SoftBank sells controlling stake in Boston Dynamics to Hyundai

SoftBank Group will sell an 80% stake in robotics firm Boston Dynamics to Hyundai, the trio said Friday, in a deal that values the U.S. company at $1.1 billion (¥114 billion). Boston Dynamics has drawn huge attention with viral videos of its humanoid and dog-like robots, whose uncanny movements and impressive tricks have helped stoke fears that androids could one day become a threat to humans. The engineering firm was founded in 1992 and bought in 2013 by Google, which sold the company on to SoftBank three years ago. The Japanese conglomerate will keep a 20% stake through one of its affiliates and will work with South Korea's Hyundai to "propel development and commercialization of advanced robots", the companies said. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.