Realtime Robotics has appointed Kevin Carlin as Chief Executive Officer as the industrial AI company moves into its next phase of commercial growth and expands adoption of its Resolver platform among major automotive manufacturers.
Carlin succeeds Realtime Robotics Co-Founder Peter Howard, who will remain involved with the company as non-executive Chairman of the Board.
The leadership transition comes as Realtime Robotics reports growing adoption of Resolver among global automotive OEMs seeking to use AI to streamline factory planning, shorten vehicle development timelines, manage increasingly complex production environments, and accelerate the deployment of robotic manufacturing systems.
Realtime Robotics has also expanded its workforce while continuing to develop Resolver’s capabilities, positioning the company to scale its commercial operations as more manufacturers incorporate AI into production planning and automation.
Carlin brings more than two decades of international leadership experience across semiconductors, industrial automation, and artificial intelligence.
He joined Realtime Robotics in 2022 as Chief Commercial Officer and was promoted to President and Chief Commercial Officer in 2025. In those roles, Carlin helped build customer relationships and develop the commercial organization supporting adoption of the company’s technology.
Before joining Realtime Robotics, Carlin spent more than 13 years at Analog Devices.
Most recently at Analog Devices, he built an internal startup focused on AI- and machine learning-driven sensing and analytics. He also held senior leadership positions across the company’s Automation & Energy Group and Industrial Automation business.
As CEO, Carlin plans to deepen Realtime Robotics’ relationships with automotive manufacturers and the broader ecosystem of companies supporting vehicle production.
The company also sees opportunities to expand beyond automotive manufacturing over time. Realtime Robotics believes many of the challenges addressed by Resolver, including complex factory planning, robotic system design, engineering bottlenecks, and production changes, are also present in other sophisticated manufacturing sectors.
Resolver is designed to automate and optimize complicated portions of factory planning and robotic system design and deployment.
The platform enables engineers to evaluate, simulate, and optimize manufacturing decisions earlier in the product and process development lifecycle.
By moving those decisions earlier, Realtime Robotics aims to help manufacturers identify potential production issues before physical systems are installed, reduce engineering bottlenecks, accelerate manufacturing program launches, and adapt production systems more quickly when requirements change.
That capability has become increasingly important for automotive manufacturers as vehicle programs become more complex and companies deploy larger numbers of industrial robots across production facilities.
Traditional robotic system design can require extensive engineering work to determine how multiple robots should operate within the same manufacturing environment while avoiding collisions, meeting production requirements, and maximizing equipment utilization.
Realtime Robotics applies industrial AI to automate portions of that planning and optimization process, allowing manufacturers to test alternatives digitally before committing to physical configurations on the factory floor.
The company said Resolver has gained increasing traction with global automotive manufacturers since its commercial launch last year.
Carlin’s appointment reflects Realtime Robotics’ transition from proving the technology and establishing customer demand toward scaling deployments and building a larger commercial business around the platform.
Howard, meanwhile, will continue providing strategic guidance through his role as Chairman while Carlin assumes responsibility for day-to-day leadership and the company’s broader growth strategy.
KEY QUOTES:
“Realtime Robotics has reached the moment every deep-tech company works toward: proof that the world’s most demanding manufacturers need and want what we’ve built. Kevin has been instrumental in building the customer relationships and commercial engine behind that success. He has the experience and the instincts to drive the company from this inflection point into rapid growth, and I’m confident he’s the right leader to take us there.”
Peter Howard, Co-Founder and Chairman of Realtime Robotics
“Peter has spent years building this company into what it is today, and the trust he’s placed in me to lead its next chapter means everything. Now our job is to scale that impact by deepening our relationships with automotive OEMs and their production ecosystems, and delivering the results customers and stakeholders expect from a company entering its growth phase. I’m energized by what’s ahead and grateful that Peter will continue to help guide us as Chairman.”
“Automotive is just the beginning. The same challenges we’re solving for OEMs exist across other high-complexity manufacturing sectors, and we intend to be the platform those industries turn to as well.”
Kevin Carlin, CEO of Realtime Robotics
