanda McMaster stepping in as interim chief executive. Hyundai has established a dedicated robotics and AI strategy task force under Group Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon, signalling that the robotics division is being prepared for independent operation ahead of a potential listing.
Sources: Maeil Business Newspaper, The Korea Herald, Yahoo Finance / Reuters
