- Major will oversee Motional’s AI technology development and the launch of its driverless commercial service in 2026
- Motional and Hyundai Motor Group are committed to bringing autonomy to personal mobility at scale, and introducing significant safety improvements and many benefits to society
Today, Motional announced that Laura Major has been confirmed as its President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Major was appointed by Motional’s Board of Directors following a successful tenure as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The announcement comes as Motional accelerates its AI development and prepares to launch its driverless commercial service next year.
Major has served as Motional’s interim CEO since last September and as CTO since Motional’s inception in 2020. As CTO, Major led the engineering team to develop one of the world’s first FMVSS-certified fully driverless vehicles, the IONIQ 5 robotaxi, and created a Machine Learning-first autonomous driving software stack. Prior to Motional, Major developed a wide range of autonomy and AI solutions at Draper Laboratory and Aria Insights, including astronaut and national security applications. Major is also an accomplished author, and co-wrote What to Expect When You’re Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration.
“In partnership with Hyundai, we’re bringing Embodied AI to transportation and introducing significant societal benefits,” said Laura Major, President and CEO of Motional. “Leveraging our deep expertise in building fully driverless systems and our agility in realizing the latest AI breakthroughs, we are strongly positioned to unlock a future where safe autonomous vehicles are a practical part of daily life.”