Mobileye founder's decision to step down as CEO, weak forecast hit shares

July 23 (Reuters) - Amnon Shashua, CEO ‌of Mobileye ​since founding ​it in 1999, will step down, just as the autonomous-driving technology firm makes a big push into a robotaxi service and ‌robotics.

The company also forecast a 5% to 6% revenue drop for ⁠the third quarter, overshadowing its strong April-June showing and sending shares down about 15% in ‌their steepest single-day drop since ‌August 2024.

Shashua's resignation marks Mobileye's biggest leadership change, coming after he steered the firm through a $15.3 billion buyout by Intel in 2017 and a 2022 ​return to public markets, though the stock has fallen 60% since the debut on uneven demand.

Shashua did not give a reason for his resignation, ⁠but said that it was the "right moment to establish the leadership structure that will be best suited for ​Mobileye's next chapter."

He will step down once Mobileye appoints a successor and has been offered the role of chairman and ​will stay on as a director.

On a ‌post-earnings call, Shashua said he will shift his focus to longer-term technology development, particularly humanoids, which he sees as a major ⁠frontier for innovation.

A new CEO, meanwhile, will steer the company's next strategy for its more established autonomous-driving and ADAS businesses, he added.

The move comes months after Mobileye bought ⁠humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics, also co-founded by Shashua and where he was co-CEO, for ​about $900 million. Interest in humanoid robotics is surging, driven by the idea that human-like forms can better adapt to factories and complex settings.

Shashua also spent a major chunk of Thursday's ‌call discussing the U.S. robotaxi service the company plans to launch next year. He said the company could generate ‌about $125,000 in annual revenue per vehicle.

For the second quarter, the company posted revenue of $508 ⁠million, beating analysts' estimates of $481.24 million ‌and adjusted earnings of ​19 cents per share, which topped estimates of 6 cents, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Vijay Kishore)

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