Boston Dynamics and Google DeepMind announced a new artificial intelligence research partnership at CES 2026, aimed at integrating large-scale AI foundation models into humanoid robots.
The collaboration will focus on combining Google DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics AI models with Boston Dynamics’ next-generation Atlas platform. The companies said joint research using a new fleet of Atlas robots was expected to begin later this year, with work conducted across both organizations.
According to the companies, the partnership is intended to enable humanoid robots to perform a wider range of industrial tasks, with an initial focus on manufacturing applications, including automotive production.
The effort is designed to explore how advanced visual-language-action models can be applied to complex, real-world robotic systems.
Alberto Rodriguez, director of robot behavior for Atlas at Boston Dynamics, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Google DeepMind team.
“We are building the world’s most capable humanoid, and we knew we needed a partner that could help us establish new kinds of visual-language-action models for these complex robots.
“Nobody in the world is better suited than DeepMind to build reliable, scalable models that can be deployed safely and efficiently across a wide variety of tasks and industries.”
Boston Dynamics has long been known for its work on highly dynamic robots, but only announced plans to commercialize a humanoid platform in 2024. The company said advances in AI training and deployment had accelerated the feasibility of bringing humanoid robots into practical industrial use.
Google DeepMind has been developing robotics-focused foundation models, including Gemini Robotics, which are based on the company’s multimodal Gemini architecture. The models are designed to support perception, reasoning, tool use, and interaction across different robot form factors.
Carolina Parada, senior director of robotics at Google DeepMind, said: “We developed our Gemini Robotics models to bring AI into the physical world.
“We are excited to begin working with the Boston Dynamics team to explore what’s possible with their new Atlas robot as we develop new models to expand the impact of robotics, and to scale robots safely and efficiently.”
Additional details about the partnership were shared during a CES media presentation hosted by Hyundai Motor Group, the majority shareholder of Boston Dynamics.
