Boston Dynamics Robot Company Sold By Alphabet To SoftBank

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced its decision to sell Boston Dynamics robot company to Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank. It was first reported over a year ago that Alphabet was looking to find a buyer for Boston Dynamics as it was divesting its investment in the company. It has found a buyer in Japan’s SoftBank. Alphabet will also be handing over the three big robots that Boston Dynamics created while it was a part of the Google family.

Boston Dynamics has been able to build some great robots that are capable of tasks like getting up after they’ve fallen and even jumping higher than a human. However, all of it has been experimental work.

The company hasn’t created a product that can actually be sold in the market so it hasn’t made money for Alphabet. That’s one of the big reasons why Google’s parent company has decided to sell Boston Dynamics.

“Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution, and Marc and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots,” said Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

It remains to be seen what will become of Big Dog, Handle, and Atlas – the three big Boston Dynamics robots, once this deal is closed.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Robots
Tags: alphabet, boston dynamics