Talking to journalists after the announcement, Shashua said, "Of all the possible times (to step down), this is the best time both for me and for the company. The company is on the point of very significant expansion. In Robotaxi, we are entering into B2C and not just OEM, and there are also the humanoid robots. The technology is advancing at a crazy pace. I’m originally a scientist and an entrepreneur. Doing both things together is perhaps too much, and I choose to focus on the strategic technological side and to leave the expansion to ‘new blood’ that will come into the company."
On leaving the company when its stock is depressed, Shashua said, "The company shouldn’t be managed by the stock. The stock will rise and fall - I’m very optimistic about the company’s growth and in the end that will be reflected in the stock - but that shouldn’t dictate the timing of strategic moves."
Commenting on the autonomous vehicle vision, Shashua said, "We have built a very strong infrastructure. Today we have a Robotaxi system of which we shall see a first commercial launch in Florida together with Volkswagen by the end of the year, and in many more places in 2027. This is a very big step. Technologically, we are very close to taking out the driver. Waymo (Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle arm), which has been very successful, has 3,500 vehicles. It’s not that we’re coming late to the party; we’re coming at the right time for expansion.
"Mobileye is much bigger than the Robotaxi vision," Shashua added. "We have an engine that generates annual revenue of nearly $2 billion, of driver assistance systems. We need to put the emphases on the right things at the right time. A few years ago, Robotaxi was on a back burner because of other growth opportunities. Today, that activity is being accelerated, and it’s one of our growth engines for the future."
The Mobileye board offered to appoint Shashua chairperson of Mobileye, but he has yet to decide about that, and says that he is waiting to see who is appointed CEO and his or her skillset, and what will be the right thing as far as corporate governance is concerned. "The company is bigger than me or than any individual. I look decades ahead. We have built a very strong infrastructure for growth," Shashua said. Asked whether he was looking in the direction of public activity, he replied with a smile, "An excellent question. And the answer is no."
Shashua also talked about the acquisition of Mentee Robotics and the criticism arising from the fact that he was on the side of the seller and of the buyer (Shahsua’s robotics company was acquired by Mobileye for $900 million). "The acquisition of Mentee is part of the infrastructure that Mobileye is building, and it’s a very serious pillar for the future," he said. "How many companies are there in physical AI that have both an autonomous vehicle activity and construction of a humanoid robot? Only Tesla and Mobileye. That puts us in a very good place for the future. I look years ahead. It was a very good opportunity that was enthusiastically backed by the board. It wasn’t a one man show; it was one of the most important things that Mobileye has done. Development there is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and in 2028 we’ll see Mobileye robots, a very strong growth engine for the future."
Shashua was also asked whether AI wasn’t too big for Israel, and whether perhaps it was impossible to build a giant company here in that field. "Let’s put things in proportion," he replied. "Mobileye is a company that expects $2 billion revenue this year and a (non-GAAP) $400 million profit. It’s a global company that employs more than 4,000 people. It’s a very big success story. Any conclusion reached that it’s not possible to build AI in Israel has no basis in fact. Israel has huge potential in AI, and it’s important that the state should also invest in that direction. It’s important that the state’s money shouldn’t just go to unproductive sections of the population. Ai needs large infrastructure and big money, and the state can help. Israel could have a leading place in AI, and Mobileye is an excellent example."
Asked what Mobileye will look for in his replacement, and whether in his opinion the next CEO should come from Israel, Shashua responded, "I’m avoiding giving an answer because I don’t want to narrow the range of candidates, so at the moment I don’t want to say what I think about the skillset of the next CEO, in order to spread a wide net and choose the best person."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 23, 2026.
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