SOFTBANK BUYS BOSTON DYNAMICS
Conglomerate also agrees to purchase Japanese bipedal robotics firm Schaft
SAN FRANCISCO
SOFTBANK Group Corp is taking over Google parent Alphabet Inc’s robot dreams, buying Boston Dynamics to pursue a future when more machines intermingle with humans.
As part of the transaction with Alphabet, SoftBank also agreed to buy Japanese bipedal robotics company Schaft. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Boston Dynamics, bought by Google in 2013 as part of a robotics acquisitions spree, made its name with a series of two- and four-legged machines that are able to stay upright even when pushed or traversing rocky terrain. Videos of the robots, known for their animal-like movements, are popular on YouTube.
While SoftBank has already made investments in robotics, those efforts have yet to deliver hit products or pay off. That may change with this new deal.
“Boston Dynamics is seen as the best in the world,” said Tomotaka Takahashi, a University of Tokyo associate professor and the founder of Robo Garage Co.
While there might be some concerns whether it might be difficult to work with the “geniuses” at Boston Dynamics, he said “it will be interesting to see what they come up with when they’re free to conduct research”.
It wasn’t clear whether Boston Dynamics would remain within SoftBank, a telecommunications and tech investment company, or become part of the Vision Fund, the US$93 billion (RM396.68 billion) technology investment fund started by SoftBank founder, Masayoshi Son.
The fund will allow the billionaire to cut even more ambitious deals than he’s been able to do with his highly leveraged company.
The Vision Fund already has the right to acquire 25 per cent of SoftBank’s holdings in ARM Holdings Plc, OneWeb, United States-based online lender Social Finance Inc and US chipmaker Nvidia Corp.
Alphabet decided to put the company up for sale earlier this year because it didn’t anticipate a marketable product in the next few years, said sources. Bloomberg