Toyota to buy Google's robotics sibling Boston Dynamics: reports
30 May 2016
Toyota is buying Boston Dynamics, the military robotics arm of Google's parent company Alphabet, which Google had acquired in 2013.
Alphabet has been looking to unload since March. Bloomberg had then reported Toyota Research Institute, a division of Toyota Motor Corp, and Amazon.com Inc., which makes robots for its fulfillment centers, could be potential acquirers. (See: Google's parent Alphabet to sell robotics company Boston Dynamics ).
Tech Insider reported citing sources that though the acquisition price had not been revealed, the "ink is nearly dry" for the agreement.
According to the earlier report, Alphabet executives did not believe that Boston Dynamics would be able to create a consumer product within the next few years, which led to a decision to find a buyer for the unit.
Also tensions had been simmering between Alphabet and the team of Boston Dynamics.
Toyota's purchase of Boston Dynamics was referred to by a former employee of the robotics arm as a "friendly buyout" due to the connections that it had to the Toyota Research Institute, established in November 2015.
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