Raquel Urtasun

Raquel Urtasun (born 30 January 1976) is a Spanish-Canadian computer scientist, AI researcher, entrepreneur, and academic. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Waabi, an autonomous trucking company based in Toronto, and a Full Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. She is also a co-founder of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which plays a central role in Canada’s national AI strategy.

Urtasun received her Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication Engineering from the Universidad Pública de Navarra in 2000. She completed her PhD in Computer Science at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2006. She then carried out postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2006 to 2008 and at the University of California, Berkeley from 2008 to 2009, working with leading AI researcher Trevor Darrell.

From 2009 to 2013 she served as Assistant Professor at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, and in 2010 she was a Visiting Professor at ETH Zurich. In 2014 she joined the University of Toronto, where she became Full Professor in 2020. Between 2015 and 2017 she held a Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning and Computer Vision.

In 2017, Uber appointed Urtasun as Chief Scientist and Head of Research and Development for Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG). She led Uber’s self-driving research efforts and established Uber ATG Toronto, while continuing limited teaching at the University of Toronto. In 2021, she left Uber and founded Waabi, which focuses on building safe and scalable autonomous trucking systems using generative AI, simulation, robotics, and machine learning.

Urtasun’s research covers machine learning, computer vision, robotics, AI, remote sensing, and machine perception for autonomous vehicles. She has published more than 200 academic papers, with over 80,000 citations, an h-index of 121, and more than 100 filed patents in autonomous driving technology.

Her awards include the NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Award, Longuet-Higgins Prize, Everingham Prize, two NVIDIA Pioneers of AI Awards, three Google Faculty Research Awards, an Amazon Faculty Research Award, two Best Paper Awards at CVPR, and the Order of Ontario in 2024. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, was named to the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI list in 2023, CNBC Changemakers in 2024, and has received multiple recognitions from Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, Chatelaine, Adweek, and Toronto Life.

Raquel Urtasun was born on 30 January 1976. She is a Spanish-Canadian computer scientist, AI researcher, academic, and technology entrepreneur. Her work focuses on artificial intelligence for machine perception, robotics, machine learning, computer vision, and self-driving systems. Over more than twenty-five years of research and development, she has played a major role in the global progress of autonomous vehicle technology and applied artificial intelligence.

She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication Engineering at the Universidad Pública de Navarra in Spain in 2000. She then moved to Switzerland, where she earned her PhD in Computer Science from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 2006. During her doctoral studies, she developed strong foundations in computer vision and machine learning. After completing her PhD, she carried out postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2006 to 2008. She then continued her postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley from 2008 to 2009, working closely with Professor Trevor Darrell, one of the leading researchers in machine learning and computer vision.

In 2009, Urtasun joined the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago as an Assistant Professor. She held this role until 2013, while also serving as a Visiting Professor at ETH Zurich in 2010. Her research during this period focused on machine perception, robotics, and autonomous systems. In 2014, she joined the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016 and became Full Professor in 2020. Between 2015 and 2017, she held the position of Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning and Computer Vision. During this time, she also became one of the co-founders of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, alongside Geoffrey Hinton and other leading researchers, helping establish Canada as a central hub for AI research.

In May 2017, Uber appointed Urtasun as Head of Uber ATG Toronto and later as Chief Scientist and Head of Research and Development for Uber Advanced Technologies Group. She led Uber’s autonomous driving research programme and built a large research team in Toronto. Under her leadership, Uber made a long-term multi-million-dollar investment in the Vector Institute and expanded its global self-driving research operations. She balanced her work at Uber with her academic duties at the University of Toronto, teaching one day per week and working at Uber four days per week. In 2021, after nearly four years at Uber, she left the company to launch her own technology firm.

In 2021, Urtasun founded Waabi in Toronto, where she serves as Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Waabi develops autonomous trucking technology using generative AI, simulation, robotics, machine learning, and large-scale data systems. The company focuses on building safe, scalable, and efficient self-driving solutions for commercial transport.

Throughout her career, Urtasun has published more than 200 academic papers, which have received over 80,000 citations, giving her an h-index of 121. She has also filed more than 100 patents related to autonomous driving and artificial intelligence. Her research interests include machine learning, computer vision, robotics, AI, remote sensing, and large-scale machine perception.

Her awards include the NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Award, Longuet-Higgins Prize, Everingham Prize, two NVIDIA Pioneers of AI Awards, three Google Faculty Research Awards, an Amazon Faculty Research Award, two Best Paper Awards at CVPR, and multiple research fellowships. She has served as Program Chair of CVPR 2018, editor of the International Journal of Computer Vision, and area chair for major conferences including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ECCV, and UAI.

In recent years, she has received several national and international recognitions. In 2018, she was named Chatelaine Woman of the Year and one of Toronto’s top influencers by Adweek. In 2021, she was listed among the 100 Women of Impact by Entrepreneur Magazine and one of the 100 People Transforming Business by Business Insider. In 2023, she was named one of the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI and included in Business Insider’s AI 100 list. In 2024, she was named a CNBC Changemaker, awarded the Order of Ontario, and elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Raquel Urtasun’s vision is to build artificial intelligence systems that can safely and reliably understand and operate in the physical world. She aims to create autonomous technology that improves transport, reduces accidents, lowers emissions, and makes logistics more efficient. Through Waabi, she focuses on combining simulation, machine learning, robotics, and real-world data to develop self-driving systems that can scale globally. Her long-term goal is to ensure that AI is not only powerful but also trustworthy, explainable, and useful in everyday life. She believes progress in AI must serve people, industry, and society with responsibility, safety, and long-term value.

Raquel Urtasun has received many leading international awards for her work in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Her honours include the NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Award, Longuet-Higgins Prize, Everingham Prize, two NVIDIA Pioneers of AI Awards, three Google Faculty Research Awards, an Amazon Faculty Research Award, and two Best Paper Awards at CVPR. She has also received a Ministry of Education and Innovation Early Researcher Award, a Connaught New Researcher Award, and the Order of Ontario in 2024. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and has been recognised by TIME, CNBC, Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, Chatelaine, Adweek, and Toronto Life.