Boston Dynamics named Rohit Prasad, the Amazon executive who built Alexa, as its new CEO, signaling a shift toward merging robotics with large-scale AI systems. The move comes alongside a parallel bet from parent company Hyundai, which is investing with Boston Dynamics in AI-powered training systems meant to get robots onto manufacturing lines faster.
As Waymo's driverless cars spread, the reactions are piling up from every direction. In San Francisco, Amazon's Zoox is angling to challenge Waymo for market share; Lyft is musing about a future where its human drivers service Waymo's fleet instead of competing with it; and in Minneapolis, city officials are weighing a rule that would force Waymo to keep a human behind the wheel, citing fears for rideshare jobs.