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We Recognize Her: Meet Aicha Evans, The Black Woman Behind The Self-Driving Car Startup Bought By Amazon For $1.2 Billion

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Aicha Evans is a name that you should become very familiar with!

In honor of Women’s History Month, WBLS is proud to acknowledge and celebrate the often-overlooked women who make contributions to our communities, our culture, society, and who are making history, today!

Evans is the CEO of the self-driving car startup company named Zoox, which was bought by Amazon for $1.2 billion. Although the business is considered to be standalone, she and the company’s co-founder and CTO, Jesse Levinson are set to keep their roles in the company.

The company was founded in 2014 in Foster City, California with the mission to provide safe, clean, and enjoyable transportation to the world. After being acquired by Amazon, Evans said in a blog post, “This acquisition solidifies Zoox’s impact on the autonomous driving industry.”

black woman
Aicha Evans who is the CEO of the self-driving technology development company Zoox, talks about autonomous cars during a keynote session at the Amazon Re:MARS conference on robotics and artificial intelligence at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 6, 2019. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

She continued, “We have made great strides with our purpose-built approach to safe, autonomous mobility, and our exceptionally talented them working every day to realize that vision. We now have an even greater opportunity to realize a fully autonomous future.”

Before joining the Zoox team in 2019, Evans worked for multiple companies such as Skyworks Solutions, Rockwell Semiconductor, and Intel, where she would for 12 years.

During her time with Intel, Aicha Evans specialized in leading wireless engineering projects utilizing technologies such as XMM register, 5G, Wireless LAN, and Bluetooth. In 2013, she acquired the leadership of a communications position, and then in 2017, she was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer of the company.

Evans hails from Senegal and received his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from George Washington University in 1996. In a previous interview, Evans spoke about her journey and said, “When you’re a young girl from Senegal and you end up sitting in my shoes, impact, and meaning is very important.”