Intel veteran Aicha Evans is now the new CEO of the
Foster City, California-based startup Zoox, which employs about 700 people, valued at $3.2 billion after a $500 million funding round in July. Founded in 2014, Zoox is creating both self-driving software as well as its own vehicle with the goal of launching a fully autonomous, zero-emission fleet focused on ridesharing in urban areas.
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“Evans also may be the first African-American woman to lead a self-driving car company,” Forbes reported
“I’m thrilled to join Zoox and challenge the status quo with an autonomous mobility system built from the ground up,” Evans said in a company press release. “Mobility is approaching a major inflection point, and Zoox has set itself apart from entrenched players as the only company creating a solution purpose-built to meet the needs of a fully autonomous future.”
While at Intel, Evans spearheaded the company’s long-term strategy, which included launching autonomous vehicles.
“Evans replaces former Zoox CEO and co-founder Tim Kentley-Klay, who left the company last year under mysterious circumstances,” Business Insider reported. Kentley-Klay was reportedly fired by the company’s board of directors in August “without a warning, cause or right of reply,” he posted on Twitter at the time.
