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[KSweeley]

Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-m-a-softbank-group-idUSKBN19001P

SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) said it would buy two firms that build walking robots from Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), adding to the Japanese company's growing artificial intelligence portfolio.

SoftBank said it would buy Boston Dynamics and Tokyo-based Schaft, which design and manufacture robots that simulate human movement, but did not disclose the terms of the transactions.

Shares of the company rose as much as 7.9 percent after the deal was announced, hitting a 17-year high.

"Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the information revolution, and Marc (Raibert) and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots," SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son said in a statement on Friday.

Raibert is CEO and founder of Boston Dynamics.

SoftBank has embarked on an aggressive acquisition campaign to boost its research and development capabilities. The group is backing the $93 billion Vision Fund, the world's largest private equity fund that seeks to invest in technologies expected to grow significantly in the near future, such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

Son, Japan's richest man, describes the fund as essential for setting up SoftBank for a data "gold rush" which he expects to happen as the global economy becomes increasingly digitized.

Boston Dynamics and Schaft could eventually be vested with the Vision Fund, a person familiar with the deal told Reuters

Schaft, a University of Tokyo spinoff, develops bipedal robots designed to negotiate uneven terrain.

"Robotics as a field has great potential, and we're happy to see Boston Dynamics and Schaft join the SoftBank team to continue contributing to the next generation of robotics," an Alphabet spokesperson said.

 

[Irnbru]

AI company buys human robot building company. What could go wrong?

 

[JaseC]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1388043

 

[disappeared]

Whoa. That's a pretty crazy acquisition.

 

[KSweeley]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1388043

Doesn't mention the Schaft acquisition from Alphabet.

 

[andythinkpad]

So the kilbots are going to run on Sprint signal? Crisis averted!

 

[JaseC]

Doesn't mention the Schaft acquisition from Alphabet.

The article does:

As part of the SoftBank deal, Alphabet is also selling Schaft, a humanoid robotics company Google acquired as part of its Replicant buying spree back in 2013 and 2014. Schaft was spun out of the JSK Robotics Laboratory within the University of Tokyo, making it a sensible purchase for SoftBank. Despite its huge presence in the Japanese telecom market, thanks to its 2006 acquisition of Vodafone Japan, SoftBank is also a leader in robotics — the company makes the popular humanoid Pepper robot in partnership with Aldebaran Robotics.

The OP just didn't include it, which is something a mod can correct.

 

[PdotMichael]

Make Patlabors real, Schaft!

 

[KSweeley]

So the kilbots are going to run on Sprint signal? Crisis averted!

SoftBank is attempting to merge Sprint, possibly with T-Mobile, in May 2017, it was reported that SoftBank started informal negotiations with T-Mobile for a possible merger deal for Sprint and T-Mobile: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...id-to-start-informal-deal-talks-with-t-mobile

May 12, 2017

Sprint Corp. has started preliminary conversations to merge with T-Mobile US Inc., the latest attempt to consolidate in a market watched closely by U.S. regulators, according to people familiar with the matter.

Executives of both SoftBank Group Corp., Sprint’s largest shareholder, and Sprint itself have had informal contact with T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom AG about a transaction, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Merger talks in the wireless industry had been on hold for almost a year because of a government spectrum auction that required participants to avoid negotiating deals with each other until April 27.

SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son and Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Officer Tim Hoettges separately told investors this week they’d be open to discussions about consolidation.

Banks haven’t been formally hired, although financial firms are jockeying for roles if a deal comes together, the people familiar with the matter said. Representatives for Sprint, SoftBank, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom, which owns about 65 percent of T-Mobile, declined to comment.

Deutsche Telekom rose 4.9 percent to 17.53 euros in Frankfurt on Friday, the biggest gain since December 2015. Sprint rose 1.5 percent to $7.99 at 11:46 a.m. in New York, while T-Mobile dropped 0.4 percent to $65.52.