Boston Dynamics
Boston Dynamics, spun out of MIT in 1992, built PETMAN and the hydraulic Atlas and in 2024 introduced an all-electric Atlas for factory work. Owned by Hyundai Motor Group since 2021, it plans to deploy Atlas in Hyundai plants and works with Toyota Research Institute and Google DeepMind on robot AI.
- Type
- startup
- Headquarters
- Waltham, Massachusetts, United States
- Founded
- 1992
- Founders
- Marc Raibert
- Status
- active
- Employees (est.)
- 1000
- Disclosed funding
- n/d
- Valuation
- $1.1B (Jun 2021)
- Listed
- private
- Website
- bostondynamics.com
What the record says.
Boston Dynamics started in 1992 as an MIT spin-off led by Marc Raibert. For two decades it lived on DARPA and military contracts (BigDog, PETMAN, the hydraulic Atlas from 2013) and changed hands repeatedly: Google bought it in December 2013, sold it to SoftBank in June 2017, and Hyundai Motor Group took an 80 percent stake in a deal announced in December 2020 that valued the company at about USD 1.1 billion, closing in June 2021. SoftBank kept about 20 percent; headcount is about 1,000. CEO Robert Playter retired in February 2026 and Amanda McMaster became interim CEO.
The company's revenue has come from Spot, sold since June 2020 at USD 74,500, and the Stretch warehouse robot announced in 2021, not from humanoids. The hydraulic Atlas was retired in April 2024 and replaced the same month by an all-electric Atlas aimed at factory work.
At CES in January 2026 Boston Dynamics said it had begun production of the electric Atlas at its Massachusetts site, that every unit planned for 2026 was committed to Hyundai's Robot Metaplant Application Center and to Google DeepMind, with outside customers to follow in early 2027. Hyundai wants a plant able to build 30,000 robots a year and Atlas on its Georgia line by 2028. Gemini Robotics models are being integrated into Atlas. Unit counts have not been disclosed.
3 humanoids tracked.
Atlas (electric)
The electric Atlas, revealed on 17 April 2024, replaced the hydraulic Atlas with a fully electric design whose joints rotate through 360 degrees. Boston Dynamics is developing it as a commercial factory robot with Hyundai Motor Group and using large behavior models from Toyota Research Institute and Google DeepMind. A production-intent version was unveiled at CES in January 2026.
Atlas (hydraulic)
The hydraulic Atlas was unveiled in July 2013 for the DARPA Robotics Challenge and became the best-known research humanoid of the 2010s through its parkour and backflip videos. Later versions were 150 cm tall, 89 kg and had 28 hydraulic joints. Boston Dynamics retired it in April 2024.
PETMAN
PETMAN was a hydraulic, tethered humanoid built by Boston Dynamics for the US Department of Defense to test chemical protection suits by walking, crouching and sweating. Videos in 2011 and 2013 showed it walking on a treadmill and doing push-ups. Its anthropomorphic legs and balance work fed directly into the first Atlas.
Rounds and valuations.
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Lead | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Oct 2024 | strategic | n/a | n/d | Toyota Research Institute | Research partnership, not an equity investment: Toyota Research Institute's Large Behavior Models are trained and run on the electric Atlas. Included because it is often cited alongside investments. |
| 11 Dec 2020 | acquisition | $880M | $1.1B* | Hyundai Motor Group | Hyundai Motor Group agreed to acquire a controlling 80 percent stake for about USD 880 million at a USD 1.1 billion valuation; SoftBank retained 20 percent. The deal closed June 21, 2021. |
| 9 Jun 2017 | acquisition | n/a | n/d | SoftBank Group | SoftBank bought Boston Dynamics (and Schaft) from Alphabet; price not disclosed. |
| 13 Dec 2013 | acquisition | n/a | n/d | Google acquired Boston Dynamics for an undisclosed sum as part of its Android-era robotics push under Andy Rubin. |
* reported, not confirmed by the company.
At customer sites.
| Robot | Customer | Site | Since | Status | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas (electric) | Hyundai Motor Group | Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, Ellabell, Georgia, United States | Sep 2025 | announced | n/d |
Milestones.
CES 2026: humanoids from Boston Dynamics, Nvidia partners and Chinese makers
CES 2026 in Las Vegas features a new production oriented Atlas from Boston Dynamics and Hyundai, Nvidia's updated robotics stack and a large presence of Chinese humanoid makers. Placeholder pending verification.
Hyundai plans to deploy Atlas at its Georgia Metaplant
At its CEO Investor Day, Hyundai Motor Group says Boston Dynamics' Atlas will be tested at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia with mass production of Atlas targeted for 2028. Hyundai also announces a robotics investment of tens of thousands of units across the group.
