“I've developed my passion for cars that drive themselves from being stuck in traffic for many, many, many hours of my life. I don't know what it adds up to, but I feel like I've lost a year or two just in traffic. That's big to me. That's a lot of time, a lot of money that I just lose on the road.”

German-American computer scientist, entrepreneur, and educator

Sebastian Thrun is a German-American computer scientist, entrepreneur, and educator. He is an adjunct professor at Stanford University and is known for work in self-driving cars, robotics, artificial intelligence, and online education. He co-founded Google X and Udacity, and later served as chief executive officer of Kitty Hawk Corporation. His career spans research and company building across advanced technology and learning.