SoftBank Strikes Again: Purchases Robot Company Extraordinaire Boston Dynamics

[Raevenlord]

SoftBank has to be the most high-level investor in the tech world today, with multiple headline-grabbing purchases in the last year alone. First, it was ARM's multi-billion dollar purchase, which shook the tech industry almost to its knees. Then, the acquisition of a $4 billion dollar stake on NVIDIA, which is increasingly looking like a great move (and is partially responsible for NVIDIA's soaring market cap.)

Now, SoftBank has moved to acquire Google parent company Alphabet Inc's Boston Dynamics, the engineering and robotics design firm best known for being compared to the manufacturing arm of Skynet. Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., said that "Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution," and that he and the full might of SoftBank are looking forward to "supporting them as they continue to advance the field of robotics and explore applications that can help make life easier, safer and more fulfilling." Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but as part of it, SoftBank has also agreed to acquire Japanese bipedal robotics company Schaft. SoftBank is the octopus of the tech world, with tendrils extending towards the technologies that look to be most important in our collective future. The company already has the high efficiency processing, deep learning and AI chops for a robotic future with their acquisition of ARM and investment in NVIDIA - now, they're adding a manufacturing arm. Is this Skynet's inception?



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[Caring1]

Ok, where do I sign up for the resistance?

 

[nemesis.ie]

I was just about to post SoftBank = SkyNet precursor.

 

[Mistral]

OK, I think we can all see where this is going...

 

[PowerPC]

Processing power - check.
Matrix - check.
Terminator - check.

 

[Prima.Vera]

While the Softbank mobile contracts in Japan are almost 100$/months for the top phones.
pos basterds...

 

[costeakai]

my gut feeling: it's nice to be a japanese.
smone else might think: better japanese than ...caugh ... caugh

 

[XiGMAKiD]

With Intel's Exascale Project, Nvidia's machine learning, and this robot company, Skynet is just a matter of time

 

[R-T-B]

OK, I think we can all see where this is going...

Giant robots?

I mean comeon guys, this is Japan. You think they are going to let an arm core do the driving?

 

[Mescalamba]

More like they have good inside info and know things we and others dont..

 

[SARVAMANGALAM]

its just hype.. japan fight with deflations, population oldering, or other problems.. so they throw money everywhere ..
robots are just another dot.com 2000 booble.. in real life people fight for save every dollar NOT spend money on "robots" or teslas..))
reality of usa live is here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXpkSlxIY73Wr6jbCb2eKLA
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...ek-shorter-leases-americas-malls-teeter-brink

 

[Octopuss]

Anyone who is not economically retarded like me can explain why is this such a big deal?

 

[RejZoR]

And no one is worried when single corporation owns nearly everything around us...

 

[HopelesslyFaithful]

they should have put a T-800 next to those as a good PR joke roflmao.

 

[HopelesslyFaithful]

While the Softbank mobile contracts in Japan are almost 100$/months for the top phones.
pos basterds...

different from US how? I have spent several months in Japan and used their networks. Their pricing is very similar to ours.

I obviously didnt rent or buy a SIM because i have Sprint so i only paid 5 dollars a month for unlimited on my S7 and gladly used 10-15GBs of 3G per month

Also their 3G speeds are legit. Played NS2 off my phone. Speeds are 300-500KBps down and 50-150KBps up. IIRC

 

[Toothless]

Pacific Rim is gonna be real.

 

[NRANM]

I for one welcome our new SoftBank overlords...

 

[Frick]

its just hype.. japan fight with deflations, population oldering, or other problems.. so they throw money everywhere ..
robots are just another dot.com 2000 booble.. in real life people fight for save every dollar NOT spend money on "robots" or teslas..))
reality of usa live is here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXpkSlxIY73Wr6jbCb2eKLA
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...ek-shorter-leases-americas-malls-teeter-brink

This really depends on your definition of robots. They will take over more and more in manufacturing, and they will be able to do more and more things which will lead to more people beong replaced by them. This is nothing new, but it will accelerate. Deep learning will push it further software side. Why are those malls suffering? Storefronts being replaced with software, essentially.

 

[Lycanwolfen]

Well considering most of the money Softbank makes is from Bitcoin Farming. They own 20 farms in china making about 1.2 million dollars an hour it's no surprise this company is buying everything up.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Well considering most of the money Softbank makes is from Bitcoin Farming. They own 20 farms in china making about 1.2 million dollars an hour it's no surprise this company is buying everything up.

I'm guessing you have some actual proof of those, with some links...

 

[Katanai]

Skynet? This looks more and more like Stepfather Bank to me.

"The year is 2110, and the Bank owns everything.
It's called simply The Bank because its full name is six hundred and sixty-six words long. It began as a secret merger of Alphabet, Disney, China National Petroleum, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Colombia, Fox, Egypt, and the Mafia, among many other international corporations, cartels, and governments. Occasional mentions of the Bank's existence on the Internet were quickly deleted, or ridiculed as the ravings of conspiracy theorists"

https://www.amazon.com/dp/031200687X/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[Diverge]

How is it okay to sell to a foreign company, if Boston Dynamics works w/ the US military?

 

[Bones]

I can see these guys being the first to manufacture mecha-armor suits like a Gundam for example with all the various tech companies they've been buying stakes in - Or just buying them outright.

Well..... I guess someone has to be first in the market for these.

 

[HopelesslyFaithful]

How is it okay to sell to a foreign company, if Boston Dynamics works w/ the US military?

because its a company not a state run company because we are not communist.....