Boston Dynamics names ex-Amazon AI chief Rohit Prasad CEO
TL;DR
- Prasad is Boston Dynamics' third CEO ever; founder Marc Raibert held the role from 1992 to 2020, followed by Robert Playter.
- Interim CFO Amanda McMaster ran the company for roughly eight months after Playter's February departure before Prasad's appointment.
- Atlas production targets 30,000 units annually at Hyundai's Georgia plant, with commercial deployments set to begin in 2028.
Rohit Prasad, Amazon's former senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa and artificial general intelligence, takes over as chief executive of Boston Dynamics effective October 7, becoming the Hyundai-owned robot maker's third CEO. Bloomberg reported the appointment on October 6.
He fills a seat that has been empty in all but title since February, when former CEO Robert Playter stepped down and chief financial officer Amanda McMaster took over on an interim basis.
In the company's announcement, Prasad framed the job as a scaling problem: "Boston Dynamics is uniquely positioned to advance Physical AI through its world-class robotics expertise. I am honored to join the company at such a pivotal moment for the industry." Jaehoon Chang, Vice Chair of Hyundai Motor Group and chair of Boston Dynamics' board, pointed to "Rohit's proven ability to turn AI into products at global scale."
That product-shipping line is the real signal in the hire. Hyundai, which took majority control of Boston Dynamics in 2021, plans to deploy the Atlas humanoid at its Georgia manufacturing facility starting in 2028 and build capacity to produce up to 30,000 humanoids annually. Prasad spent 12 years at Amazon helping grow Alexa into hundreds of millions of households and more recently oversaw the Nova foundation-model family. The industrial robotics résumé is thinner, but Hyundai is betting the Atlas program now needs an operator with foundation-model and scale-manufacturing instincts more than another roboticist.
What others are reporting
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The Robot Report Read →
Robotics specialist framing Prasad's mandate as 'physical AI'; notes this is Boston Dynamics' third CEO, tracing his arc from Raytheon ML research through Alexa to Atlas deployment.
By bringing together advanced AI and robotics, we can build intelligent systems that create meaningful value in real-world environments.
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Boston Globe Read →
Ties appointment to Chinese humanoid competition; reports the 30,000-unit Atlas annual production target and Boston Dynamics' pivot to logistics and manufacturing customers.
Prasad, a local tech sector veteran, spent 12 years at Amazon, where he served as senior vice president and head scientist for the retail giant's Alexa virtual assistants.
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Seoul Economic Daily Read →
Korean business press positions the hire as Hyundai Motor Group expanding Boston Dynamics across group-wide industrial, logistics, and mobility operations beyond standalone robotics.
By converging advanced AI and robotics to broaden the scope of robotics applications, I will build intelligent systems that lead a new leap forward for physical AI.
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Advanced Manufacturing Read →
Manufacturing trade press highlights Prasad's 25-year Boston-area roots as a strategic advantage for attracting engineering talent and deepening regional tech collaborations.
Physical AI will unlock a new level of autonomy, adaptability, and productivity across a wide range of applications.
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Engineering.com Read →
Engineering trade coverage frames Prasad's developer ecosystem-building experience as the primary tool for converting Atlas from a demo platform into a broadly adopted industrial system.
Physical AI will unlock a new level of autonomy, adaptability, and productivity across a wide range of applications.
Originally reported by bloomberg.com
Read the original article →Original headline: Boston Dynamics Names Ex-Amazon Alexa Chief Scientist Rohit Prasad CEO, Effective October 7