Euisun Chung to raise Boston Dynamics stake to 25% with W120b of personal funds

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung plans to invest an additional 120 billion won ($80.6 million) of his personal funds to raise his stake in Boston Dynamics to around 25 percent.

According to securities industry and business sources Sunday, Chung and other Boston Dynamics shareholders are pursuing a plan to absorb the 9.65 percent stake SoftBank is selling through a put option, with each shareholder taking up shares in proportion to their existing holdings.

The current ownership structure has HMG Global at 56.4 percent, Chung at 22.6 percent, Hyundai Glovis at 11.25 percent and SoftBank at 9.65 percent. If the SoftBank stake is divided proportionally, the new structure would give HMG Global 62.5 percent, Chung 25.0 percent and Hyundai Glovis 12.5 percent.

The SoftBank stake is estimated to be worth around $320 million in total, meaning Chung's share of the cost would come to roughly $80 million. HMG Global would absorb $200 million and Hyundai Glovis $40 million. Chung also invested 238.9 billion won of his own money when Hyundai Motor Group acquired a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021. Adding subsequent participation in rights offerings and the current SoftBank stake acquisition, his cumulative personal investment is estimated to total around 800 billion won.

Chung is expected to accelerate his push into the physical AI market. Hyundai Motor Group has been moving to establish an early lead in the global robotics market, with Boston Dynamics' next-generation humanoid robot Atlas at the forefront. The group plans to deploy Atlas at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America for validation at individual process stages — beginning with parts sequencing work in 2028 and expanding to parts assembly from 2030.

"The more the center of gravity shifts toward physical AI, the greater the scarcity value of tangible, moving assets like automobiles and robots — and the manufacturing process data that Hyundai Motor Group holds," Chung said. "This is a powerful weapon that big-tech companies cannot easily replicate."

Analysts say the group's increased stake in Boston Dynamics could give fresh momentum to an initial public offering. Hyundai Motor Group is exploring various IPO options, including a listing on NASDAQ. Some observers have also raised the possibility of a pre-IPO fundraising round before any listing.

In a recent report, Korea Investment & Securities said Google needs real-world physical data to resolve bottlenecks in its foundation models, adding that Boston Dynamics — deployed in actual industrial settings such as Hyundai Motor factories — is the most likely candidate to accumulate that data fastest.