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Marc Whitten. (Cruise Photo)
Marc Whitten, a longtime tech executive with roots in the Seattle region, has joined Meta to lead a new team working on AI-powered humanoid robots.
Bloomberg first reported the news. Whitten confirmed his new role in a message to GeekWire.
Whitten was previously CEO of Cruise, the GM-backed self-driving company that recently halted its robotaxi program.
Whitten was also CTO at gaming giant Unity Software; led the entertainment devices division at Amazon; and spent 17 years at Microsoft, where he was a founding engineer on the Xbox team.
The new team at Meta resides within the company’s Reality Labs hardware division and will develop humanoid robot hardware, Bloomberg reported.
Humanoid robots have already made their way into warehouses and many companies are developing consumer-focused devices. Meta wants to sell robots that would operate inside homes and perform household chores, according to Bloomberg.
Whitten told GeekWire he plans to split his time between Seattle and Austin, Texas. Meta has a large presence in the Seattle region and its Reality Labs team has an office in Redmond, Wash.
