Boston Dynamics announced a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind at the Hyundai press conference during CES 2026 to accelerate development of its next-generation humanoid robot Atlas by integrating DeepMind’s AI foundation models.
The collaboration focuses on robotics research using Google DeepMind’s AI foundation models to enable Atlas to act more human around people. Atlas serves as the first test case. Carolina Parada, senior director of robotics at Google DeepMind, stated onstage, “We’re looking to integrate our cutting‑edge AI foundation models with Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas robots, and we’ll aim to develop the world’s most advanced robot foundation model to fulfill the promise of true general‑purpose human needs.” This effort builds directly on advancements from less than a year prior.
In that timeframe, Google DeepMind released its Gemini Robotics models. These models enable robots to perceive their environments, reason through tasks, use tools effectively, and interact with humans. Gemini Robotics relies on the large-scale multimodal generative AI model known as Gemini. Google DeepMind trained this robotics AI model to generalize behavior across a range of different robotics hardware platforms, allowing broader applicability in various physical forms.
Boston Dynamics, majority-owned by Hyundai Motor Group, brings established commercial products to the partnership. The company markets the quadruped robot Spot, which operates in customers’ facilities in more than 40 countries. Its warehouse robot Stretch, launched in 2023, has unloaded more than 20 million boxes globally, according to Hyundai. These deployments demonstrate Boston Dynamics’ capacity for real-world scaling beyond research.
The partnership emphasizes both research acceleration and practical deployment. Boston Dynamics and Hyundai prepare for the next generation of robots, with the humanoid Atlas already entering production. The company plans to send Atlas units to a Hyundai factory for further integration and testing.
During the CES 2026 press conference, a prototype of Atlas walked onstage, demonstrating its mobility capabilities. Alberto Rodriguez, director of Atlas behavior at Boston Dynamics, explained the broader requirements for commercialization. He noted, “Atlas into a product requires more than athletic performance for humanoids to really deliver on their promise. They have to be able to interact with people naturally.”
