SoftBank agrees to acquire Robotics and AI Institute

SoftBank Group Corp. has agreed to acquire the Robotics and AI Institute (RAI) from Hyundai Motor Group, according to multiple sources. Financial terms of the deal are unknown at this time. The deal has been rumored for a couple of months, but it is now being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

The RAI is based in Cambridge, Mass., while SoftBank is a Japanese tech conglomerate. The two companies have a history together. Marc Raibert founded both Boston Dynamics Inc. and the RAI Institute. SoftBank owned Boston Dynamics from 2017 to 2021.

The RAI was founded in 2022 as part of Hyundai’s acquisition of Boston Dynamics. In addition to that acquisition, Hyundai spun out the institute with an initial investment of more than $400 million. That initial funding has ended, according to multiple sources. RAI’s research spans robot control, perception, manipulation, navigation, and AI to help robots perform complex physical tasks. For example, it developed the whole-body learning framework that enables the acrobatic movements showcased by Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas in the video below.

CFIUS reviews foreign investments in U.S. businesses to determine their impact on national security. Led by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, CFIUS brings together multiple government agencies to screen cross-border business deals. It is unknown how far along in the review process this deal is.

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Companies stay mum on transaction

“We don’t have anything to share on this topic right now,” the RAI Institute told The Robot Report. “We’d still love to stay in touch and keep you in the loop when we have news to share.”

The Robot Report has also reached out to SoftBank but had not heard back at press time.

This deal also comes as SoftBank moves toward its planned acquisition of ABB’s robotics business for $5.3 billion. That acquisition was originally expected to close by mid-to-late 2026.

ABB has decades of experience building industrial automation and robotics, while RAI has developed expertise in AI. The combination could pair ABB’s capabilities and installed base with RAI’s strengths in AI and research.

Hyundai said in July 2026 that its shareholders were pursuing the acquisition of SoftBank’s remaining 9.65% stake in Boston Dynamics after SoftBank exercised a “put” option. Hyundai said the transaction would strengthen collaboration with Boston Dynamics and support its broader physical AI strategy.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

Raibert founded Boston Dynamics in 1992 after pioneering dynamic-legged robotics at Carnegie Mellon university and MIT. He led the Waltham, Mass.-based company as it developed some of the world’s most recognizable robots, including BigDog, Atlas, and Spot.

Google acquired Boston Dynamics in 2013 then sold it four years later to SoftBank for a reported $100 million. Hyundai Motor Group in 2021 acquired a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank in a deal that valued the company Boston Dynamics at $1.1 billion. SoftBank initially retained a 20% stake.

Raibert stepped down as Boston Dynamics CEO in January 2020 shortly after his 70th birthday. But his robotics career was far from over with the launch of the RAI in 2022. It is unknown what his role will be if the SoftBank-RAI deal closes.

Raibert has long emphasized fundamental robotics research. And that has worked out quite well for him. But SoftBank’s ownership of Boston Dynamics marked an important turning point for the company. Boston Dynamics began transitioning decades of cutting-edge robotics research into commercial products, starting with the Spot quadruped.

If the deal closes, SoftBank will once again own a piece of Raibert’s robotics legacy, this time alongside an increasingly ambitious portfolio spanning industrial robots, warehouse automation, and AI.