Google parent company Alphabet plans to close humanoid robot development company Schaft.
On November 16th, according to foreign media reports, Google’s parent company Alphabet confirmed that it intends to close its humanoid robot development company Schaft.
As Japan’s Nikkei News first reported, Schaft is about to be dissolved, and the process is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The Tokyo-based company is helping employees find new jobs, but some of them may be outside of Google. This is a re-enactment of history and another blow to Alphabet’s declining robotics business.Schaft specializes in the manufacture of biped robots for disaster relief and other tasks. In 2013, Alphabet acquired Schaft and entered the robotics industry.
According to reports, Alphabet tried to sell Schaft to the Softbank Group in 2017, but many of Schaft’s employees refused to join Softbank, and the deal broke down. After the transaction failed, Alphabet decided to completely cut the project.
