Alphabet sells Boston Dynamics to Softbank

Atlas, a bipedal humanoid robot. © Boston Dynamics.

At the end of 2013, Google acquired Boston Dynamics with a view to setting up a new robotics division. Andy Rubin, father of Android, headed up the division, eventually called “Replicant” by Google. But analysts at Alphabet Inc. concluded that Boston Dynamics was years away from generating a marketable product able to contribute revenue to the company’s bottom line. A decision was made to sell the company; Toyota’s and Amazon’s research institutes were rumoured to be among interested purchasers in March 2016. Finally, Alphabet Inc. has agreed to sell robotics firm Boston Dynamics to SoftBank, the Japanese telecommunications and technology company. Terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

⇨ The Verge, “Alphabet agrees to sell Boston Dynamics to SoftBank.”