Robert Playter steps down as Boston Dynamics CEO

Boston Dynamics announced on 10 February 2026 that Robert Playter was stepping down as chief executive after 30 years at the company. The move ended a long internal career and opened a leadership transition at a company that has changed owners several times.^[1]

Background

Boston Dynamics was founded in 1992 by Marc Raibert as a spinoff from MIT, where he was a professor. Its ownership later moved through three corporate groups: Alphabet bought the company in 2013, SoftBank in 2017 and Hyundai in 2021.^[1]

Playter became chief executive in 2020, taking over from founder Raibert. In the same year, shortly after the leadership change, the company commercialised Spot.^[1]

What happened

The departure was announced by Playter on 10 February 2026. He had been at Boston Dynamics for 30 years, a span that covered the company's time as a spinoff, its years under different owners, and its move into commercial products with Spot.^[1]

Amanda McMaster, the chief financial officer, stood in while the company looked for a replacement. That arrangement put a finance executive in the top role on an interim basis and made the search for a new chief executive the next step in the transition.^[1]

Key details

Playter's tenure as chief executive began in 2020, when he succeeded Raibert. The company's commercialisation of Spot came shortly after he took over, placing a product milestone near the start of his time as CEO.^[1]

His 30 years at Boston Dynamics also spanned multiple ownership periods. Alphabet bought the company in 2013, SoftBank in 2017 and Hyundai in 2021, so Playter worked at the company under each of those owners before becoming CEO and then leading it through the Hyundai period.^[1]

Impact

The immediate effect is an interim leadership arrangement: the CFO takes charge while a replacement is sought. For Boston Dynamics, the change comes after a founder-led phase, a 2020 handover to Playter and the commercialisation of Spot in the same year.^[1]

The company's history from a 1992 MIT spinoff to ownership by Alphabet, SoftBank and Hyundai provides the context for the transition. Playter's departure after 30 years closes one long period of internal continuity, while the search for a new chief executive will determine who leads the company next.^[1]