Mexican Media Brands
Autonomous Vehicle Startup Zoox Dumps its CEO
Zoox Inc., the Menlo Park, Calif. robotics startup, has abruptly removed CEO and co-founder Tim Kentley-Klay only weeks after he led a $500 million fundraising round for the 4-year-old company.
#robotics
Share
Zoox Inc., the Menlo Park, Calif. robotics startup, has abruptly removed CEO and co-founder Tim Kentley-Klay only weeks after he led a $500 million fundraising round for the 4-year-old company.
Kentley-Klay (pictured) tweets that his dismissal came “without warning, cause or right of reply,” adding that “today was Silicon Valley up to its worst tricks.”
Zoox, which is valued at $3.2 billion, has not commented on the reason for the firing. Sources tell Bloomberg News that the startup will promote Jesse Levinson, the company’s second co-founder and chief technology officer, to president.
The company also has named Carl Bass, a Zoox board member and former CEO of product development software giant Autodesk Inc., as the company’s chairman.
Kentley-Klay, who has no prior automotive experience but plenty of entrepreneurial zeal, believed that Zoox’s approach of designing a vehicle to be fully autonomous would prevail over competitors who have retrofitted existing vehicles with autonomous-enabling technology.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On Audi's Paint Colors, the Lexus ES 250, and a Lambo Tractor
From pitching a startup idea to BMW to how ZF is developing and using ADAS tech to a review of the Lexus ES 250 AWD to special info about additive at Toyota R&D. And lots in between.
-
Report Predicts Limited Impact of Autonomous Tech on Professional Drivers
A new study says autonomous vehicles will displace some taxi drivers but have only a modest impact on the number of truck driver jobs over the next 10 years.
-
Kroger Tests Self-Driving Grocery Delivery Service
The Kroger Co. and Silicon Valley startup Nuro launched a pilot program for autonomous grocery delivery this week in Scottsdale, Ariz.
