Boston Dynamics has appointed Rohit Prasad, a world-renowned artificial intelligence expert, as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This landmark leadership transition shifts the company's strategic focus from pure robotics research and development to the actual commercialization and productization of "Physical AI."

Under the leadership of Prasad—who previously led the development of Alexa and generative AI models at Amazon—Boston Dynamics aims to seamlessly integrate AI into robotics. The company plans to leverage Hyundai Motor Group's manufacturing and logistics facilities as a primary testing ground for real-world deployment.

From 'Lab CEO' to 'AI Product CEO' with the Alexa DNA

Boston Dynamics announced the appointment of Rohit Prasad as CEO, effective on the 7th.

This marks the company's third CEO and its first-ever external hire with a background in software and AI, filling the leadership vacancy left by former CEO Robert Playter's departure in February.

Prasad is a globally recognized AI pioneer who has spearheaded advancements across conversational AI, generative AI, multimodal AI, and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Notably, he played a core role in building Amazon's Alexa from its inception, overseeing the development of the Nova foundation model lineup as Vice President and Senior Head Scientist for Alexa and AGI.

"I am thrilled to build intelligent systems that extend the reach of robotics across every industry, driving the next leap in Physical AI," Prasad said regarding his appointment.

Bringing the 'Alexa' Experience to 'Atlas'

Prasad's primary challenge at Boston Dynamics is accelerating the practical implementation of AI-robotic integration into commercial products.

Just as Alexa evolved into a major AI platform that understands voice commands and executes user intentions, the humanoid robot Atlas represents a premier platform for Physical AI. Having successfully scaled Alexa into a consumer AI service utilized by hundreds of millions of households at Amazon, Prasad brings vital productization experience.

Boston Dynamics plans to combine this expertise with Atlas to enhance the robot's autonomy and adaptability, evolving it into a multi-purpose intelligent platform.

Last month, Boston Dynamics opened the Robotics Metaplant Application Center (RMAC) at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) to begin training Atlas in manufacturing environments. The robot is currently learning sequencing tasks in real-world conditions, with plans to expand its training scope next year.

Five-Year Cumulative Deficit of 1.7 Trillion Won: The HMGMA Test in 2028

Prasad's mandate is clearly defined by financial figures. According to Hyundai Glovis disclosures, Boston Dynamics' net loss grew from 255.1 billion won in 2022 to 528.4 billion won in 2025, bringing the cumulative loss for the 2021–2025 period to 1.7558 trillion won.

However, positive shifts emerged last year. The revenue growth rate of 29.25% outpaced the loss increase rate of 19.96% for the first time. While the absolute deficit continued to grow, business expansion began to outstrip the growth of losses.

The ultimate test now lies in translating this growth into tangible revenue and profit through the commercialization of Atlas.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy Atlas at HMGMA starting in 2028, initially for parts-sequencing operations, and expand its scope to parts assembly by 2030. Concurrently, the group aims to establish an annual production capacity of 30,000 robots by 2028.

By providing its manufacturing and logistics infrastructure, Hyundai Motor Group is positioning HMGMA not merely as a customer, but as a massive testbed and initial market to validate Atlas's performance and productivity.

Industry analysts emphasize that Boston Dynamics' corporate value will ultimately depend on the productivity and economic viability demonstrated by Atlas.

Chang Jae-hoon, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, stated, "Boston Dynamics' industry-leading robotics technology, Prasad’s proven track record of delivering AI at global scale, and Hyundai Motor Group's advanced manufacturing, logistics, and mobility capabilities provide a powerful foundation to build and scale Physical AI. We are thrilled to welcome Prasad and look forward to his leadership as we usher in a new era of Physical AI realized in the real world."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]