SoftBank to buy two walking robot manufacturers from Google's parent company Alphabet

SoftBank said it would buy two firms that build walking robots from Google's parent company, Alphabet, adding to the Japanese company's growing artificial intelligence portfolio. SoftBank said it would buy Boston Dynamics and Tokyo-based Schaft, which design and manufacture robots that simulate human movement, but did not disclose the terms of the transactions. Shares of the company rose as much as 7.9 per cent after the deal was announced, hitting a 17-year high. "Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the information revolution, and Marc (Raibert) and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots," SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son said in a statement on Friday. Mr Raibert is chief executive and founder of Boston Dynamics. SoftBank has embarked on an aggressive acquisition campaign to boost its research and development capabilities.