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Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

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Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#2
Good move.

I think the next step of mobility is a mobile robot. The cars of the future should be a central hub for move people between places, but able to do a lot more through physical manipulation, instead of becoming a enlarged mobile information terminal.

Thus, developing cars as robots are going to be more useful in that future.

I personally will invest time in building products that are mobility robots, not cars with giant screen.

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#3

Good move. I think the next step of mobility is a mobile robot. The cars of the future should be a central hub for move people between places, but able to do a lot more through physical manipulation, instead of becoming a enlarged mobile information terminal. Thus, developing cars as robots are going to be more useful in that future. I personally will invest time in building products that are mobility robots, not car…

A car can take you to work and instead of waiting in carpark, it can help you do stuff, that would be awesome XD

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#4
They've gone from Google -> Softbank -> Hyundai in a few years.

Does anyone know where their revenue is coming from currently? For all the flashy videos they put out, you so rarely see them that I'm not sure if they're just doing well on the B2B side (warehouse automation? military contracts?), or if they've been in the red for the last decade.

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#5
post #4

They've gone from Google -> Softbank -> Hyundai in a few years. Does anyone know where their revenue is coming from currently? For all the flashy videos they put out, you so rarely see them that I'm not sure if they're just doing well on the B2B side (warehouse automation? military contracts?), or if they've been in the red for the last decade.

I asked something like this last time as well. I don't think they have any meaningful revenue except for their dog bot "spot" which they only launched very recently. They basically just survive on funding, kind of like some university research group

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#6
post #4

They've gone from Google -> Softbank -> Hyundai in a few years. Does anyone know where their revenue is coming from currently? For all the flashy videos they put out, you so rarely see them that I'm not sure if they're just doing well on the B2B side (warehouse automation? military contracts?), or if they've been in the red for the last decade.

Looks like they've just been bleeding money for years: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-17/boston-dy...

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#7

Good move. I think the next step of mobility is a mobile robot. The cars of the future should be a central hub for move people between places, but able to do a lot more through physical manipulation, instead of becoming a enlarged mobile information terminal. Thus, developing cars as robots are going to be more useful in that future. I personally will invest time in building products that are mobility robots, not car…

A car can take you to work and instead of waiting in carpark, it can help you do stuff, that would be awesome XD

I just want my car to drive itself to service checks, when I'm at work. Save all that trouble of having to gamble that they have a car you can use, or there's a bus route that won't take you an hour back and forth.

Self-driving done right could save me from having two cars. It could take me to work, drive back home, pickup the wife, drive her to work. Go back and pick me up in the afternoon, drop me of at home and the drive back to get the wife.

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#9
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A car can take you to work and instead of waiting in carpark, it can help you do stuff, that would be awesome XD

I just want my car to drive itself to service checks, when I'm at work. Save all that trouble of having to gamble that they have a car you can use, or there's a bus route that won't take you an hour back and forth. Self-driving done right could save me from having two cars. It could take me to work, drive back home, pickup the wife, drive her to work. Go back and pick me up in the afternoon, drop me of at home and th…

this would be the best usage for what we consider cars imaginable. also would negate the need to personally own a car. just order one from a fleet of autonomous cars if you are in need of mobility.

Re: Hyundai acquires controlling stake in Boston Dynamics for $880M

#10
post #4

They've gone from Google -> Softbank -> Hyundai in a few years. Does anyone know where their revenue is coming from currently? For all the flashy videos they put out, you so rarely see them that I'm not sure if they're just doing well on the B2B side (warehouse automation? military contracts?), or if they've been in the red for the last decade.

i'm not sure if they operate in the classical sense of a company with a budget. i see them more as a research facility with huge interest from the military and law enforcement complex.
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