SoftBank has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire robotics company Boston Dynamics from Alphabet. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Masayoshi Son, chairman & CEO of SoftBank, said, “Today, there are many issues we still cannot solve by ourselves with human capabilities. Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution.”
As part of the transaction with Alphabet, SoftBank has also agreed to acquire Japanese bipedal robotics company Schaft. Founded in 2012 in the JSK Robotics Laboratory at the University of Tokyo, the company has continued its work under its co-founders Yuto Nakanishi, Junichi Urata, Narito Suzuki and Koichi Nishiwaki.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
[Image courtesy: Boston Dynamics]