Amazon AGI chief scientist Rohit Prasad signals departure after 12 years
Amazon’s senior vice president and head scientist for Artificial General Intelligence has confirmed his departure in a personal LinkedIn post, closing a 12-year period that spanned Alexa, conversational AI, and Amazon’s Nova foundation models.
Photo credit: Rohit Prasad
Rohit Prasad confirmed he was leaving Amazon after more than a decade, sharing the decision in a LinkedIn post. Prasad, who most recently served as senior vice president and head scientist for Artificial General Intelligence, framed the move as the end of a chapter rather than a transition to a defined next role.
“I joined Amazon 12 years ago to work on Alexa because it felt like one of those ideas that bordered on impossible – a ‘Star Trek’ dream that was absolutely worth building for customers,” Prasad wrote.
A career shaped by long-horizon bets
Prasad’s early work at Amazon centered on Alexa, where he led research across natural language understanding, dialog systems, and machine learning. Reflecting on that period, he wrote, “Together, we built conversational AI that touches the daily lives of hundreds of millions of households around the world.”
Over time, his remit expanded beyond voice interfaces into broader efforts around generalizable AI. In recent years, he oversaw Amazon’s work on the Nova family of foundation models, which the company positioned as a core part of its generative AI strategy.
“Building Amazon Nova’s frontier models and services has been just as exhilarating,” Prasad wrote. He pointed to internal momentum rather than external milestones, adding, “Seeing the energy around Nova 2, Nova Forge, and Nova Act at re:Invent earlier this month was a highlight I'll always treasure.”
Handing over, not stepping away from the work
Prasad indicated that leadership responsibility would pass to Peter DeSantis, Amazon’s senior vice president of AWS Utility Computing. “The team is in great hands with Peter DeSantis,” he wrote, noting that bringing “foundational AI, silicon, and quantum together” could act as a force multiplier.
Rather than emphasizing products or platforms, much of Prasad’s post focused on Amazon’s internal culture. “The culture – brilliant people at every level, deeply obsessed with customers and willing to take long-term bets – is truly unmatched,” he wrote. He added that the relationships formed over the years mattered as much as the technical outcomes.
Prasad did not outline his next role or organization. Instead, he framed the decision as a matter of timing.
“With these foundations now in place, I felt it was the right moment for me to begin a new adventure,” he wrote. He closed by addressing colleagues directly: “To my teammates, partners, and customers: thank you for sharing this journey with me. I'm excited for what comes next and I can’t wait to see the extraordinary things you build.”
ETIH Innovation Awards 2026
Entries are now open for the ETIH Innovation Awards 2026, recognizing education technology companies and initiatives working across AI, workforce development, and digital learning. The awards are open to organizations in the UK, the Americas, and internationally, with submissions assessed on evidence of impact across K–12, higher education, and lifelong learning.
