Toyota in talks to buy robotics divisions from Alphabet – Nikkei
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Reuters/Toru Hanai
Toyota Motor Corp is in talks to buy two robotics divisions from Google parent Alphabet Inc, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday.
The Japanese automaker is discussing an acquisition of Alphabet’s Boston Dynamics – known for the Cheetah, which is claimed to be the world’s fastest-legged robot – and Schaft, a venture that was led by two former Tokyo University professors, the report said.
Toyota declined to comment beyond saying the company and its research and development arm, Toyota Research Institute, “regularly discuss possible collaborations with outside partners to help create ever-better cars and to advance our R&D efforts.”
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Ritsuko Ando)