Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua Steps Down to Focus on Technology Amid AI Expansion

After nearly 30 years as CEO of Mobileye, Prof. Amnon Shashua announced his decision to step down from the operational leadership role to concentrate on technological and strategic development. Speaking in a conference call, Shashua explained that managing both daily operations and leading technological innovation became too demanding, especially as Mobileye enters significant operational expansion and new markets such as robotics amid rapid AI advancements. He emphasized that Mobileye, with its 4,200 employees, remains his top priority and expressed optimism about the company’s growth despite recent stock declines, which he said are unrelated to his other ventures.

Shashua also addressed the company’s next steps, including the board’s proposal for him to become chairman after a new CEO is appointed. He prefers to wait until the new CEO is selected to assess their skills and how best to structure the company’s leadership for the long term. He dismissed doubts about the autonomous driving vision, highlighting Mobileye’s strong foundation, including a robotaxi system set for its first commercial launch with Volkswagen by the end of the year and expansion plans for 2027. The company also generates nearly $2 billion in revenue from advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).

Regarding the acquisition of robotics firm Mentee Robotics, Shashua described it as a strategic move critical to Mobileye’s Physical AI infrastructure, noting that only Mobileye and Tesla have such broad technological capabilities in this field. He expects the first Mobileye-branded robots to reach the market by 2028. Shashua praised the long-standing partnership with Intel, which owns about 77% of Mobileye, recalling how Intel’s acquisition in 2017 brought significant resources that bolstered Mobileye’s robotaxi operations.

He also touched on his involvement with other companies like the digital bank One Zero and AI21 Labs, framing these as natural maturation processes. When asked about future plans, Shashua firmly ruled out entering politics or public service. He concluded with a positive outlook on Israel’s AI potential, urging continued state support to maintain the country’s global leadership in artificial intelligence.