The CEO, who was leading the transformation of Google’s billion-dollar self-driving car project into a separate company worth billions of dollars, is stepping down after more than five years on the position. In a blog post on Friday, John Krafcik announced his departure as CEO of Waymo, a venture spun out by Google, stating his desire to enjoy life as the world is emerging from a pandemic.

“I’m looking forward to a refresh period, reconnecting with old friends and family, and discovering new parts of the world,” wrote Krafchik (59).

Two of Krafchik’s best lieutenants will replace him as co-execs. Dmitri Dolgov, who works on self-driving cars since Waymo started with Google in 2009, will focus on autonomous vehicle technology. TekedraMawakana, a lawyer who was Waymo’s chief operating officer, will deal with the operation’s business part.

Krafcik will remain an advisor to Waymo, a company that established itself as a clear leader in autonomous driving by Google hiring him in 2015. Shortly afterward, Google’s self-driving division grew into Waymo, a company owned by and Alphabet, also Google’s parent.

Under the leadership of Krafcik, Waymo partnered with several major car manufacturers and launched the first ride-hailing driverless service to pick up passengers without. This service, called Waymo One, is currently only operating in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Still, Waymo plans to expand into other markets as the company continues to refine the technology expected to transform the automotive industry.

Waymo’s breakthroughs have made an estimated market value of about $30 billion, based on analysts’ estimates last year after the company raised $ 2.25 billion in the first round of investments outside Alphabet. Waymo subsequently received $1 billion from outside investors to complete this round of funding. But last year’s $30 billion forecasts fell sharply compared to 2018 when Morgan Stanley’s report estimated that Waymo was worth about $ 175 billion.

With all the progress in autonomous driving, it is believed that Waymo never made money during Krafcik’s reign. Waymo does not disclose its financial results. It works within an Alphabet segment called “Other Bets,” which includes several other remote projects funded by the huge profits made by Google’s digital advertising empire.