How Boston Dynamics is turning robots into a real business

Boston Dynamics, the robotics company known for its extraordinary feats, is now focusing on making their robots economically viable at scale. CFO Amanda McMaster, who served as interim CEO until October, stressed the need for proactive sales and cost control during a recent Fortune summit. The company's flagship Spot robot, priced around $100,000 to $300,000, is used for inspections in various industries.

McMaster argues that robots augment human labor, not replace it, by handling "dull, dirty, dangerous work." Atlas, a humanoid robot, represents a more ambitious test for the company in terms of mass production and cost reduction. Hyundai Mobis has committed to producing actuators for Atlas at cost, with plans for about 50,000 deployments across Hyundai and Kia facilities.

McMaster's strategy for Atlas involves controlling costs and scaling production quickly. As interim CEO, McMaster reorganized the company, emphasizing swift action and reorganizing for efficiency. She expressed confidence in her ability to lead the company, noting that the role was her dream job. Prasad, who joined as CEO, inherits a team with deep robotics expertise and a growing commercial foundation, but faces the challenge of integrating advanced AI to create reliable, real-world robots.