Hyundai Motor agreed to buy a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics in a deal that values the mobile robot firm at $1.1 billion.
Hyundai, along with some associated companies and chairman Euisun Chung, will acquire an 80 per cent interest in the US robotics company from SoftBank Group, leaving the Japanese firm with a 20 per cent share, the companies said in a statement Friday.
South Korean conglomerate Hyundai has been beefing up its research in robotics as it expands further into electric and autonomous vehicles. Carmaker Hyundai plans to spend over $55bn in the next five years in these areas to become one of the world’s leading auto manufacturers. The broader empire is also exploring practical uses for industrial robots.
Other Hyundai entities that will participate include car-parts maker Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, which provides international and domestic logistics services.
A sale of Boston Dynamics would mark another twist in the trajectory of a company that spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the early 1990s and operated independently until Google bought it in 2013. It was sold again in 2017, that time to SoftBank.
At times, Boston Dynamics has functioned more like a research organisation than a business, churning out machines that are technologically advanced but unprofitable. That includes Spot, a dog-like robot. Videos of its creations regularly rack up millions of views on YouTube; however, the company has said it isn’t currently generating a profit.
Within SoftBank, Boston Dynamics formed part of a disparate collection of robotics ventures in the technology firm’s portfolio, including developers of robots for warehouses, restaurants, and other industrial applications.
Its staff tripled to 300 people and it moved into new headquarters in a refurbished former postal building in Massachusetts at a cost of $20 million, a person familiar with the matter said earlier this year.
Late last year, SoftBank made a new push to steer the robot maker towards profitability, accelerating an effort that had started under Google.
Hyundai by contrast makes highly practical industrial robots intended for factory use. The group has been developing robotics such as exoskeleton suits that help ease fatigue and prevent injury for factory workers. It’s also working on robots with artificial intelligence that can provide assistance at hotels and in other service sectors.
Mr Chung, who became the group’s chairman in October, has been transforming the conglomerate to introduce more EV line-ups and plans to enter the aerial vehicle market in 2028.
The group is building an innovation centre in Singapore where Hyundai will work on developing artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies to enhance its manufacturing processes, fine tuning the “brains” behind the smarter and more environmentally friendly cars of tomorrow.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Premier Futsal 2017 Finals
Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side
Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company%20profile
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Honeymoonish
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A general guide to how active you are:
Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
