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The appointment brings experience building Alexa and Amazon Nova to a commercialization push spanning inspection, logistics and a humanoid platform still in development.
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Prasad brings a rare combination of consumer-assistant and enterprise-model experience: he spent 12 years leading Alexa and Amazon AGI, and most recently oversaw Nova, after nearly 14 years in machine-learning work at Raytheon BBN. At Boston Dynamics, that background will be applied across Spot inspections, Stretch logistics, and Atlas, which remains in development. The CEO transition was announced October 6, 2026, and took effect October 7; Prasad’s board seat is still subject to approval. The company’s safety and productivity benefits remain stated goals, not reported outcomes.
Spot conducts industrial inspections and manages facility-performance data.
Stretch moves boxes for logistics and retail customers.
Atlas is Boston Dynamics’ electric humanoid platform and remains in development.
Boston Dynamics is putting a former Amazon AI executive in charge of its effort to turn advanced robotics into commercial products. The company named Rohit Prasad chief executive on October 6, 2026, effective October 7. His assignment is to combine AI and robotics for machines used in industrial and commercial environments.
Prasad is also expected to join the company’s board of directors, though that appointment remains subject to approval.
At Amazon, Prasad served as senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa and artificial general intelligence. Boston Dynamics says he spent 12 years there, helping build Alexa from its earliest days into a consumer AI service used in hundreds of millions of households worldwide.
More recently, he led development of Amazon Nova, a family of foundation models used by enterprises, according to the appointment announcement. Foundation models are the underlying AI systems that can support different applications. His recent work therefore spans both consumer-facing AI and systems used by businesses.
Prasad’s remit covers a portfolio with distinct roles. Spot, the company’s four-legged robot, conducts industrial inspections and manages facility-performance data. Stretch moves boxes for logistics and retail customers. Atlas is the electric humanoid platform, which Boston Dynamics still describes as being in development.
The company calls its strategy “Physical AI”: bringing advanced AI together with robotics for work in real-world environments. Its stated goal for Prasad is to turn intelligent robotic systems into products that improve safety, productivity and operational efficiency. Those are the intended benefits of the strategy, not measured results disclosed with his appointment.
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