Boston Dynamics
Waltham-based robotics company founded in 1992 as an MIT spin-off, maker of the Spot, Stretch and Atlas robots. Hyundai Motor Group has held 80 percent since 2021.
Industry: Mobile robots | Location: Waltham, United States | Founded: 1992
About Boston Dynamics
Boston Dynamics is an American robotics company based in Waltham, Massachusetts. It makes mobile robots for industrial and safety work: Spot, a quadruped used for inspections, Stretch, a robot that moves boxes in logistics and retail, and Atlas, an electric humanoid that is still in development. It also lists a product called Orbit.
Marc Raibert spun the company off from the MIT Leg Lab in 1992, and Robert Playter joined soon afterwards. Spot became commercially available in 2020, Stretch was unveiled in 2021 and a new all-electric Atlas debuted in 2024.
Google acquired the company in 2013, and SoftBank agreed to buy it from Alphabet in June 2017 without disclosing terms. Hyundai Motor Group completed its acquisition of an 80 percent stake in June 2021 in a deal that valued the company at 1.1 billion dollars, with SoftBank keeping 20 percent through an affiliate. Chief executive Robert Playter stepped down on 27 February 2026, and chief financial officer Amanda McMaster served as interim chief executive. The company announced on 6 October 2026 that Rohit Prasad, formerly Amazon's head scientist for Alexa and artificial general intelligence, would become chief executive on 7 October. Jaehoon Chang, vice chair of Hyundai Motor Group, chairs the board.
In March 2026 Boston Dynamics and FieldAI announced a partnership to bring Spot with FieldAI's foundation models into construction sites. In September 2026 it opened a Robotics Metaplant Application Center at Hyundai's Metaplant America near Savannah, Georgia, where Atlas robots are learning factory tasks. Hyundai plans to deploy 25,000 Atlas units across its plants.
In June 2026 the company announced a 323,000 square foot facility in Waltham, a 100 million dollar investment with 1,250 jobs expected by 2033, with phased move-in from mid-2027. It has not published revenue. TechScoop's June 2026 report on Agility Robotics' SPAC deal names it as a rival humanoid maker.
Leadership
- Marc Raibert, Founder
- Rohit Prasad, Chief Executive Officer
- Amanda McMaster, Chief Financial Officer; interim Chief Executive Officer (February to October 2026)
- Jaehoon Chang, Chair of the Board
- Zack Jackowski, Chief Product & Technology Officer
- Marc Theermann, Chief Strategy Officer
- Rachel Salamone, Chief People Officer