DeepMind and Boston Dynamics Join Forces to Bring Humanoid Robots Into Real Workplaces

Google DeepMind and Boston Dynamics have taken a major step toward making humanoid robots genuinely useful in everyday industrial environments. The two companies have announced a new partnership that combines DeepMind’s advanced artificial intelligence with Boston Dynamics’ iconic Atlas humanoid robot, signalling a shift from impressive demonstrations to real-world deployment at scale.

For years, Atlas has captured global attention with videos showcasing its agility, balance, and athletic movements. However, this collaboration is less about spectacle and more about substance. By integrating Google DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics models, the companies aim to give Atlas the intelligence needed to operate in unpredictable, dynamic workplaces such as factories and warehouses.

A key focus of the partnership is the development of visual-language-action models. These AI systems allow robots to understand spoken or written instructions, interpret complex visual environments, and decide how to act in real time. This addresses one of the biggest challenges in robotics today: enabling machines to adapt when conditions change, rather than relying on rigid, pre-programmed routines.

The announcement closely follows Boston Dynamics’ reveal at CES 2026, where it introduced the latest fully electric version of Atlas. The company confirmed that production has already begun and that all Atlas deployments planned for 2026 are fully booked. Initial robot fleets will be delivered to Hyundai Motor Group and Google DeepMind, where they will begin training for industrial tasks, starting with automotive manufacturing.

For Boston Dynamics, this marks a significant turning point. While the company has long been a leader in robotic mobility and control, it only formally committed to building a commercial humanoid robot in 2024. Advances in large-scale AI foundation models have now made humanoids more viable both technically and economically, opening the door to broader adoption beyond controlled lab environments.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Google DeepMind team,” Alberto Rodriguez, Director of Robot Behavior for Atlas at Boston Dynamics, said in a statement. “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.”

From DeepMind’s perspective, robotics represents the next frontier for artificial intelligence. Gemini Robotics is built on the company’s multimodal Gemini system, designed to combine perception, reasoning, and physical action within a single framework. This approach allows robots to generalise across different tasks and environments instead of being limited to one specific job.

“We developed our Gemini Robotics models to bring AI into the physical world,” Google DeepMind’s Senior Director of Robotics Carolina Parada said. “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.”

The partnership also highlights a growing talent push in robotics. DeepMind’s CEO recently confirmed aggressive hiring in the field and announced that Aaron Saunders, former CTO of Boston Dynamics, has joined Google DeepMind as Vice President of hardware engineering. Together, these moves suggest that humanoid robots may soon become a practical part of the global workforce rather than just a futuristic concept.