Hyundai Motor Group is moving to take Boston Dynamics public on a US stock exchange after the robotics company's humanoid robot Atlas drew global attention at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, according to industry sources.
The South Korean automaker officially states that "no plans have been set," but is examining multiple scenarios for a US listing behind the scenes.
Boston Dynamics was valued at $1.1 billion when Hyundai Motor Group acquired it in 2021, purchasing an 80% stake from SoftBank for $880 million. The company's valuation rose to 2 trillion to 3 trillion won during a capital increase in 2024. However, industry observers say CES 2025 marked a turning point that put Boston Dynamics in an entirely different league, with analysts now estimating its enterprise value at 30 trillion to 40 trillion won ($21 billion to $28 billion).
The original acquisition agreement included a provision for an IPO within four years. However, Hyundai Motor Group postponed the listing after accumulated losses from expanded technology investment made it difficult to achieve a fair valuation. From 2022 through the third quarter of 2025, Boston Dynamics recorded cumulative revenue of 390.7 billion won but accumulated losses of 1.38 trillion won. Hyundai Motor Group has conducted annual capital increases to prevent capital impairment, injecting a total of 3.28 trillion won to date.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to establish an annual production system for 30,000 robots in the United States by 2028, meaning Boston Dynamics' full-scale commercial operations would begin no earlier than two years from now. An IPO is considered one of the most effective tools for raising external capital rather than relying solely on internal funding until then.
"A Boston Dynamics listing would be the best card to play—it would cement the company's high value in the public consciousness while relieving capital pressure," an industry official said.
The IPO is also closely linked to stabilizing Hyundai Motor Group's governance structure. While various restructuring scenarios have been proposed, the most straightforward approach would be for Executive Chairman Euisun Chung to increase his stake in Hyundai Mobis (012330.KS), the apex of the group's ownership structure, through his holdings in affiliates.
Chung holds a 21.9% stake in Boston Dynamics, and a successful IPO would provide a major stepping stone for securing funds. His current stake in Hyundai Mobis stands at just 0.33%. If he inherits or receives as gifts the affiliate shares held by Honorary Chairman Mong-koo Chung—including a 7.38% Hyundai Mobis stake—the 60% tax rate would require him to pay an estimated 7 trillion won in taxes. Should Boston Dynamics go public at a 40 trillion won valuation, Executive Chairman Chung's stake would be worth more than 8 trillion won.
Hyundai Motor Group previously attempted to spin off Hyundai Mobis' module and after-sales parts businesses and merge them with Hyundai Glovis in 2018 as part of efforts to unwind cross-shareholdings, but abandoned the plan amid controversy that Hyundai Mobis had been undervalued.
Vice Chairman Jae-hoon Chang told reporters at CES that he was not in a position to comment on a Boston Dynamics IPO at this time.
"We are keeping various possibilities open, but we intend to discuss them at a more concrete stage," Chang said.