Boston Dynamics has appointed Rohit Prasad as its new chief executive officer. The company announced the appointment in an official statement on October 6, 2026; it took effect on October 7, 2026. Reuters also reported the news.
Prasad is a former Amazon senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa and artificial general intelligence (AGI). Over 12 years at Amazon, he helped build the Alexa voice assistant from its earliest days and later led development of the Amazon Nova family of foundation models.
The new CEO succeeds Robert Playter, who led Boston Dynamics until February. The top job has been vacant since Playter stepped down in February. Hyundai Motor Group holds a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics.
The company frames the appointment as a move to accelerate its Physical AI strategy — combining advanced artificial intelligence with robotics to commercialize intelligent machines at scale.
Who Is Rohit Prasad
Rohit Prasad is one of the seasoned leaders in the AI industry. According to Reuters, at Amazon he served as senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa and artificial general intelligence.
The senior vice president and head scientist titles indicate that he was one of the company's top scientific and applied leaders in AI. His responsibilities spanned the Alexa voice assistant and artificial general intelligence programs.
Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is a research direction aimed at building AI systems capable of performing a broad range of cognitive tasks at a human level. Prasad was the scientific leader of that effort at Amazon.
12 Years at Amazon: Alexa and Nova
According to the company's official statement, during his 12 years at Amazon, Prasad helped build Alexa from its earliest days. Alexa — Amazon's voice assistant — grew into a large-scale consumer AI service used in hundreds of millions of homes.
The Alexa experience gave Prasad hands-on practice taking an AI product from an idea to a service used at mass scale. That is practical experience in turning research results into a real product.
Prasad later led development of the Amazon Nova family of foundation models. Foundation models are large base models used across diverse tasks; they form the backbone of modern AI systems. The Nova family is exactly such a set of models.
The new CEO thus has experience building both consumer AI services for broad audiences and foundation models for enterprise use.
The Physical AI Strategy
Boston Dynamics says Prasad's appointment serves to accelerate its Physical AI strategy. The strategy's essence is to commercialize intelligent machines at scale by combining advanced AI with robotics.
This appointment accelerates our Physical AI strategy, which combines advanced AI with robotics to commercialize intelligent machines at scale. — Boston Dynamics official statement
Physical AI refers to the merger of artificial intelligence with systems that act in the physical world — that is, robots. Here AI is not limited to text or images on a screen but controls machines operating in real environments.
Boston Dynamics has declared this direction the next key stage of its work. In its official statement the company said the appointment is aimed at accelerating the integration of AI and robotics. The new CEO was appointed specifically to execute this strategy.
Succession and Hyundai's Control
The appointment closes a leadership gap at Boston Dynamics that has persisted since February. Robert Playter stepped down as CEO in February, and the company has had no permanent leader since.
Hyundai Motor Group holds a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics. A controlling stake means a decisive voice in company decisions — Hyundai is Boston Dynamics' principal owner.
The company said it intends to expand its Physical AI work, drawing on Hyundai's industrial and mobility capabilities.
Prasad's main task will be to combine the company's robotics expertise with advanced AI capabilities and accelerate bringing intelligent machines to market at commercial scale. The appointment officially took effect on October 7, 2026.
So, as of October 7, 2026, Boston Dynamics is led by Rohit Prasad, who served at Amazon as senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa and AGI. He succeeds Robert Playter, who left in February. Hyundai Motor Group remains the principal owner, and the new leader's task is to execute the Physical AI strategy — combining advanced AI with robotics to commercialize intelligent machines at scale.
