Raquel Urtasun is a distinguished professor at the University of Toronto, renowned for her groundbreaking research in artificial intelligence, particularly deep learning, as it pertains to machine perception for self-driving cars. Her expertise encompasses machine learning, computer vision, robotics, and remote sensing, all aimed at enabling vehicles and other machines to perceive their environments more accurately and efficiently. Prior to her tenure at the University of Toronto, Urtasun served as an assistant professor at the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago and was a visiting professor at ETH Zurich.

In 2017, Urtasun joined Uber to lead a Toronto-based research team focused on self-driving technology. During her time with Uber, she spearheaded initiatives within the Advanced Technologies Group, overseeing a robust research team and fostering collaboration with Toronto’s Vector Institute, which she co-founded. Balancing her commitments, she maintained a position at the University of Toronto while driving research at Uber.

In 2021, Urtasun departed Uber to establish Waabi Innovation, a company dedicated to advancing self-driving technology. Her contributions to the field have earned her numerous accolades, including the NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship and the NVIDIA Pioneers of AI Award. She has also received Faculty Research Awards from both Amazon and Google.

An influential figure in her field, Urtasun has served as Program Chair for CVPR 2018 and has contributed to several prestigious machine learning and vision conferences. Her impact has been recognized with her selection as one of Chatelaine’s Women of the Year in 2018 and her appointment to the Order of Ontario in 2023.