Alphabet wants to get rid of robot maker Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics recently garnered a lot of attention with the videos of its impressive robots but now we hear Google's parent firm, Alphabet, is putting the robot maker up for sale. According to an article by Bloomberg, Alphabet executives are dissatisfied with the unit because it's unlikely to produce a marketable product in the next few years. Furthermore, Google PR executives did not like the idea of Alphabet becoming associated with a push into humanoid robotics as they fear a backlash about robot capable of taking human jobs.

According to Bloomberg, possible buyers include e-commerce giant Amazon and car maker Toyota:

Executives at Google parent Alphabet Inc., absorbed with making sure all the various companies under its corporate umbrella have plans to generate real revenue, concluded that Boston Dynamics isn’t likely to produce a marketable product in the next few years and have put the unit up for sale, according to two people familiar with the company’s plans.

Possible acquirers include the Toyota Research Institute, a division of Toyota Motor Corp., and Amazon.com Inc., which makes robots for its fulfillment centers, according to one person. Google and Toyota declined to comment, and Amazon didn’t respond to requests for comment.