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Japan-Update

SoftBank buys 2 robotics ventures from Alphabet

IT giant's shares surge on deal announcement, Alibaba revenue forecast

The Pepper humanoid robot was created by SoftBank.

TOKYO -- SoftBank Group announced on Friday that it will acquire Boston Dynamics, a U.S. venture that develops robots that run like animals, from Alphabet, Google's parent company.

The deal also sees SoftBank buy Japanese robotics firm Schaft, a spin-off from the University of Tokyo that develops humanoid bipedal robots, from Alphabet.

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