According to the auto industry and foreign media reports on Tuesday, Playter told employees in an email sent the previous day that he will leave the CEO post on Feb. 27.
Until the board appoints a successor, CFO Amanda McMaster will serve as interim CEO.
Playter, an MIT graduate, joined Boston Dynamics in 1994 — the company’s third year — as vice president of engineering and helped lay the groundwork for its robotics business through 2012. He later served as Google’s director of robotics from 2013 to 2018, then returned to Boston Dynamics as CEO in 2019. Hyundai Motor Group acquired Boston Dynamics in 2020, a year after he took the top job.
Playter is widely credited with shifting Boston Dynamics from a small research-focused organization into a commercial robotics company best known for Spot, its four-legged robot. The company also unveiled a model of its humanoid robot Atlas at CES 2026 last month as it prepares for commercialization, and said field training is underway.
In his email to employees, Playter said he was proud of the company’s “remarkable achievements” over the past year, adding that it had re-established Atlas’ leadership in a fast-growing sector and strengthened strategic partnerships with Hyundai and Google DeepMind.
He said the company has built a strong position and is ready for its next phase of growth, adding that a new CEO will bring the experience and energy needed for that next step.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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