Electric Atlas sorts engine parts fully autonomously
Boston Dynamics releases a video of the electric Atlas moving engine covers between containers and a mobile sequencing dolly using a machine learning vision model, with no teleoperation or prescripted movements. It is the first autonomy demonstration of the new Atlas.
Boston Dynamics reveals the all electric Atlas
One day after retiring the hydraulic model, Boston Dynamics shows a fully electric Atlas that stands up from lying flat by rotating its legs 180 degrees, with joints that rotate beyond human range. Hyundai is named as the first customer for testing in its factories.
Boston Dynamics retires the hydraulic Atlas
A farewell video shows highlights and failures of the hydraulic Atlas over eleven years. The retirement closes the DARPA era of hydraulic humanoids.
Two Atlas robots run a parkour course together
Boston Dynamics shows two Atlas robots completing an obstacle course with vaults, balance beam and synchronised backflips, using perception to adapt to the course rather than pre scripted moves.
Atlas, Spot and Handle dance to Do You Love Me
A choreographed dance video with two Atlas robots reaches tens of millions of views. It is the last widely shared demonstration before Hyundai's ownership begins.
Hyundai Motor Group agrees to buy Boston Dynamics
Hyundai acquires an 80 percent stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank at a valuation of 1.1 billion dollars. The deal closes in June 2021 and gives Atlas an automaker as owner.
Atlas performs a gymnastics routine
Boston Dynamics shows Atlas doing a floor routine with rolls, handstands and a split leap, generated with an optimisation based behaviour library. The routine shows 80 percent success in testing according to the company.
Atlas parkour video
Atlas jumps over a log and up a series of 40 cm steps without breaking pace, using its whole body to balance. Boston Dynamics uses the videos to demonstrate perception driven dynamic locomotion.
Atlas does a backflip
Boston Dynamics posts a video in which Atlas jumps between boxes and lands a standing backflip. The clip becomes one of the most watched robot videos ever and marks the start of the parkour series.
SoftBank agrees to buy Boston Dynamics from Google
SoftBank acquires Boston Dynamics and SCHAFT from Alphabet for an undisclosed sum. The deal closes in early 2018 and keeps Atlas development funded.
Boston Dynamics shows the untethered next generation Atlas
A video shows a smaller, battery powered Atlas walking through snow, lifting boxes and getting up after being pushed over with a hockey stick. It is the first Atlas that operates without a tether.
Google acquires Boston Dynamics
Google buys Boston Dynamics as part of Andy Rubin's robotics push, alongside Japanese DRC team SCHAFT. Google later loses interest and sells the company to SoftBank in 2017.
Boston Dynamics unveils Atlas
The hydraulic Atlas, 188 cm and about 150 kg, is unveiled as the DARPA Robotics Challenge platform for seven software teams. It is at the time the most capable bipedal humanoid ever built.
DARPA announces the Robotics Challenge
Prompted by the Fukushima disaster, DARPA launches a competition for robots that can operate in human engineered disaster environments, with a 2 million dollar prize. It funds Atlas as a government furnished platform for software teams.
Boston Dynamics completes PETMAN for testing chemical protection suits
PETMAN, funded by the US Army, is an anthropomorphic robot that walks, crouches and sweats to test protective clothing. Its dynamic balance and hydraulic actuation are the direct basis for Atlas.
Deposits, lead times and warranties: reading a humanoid order sheet
Of 42 buy records, 2 publish a deposit, 1 a warranty, 1 a shipping cost and none a lead time in weeks. The order sheet for a humanoid is mostly blank, and the blanks are where the money goes.
How a humanoid robot works: actuators, compute, sensors and the model
Of 182 humanoids on record, 178 say what moves the joints and 43 say what computer is inside. The further a layer sits from the metal, the less the maker tells you about it.
How long does a humanoid robot actually run
22 of 182 humanoids on record quote a runtime. The claims run from 1 to 8 hours with a median of 4, and of the 44 machines you can order, 4 say anything at all.
Humanoid races, games and fights: what the competitions proved
Our record holds 11 competition events from 1997 to 2025 and 17 machines tied to them. Six can be ordered, three at a public price, and 13 of the 17 carry a teleoperation flag of yes or partial.
Startups, automakers, universities: who builds humanoids
108 makers, nine kinds. Startups hold 37 of the 44 humanoids you can order. Automakers, universities, big tech, conglomerates and NASA hold 45 robots between them and sell none of them.
Who is paying for humanoids: 69 funding rounds
Our funding record holds 69 entries. Take out the government funds, the acquisitions and the IPOs and $6.33 billion of disclosed private money remains. 37 percent of it went to companies with no robot on record.
Sources
- 01AtlasBoston Dynamics
- 02Boston DynamicsWikipedia
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