Waabi CEO Raquel Urtasun, who has raised over $1 billion（約1600億円） for her autonomous trucking company, argues that Gen Z workers with adaptability and curiosity—not decades of industry experience—are the talent driving AI transformation.

What happened

Raquel Urtasun, cofounder and CEO of autonomous trucking unicorn Waabi, told Fortune she prioritizes hiring young workers who are versatile and eager to learn over candidates with 20 years of industry experience. Her company, launched in 2021 and funded through a recent Series C round co-led by Khosla Ventures, is already testing autonomous trucks with Volvo.

Why it matters

Urtasun, who worked with Geoffrey Hinton in academia and headed Uber's self-driving division before founding Waabi, believes the most valuable skill is not mastery of a single specialty but the ability to learn and adapt as technology evolves. She views the current AI era as an opportunity rather than a threat to workers entering the job market.

What to watch

Waabi's autonomous trucks are already in road testing with Volvo, demonstrating progress toward a driverless future. McKinsey's recent survey found expectations for fully autonomous long-haul trucking have continued to slip, with timelines now stretching closer to the end of the decade—the competitive and regulatory landscape that will determine how quickly Waabi's technology reaches deployment at scale.