SoftBank to acquire Boston Dynamics from Alphabet
Google acquired the robotics pioneer in 2013 but was said to be shopping it around.
Boston Dynamics developed the LS3 for the US military, but it got scrapped because it was too noisy.
Japan-based tech giant SoftBank has agreed to acquire robots pioneer Boston Dynamics from Google parent company Alphabet, the companies said in a joint statement Thursday.
Terms of the deal weren't revealed.
As part of the deal, SoftBank has also agreed to acquire Schaft, a Japan-based bipedal robotics company founded in 2012 and acquired by Google in 2013.
Google acquired Boston Dynamics, maker of Cheetah, BigDog, WildCat and other nature-inspired robots, in 2013. Boston Dynamics gained internet fame through YouTube videos of its agile, often gas-powered robots dealing with ice, snow and other obstacles.
But communication between the two companies reportedly worsened over the years, and Alphabet was said to be in talks with other companies, such as Toyota, to sell Boston Dynamics.
Alphabet didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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