Boston Dynamics names Amazon AI leader Rohit Prasad as CEO
Boston Dynamics appoints former Amazon Alexa head Rohit Prasad as its new CEO, effective October 7, 2026, to accelerate its Physical AI strategy for industrial robotics.
Rohit Prasad has been appointed CEO of Boston Dynamics, effective October 7, 2026. The move follows Robert Playter’s departure nearly nine months ago and an interim tenure by Amanda McMaster, making Prasad the company's third chief executive ever.
Prasad’s AI and leadership background
Prasad brings over a decade of artificial intelligence leadership from Amazon. He served as Senior Vice President and Head Scientist for Alexa and Artificial General Intelligence. During his 12 years there, he helped build the Alexa virtual assistant from its earliest days into a service used in hundreds of millions of homes. More recently, he led the development of the Amazon Nova foundation model family for enterprise use.
Before Amazon, Prasad spent nearly 14 years at Raytheon BBN Technologies. There, he led machine-learning research and its application for U.S. government and commercial projects. He has been based in the Boston area for over 25 years, with deep ties to its robotics and AI ecosystem.
Strategic alignment with Physical AI
His appointment accelerates Boston Dynamics’ Physical AI strategy. The goal is to combine world-class robotics with advanced AI to commercialize intelligent machines at scale. Prasad will focus on productizing systems that improve safety, productivity, and operational efficiency in real-world industrial environments.
"Boston Dynamics is uniquely positioned to advance physical AI through its world-class robotics expertise," Rohit Prasad said. This approach aims to unlock new levels of autonomy and adaptability across applications.
Corporate context and recent developments
Hyundai Motor Group, which acquired a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank in 2021, provides a manufacturing foundation. Jaehoon Chang, Vice Chair of Hyundai, is Chair of the Board at Boston Dynamics. The company continues to advance its robotics portfolio with recent launches.
Last week, Boston Dynamics unveiled a new four-fingered hand for its Atlas humanoid robot, built for high-fidelity simulation. A week before that, it opened the Robotics Metaplant Application Center in Georgia to train for integrating Atlas into Hyundai’s automotive manufacturing. The company also introduced Spot 5.2, an update enabling agentic workflows, and Orbit AIVI, now powered by Google Gemini, which extends inspection capabilities.
Boston Dynamics plans to spend $100 million expanding its facilities in Waltham, Massachusetts. Its portfolio includes three main robots:
Subject to the relevant approval process, Prasad is also expected to join the company’s Board of Directors.
