Hyundai acquires high-profile robotics firm Boston Dynamics

Hyundai has acquired a controlling stake in the high-profile robotics firm Boston Dynamics.

It has previously been reported the South Korean car giant was preparing to buy into the tech company, however regulators have now officially sanctioned the deal.

Financial details are thin on the ground for now, however Hyundai and former-owner SoftBank report the company was valued at US$1.1 billion (AU$1.5 billion).

“[This will] accelerate the development of cutting-edge robotics featuring advanced mobility, manipulation and vision capabilities,” an official statement published by both parties said.

"The Group has invested substantially in the development of future technologies, including autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), Urban Air Mobility (UAM), smart factories and robots.

"The deal is also expected to allow the Group and Boston Dynamics to leverage each other’s respective strengths in manufacturing, logistics, construction and automation ... the Group and Boston Dynamics will create a robotics value chain, from robot component manufacturing to smart logistics solutions."

It's expected the US-based technology company will be deployed to develop Hyundai and Kia's growing spate of autonomous driving and safety functions.

Boston Dynamics – which was founded in 1992, and formerly owned by Google – is perhaps best known for its eerily dog-like robot known as Spot (shown below), which was launched commercially in 2020 with a starting price of US$74,500 (AU$100,000).