Boston Dynamics has a new chief executive, and he comes from software rather than hardware. On 6 October 2026 the company announced that Rohit Prasad, who led Alexa and Amazon’s artificial general intelligence work, would become CEO from 7 October 2026 [1].
That appointment is confirmed by Boston Dynamics itself. The wider context, including Hyundai’s plan to put Atlas humanoids to work in its Georgia factory from 2028, comes from Quartz’s reporting on the hire [2]. The short version: a robotics company famous for agile machines has hired an AI product executive to turn those machines into something factories will buy.
Who is Rohit Prasad?
According to Boston Dynamics, Prasad was most recently Senior Vice President and Head Scientist for Alexa and Artificial General Intelligence at Amazon [1]. The company says that in 12 years at Amazon he helped build Alexa “from its earliest days” into a consumer AI service used in hundreds of millions of households, and more recently led development of the Amazon Nova foundation model family used by enterprises [1].
Before Amazon, he spent nearly 14 years at Raytheon BBN Technologies, leading machine-learning research for US government and commercial clients [1]. Boston Dynamics also stresses that he has been based in the Boston area for more than 25 years, and pitches his local academic and industry ties as a way to attract talent and deepen technology partnerships [1].
Subject to the relevant approval process, Prasad is also expected to join the company’s board of directors [1].
Why hire an AI executive to run a robot company?
Boston Dynamics frames the appointment around one phrase: “Physical AI”. The company says it is developing intelligent robotic systems for industrial, enterprise and other real-world settings, and that Prasad’s arrival “accelerates” a strategy of combining its robotics with advanced AI “to commercialize intelligent machines at scale” [1].
Prasad’s own statement follows the same line: “By bringing together advanced AI and robotics, we can build intelligent systems that create meaningful value in real-world environments, expand the reach of robotics across industries, and shape the next era of Physical AI” [1].
Jaehoon Chang, Vice Chair of Hyundai Motor Group and chair of Boston Dynamics’ board, pointed to the combination of the company’s robots, Prasad’s “proven ability to turn AI into products at global scale” and Hyundai’s manufacturing, logistics and mobility capabilities as “a powerful foundation to build and scale Physical AI” [1].
Read plainly, the bet is that the hard problem is no longer making a robot move well. It is making a robot understand messy work well enough, and cheaply enough, to earn its place on a production line. That is a software and data problem as much as a mechanical one, which is where Prasad’s record sits.
What does Boston Dynamics actually sell today?
The company lists three robots [1]:
- Spot, a four-legged robot used for industrial inspections and facility data.
- Stretch, a box-moving robot for logistics and retail customers.
- Atlas, its electric humanoid, which the company itself still describes as “currently in development”.
That last detail matters. Atlas is the robot that gets the headlines, but by Boston Dynamics’ own description it is not yet a finished commercial product [1].
What is the 2028 Atlas factory plan?
Quartz reports that Hyundai has set a 2028 target to begin putting Atlas humanoid robots to work on the floor of its Georgia factory, and aims eventually to ramp production capacity to 30,000 units a year [2]. Atlas is initially expected to handle tasks such as welding and materials handling, with more complex assembly work to follow by 2030, according to the same report [2]. Hyundai has partnerships with Nvidia and Google DeepMind to develop the robot [2].
Quartz also reports that Hyundai agreed to buy SoftBank Group’s remaining stake of roughly 10% in Boston Dynamics, in a deal valuing the company at about $3.3 billion, which would make it a wholly owned Hyundai subsidiary [2].
Put together, the picture is of a carmaker pulling its robotics arm closer and setting it a deadline. The new CEO’s job is to hit it.
Why was the job open?
Prasad fills a vacancy left when Robert Playter departed earlier this year, Quartz reports, citing Bloomberg [2]. Playter had been CEO for six years and was only the second person to lead the company in its more than three-decade history [2]. Several other senior executives also left after Playter’s exit, including Chief Technology Officer Aaron Saunders, again according to Bloomberg as cited by Quartz [2].
Boston Dynamics’ own announcement does not discuss those departures [1].
What this does not prove
- That Atlas will be working in Hyundai’s factory in 2028. That is a target reported by Quartz, not a delivered result. Boston Dynamics still calls Atlas “in development” [1][2].
- That 30,000 Atlas units a year will be built or sold. The figure is a reported production-capacity aim, not an order book or a sales forecast [2].
- What Prasad will change. Neither the announcement nor the coverage we read sets out a new product roadmap, budget or timeline under his leadership [1][2].
- Why Playter and other executives left. Quartz reports the departures via Bloomberg but gives no reasons [2].
- That the SoftBank stake purchase has completed. Quartz describes Hyundai as having agreed to acquire it; we have not seen confirmation that the deal has closed [2].
The Bottom Line
Boston Dynamics has confirmed that Rohit Prasad, the executive behind Alexa and Amazon’s Nova models, is its new CEO from 7 October 2026 [1]. The hire signals that Hyundai’s robotics unit now sees its main challenge as AI and commercialisation rather than mechanical engineering, and it comes with a reported 2028 target to put Atlas to work in Hyundai’s Georgia factory [2].
The useful test is simple: watch for Atlas doing paid, repeatable work on a real line. Until then, the appointment is a strong statement of intent, not proof that humanoids are ready for the factory floor.
Related on TSN: Lotte’s Korean humanoid logistics project (slug: lotte-korea-humanoid-logistics-national-project).
Sources
- Boston Dynamics, “Boston Dynamics Appoints Rohit Prasad as Chief Executive Officer” (company press release), 6 October 2026. https://bostondynamics.com/news/boston-dynamics-appoints-rohit-prasad-as-chief-executive-officer/
- Cris Tolomia, “Boston Dynamics names former Amazon Alexa executive as CEO,” Quartz, updated 7 October 2026 (includes Hyundai’s 2028 Atlas target, the SoftBank stake deal, and executive departures cited to Bloomberg). https://qz.com/boston-dynamics-rohit-prasad-ceo-100726
