The South Korean automaker Hyundai Motors has announced that it's reached a deal to buy an 80% stake in the robotics company Boston Dynamics from its owner SoftBank. The acquisition is reported as a $1.1 billion deal, implying that Hyundai is paying in the ballpark of $880 million for its 80% stake, while the remaining 20% will be held by SoftBank and its affiliates. With an 80% stake, Hyundai has control of Boston Dynamics, which has drawn fame for its autonomous legged robots; the two-legged humanoid-like Atlas and the four-legged dog-like Spot which are both pictured above. In a press statement , Hyundai notes that it'll make use of Boston Dynamics to improve its in-house manufacturing capabilities while providing more funding for the company to grow and sell its products to other customers. Hyundai itself says it's looking to expand into the humanoid robot market over time, an area where Boston Dynamics' expertise proves very useful. Basically, Hyundai is making a
A very big new acquisition has happened in the tech industry, with Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA), the publicly-traded cloud identity and access management software provider, announcing an agreement to buy Auth0, a fellow cloud identity software provider, for a price of $6.5 billion to be paid all with shares. A $6.5 billion exit for Auth0 marks a major win for the startup scene in Seattle, the tech hub where Auth0 is based and also a major win for the company's backers and investors. Auth0 last raised venture funding last year in July with a $120 million Series F round that valued the company at $1.9 billion. Now, it's about to sell for more than triple that amount. Auth0 has raised more than $330 million in total venture funding, with investors including the likes of Salesforce Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Telstra Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, and DTCP. Salesforce Ventures led Auth0's most recent $120 million Series F round. With its acquisition of a fellow cloud identity a