TheTechno Optimist.

AtlasBoston Dynamics—Hyundai Motor Group tells investors it plans to deploy more than 25,000 Atlas robots and reach 30,000 units a year of capacity by 2028AtlasBoston Dynamics—Boston Dynamics opens its Atlas training center at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia, starting with parts sequencingAtlasBoston Dynamics—Production Atlas unveiled at CES with Google DeepMind partnership; 2026 output committedSpotBoston Dynamics—Boston Dynamics and FieldAI partner to run Spot autonomously on construction sites and in other changing environmentsStretchBoston Dynamics—Lidl plans to roll out 22 Stretch robots to warehouses in four European countries after pilotsSpotBoston Dynamics—Spot gets Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 model for reading analog gauges and spotting spills during inspectionsSpotBoston Dynamics—Boston Dynamics shows Spot carrying parcels from a delivery van to the doorstep and seeks pilot partners

Boston Dynamics

Atlas humanoid, Spot robot dog, Stretch

US$21B Hyundai Motor Group-ownedest. 1992bostondynamics.com (opens bostondynamics.com)Checked 25 Sep

The brief

Analyst view
  • Production Atlas (CES, Jan 2026): fully electric, 56 degrees of freedom, lifts 50 kg, swaps its own batteries.
  • Hyundai is the main customer and plans a factory able to build 30,000 robots a year.
  • Spot and Stretch bring real revenue and field data that most humanoid startups lack.

Technical approach

As reported
Actuation

Electric Atlas, joints that spin fully

In 2024 electric motors replaced hydraulics. Many joints spin all the way round, so Atlas can turn and reach without stepping.

Control

From physics-based control to learned skills

Its famous balance came from physics-based control. Learned skills, built with Toyota Research Institute and DeepMind, now sit on top.

Fleet

Sold robots teach the next ones

Thousands of Spot and Stretch robots at customers teach lessons on reliability, safety and fleet software that carry over to Atlas.

Programs

Boston Dynamics, three programs

Updated 18d ago
AtlasBoston Dynamics' humanoid, rebuilt in 2024 as an electric robot for factory work. First job: moving and sorting parts in Hyundai plants.PilotNextFirst fleets to Hyundai RMAC and Google DeepMind · 2026Updated 18d agoView program →SpotA four-legged robot that inspects and maps industrial sites. It can carry thermal cameras or an arm and is managed with Orbit fleet software.ScalingUpdated 1 Jul 2026View program →StretchA wheeled robot with a suction-gripper arm that unloads boxes from trucks and containers, a repetitive and injury-prone warehouse job.DeployUpdated 1 Dec 2025View program →
Research · Proto · Pilot · Deploy · Scaling

Research & demos

3 items

Open technical problems

Open · Active · Partial
  • Reliable learned handlingActive research

    Balance is largely solved. AI hands that learn tasks and succeed nearly every time are not. That is the focus with DeepMind and TRI.

  • Cost down for volume productionActive research

    Going from hand-built robots to tens of thousands a year means redesigning parts for automated factories.

Upcoming catalysts

Company-wide
  • 2027Atlas training center at Metaplant America moves to a building about 10 times largerAtlasby ~15 mo
  • 2028Atlas begins parts-sequencing work at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant AmericaAtlasby ~27 mo
  • 2029Hyundai plans Atlas deployment at Kia's Georgia plantAtlasby ~39 mo

Peers

Humanoids · 4

Company & funding

Valuation
$21BHyundai Motor Group-owned
Parent
Hyundai Motor Group
HQ
US
Founded
1992

Partners & customers

1 acquirer · 2 partners · 1 customer

People

Key people
Primer