The ‘AI superstar’ CEO behind a self-driving truck unicorn on why Gen Z is a better hiring bet than industry veterans |
The ‘AI superstar’ CEO behind a self-driving truck unicorn on why Gen Z is a better hiring bet than industry veterans
Raquel Urtasun is a Gen Xer, but she’s putting her faith in Gen Z.
The 50-year-old began her career in academia, working alongside the “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton, before building out Uber’s self-driving technology division. Now, the cofounder and CEO of the autonomous trucking unicorn Waabi, she realizes there’s a lot of fear and anxiety about AI reshaping the future of work. But she sees something else entirely, and it’s not just because she’s raised over $1 billion for her unicorn: this is one of the best times to be alive, and to be a young worker.
“Fear can paralyze your ability to embrace that change,” Urtasun told Fortune when asked about Gen Z’s worries about an uncertain AI future. “And I think that everybody should take this change as an opportunity.”
Since its 2021 launch, Waabi has raised more than $1 billion to develop technology once considered science fiction, including a recent Series C round co-led by Khosla Ventures. In partnership with Volvo, its autonomous trucks are already testing road operations, offering a glimpse of a driverless future arriving faster than many once expected.
For Urtasun, that optimism extends to who she hires. Rather than seeking candidates with decades of industry experience, she looks for something harder to teach: raw adaptability.
It’s a mindset she developed........