Episode 38 | Mohammed Musa Left Google to Build the Future of Self-Driving AI

Description

On the Caravan podcast, we sat down with Mohammed Musa, founder of Deepen AI, about moving from the Bay Area to Dallas for stronger Muslim community infrastructure, identity reinforcement for youth, and programs like Itkan Robotics, which has grown to 44+ locations and won the Texas state robotics competition. Mohammed shares navigating Muslim identity in post-9/11 Silicon Valley and in Japan’s drinking-centric work culture, then traces his career from elevator software to semiconductor startup Sonics (where stock dilution left him $800 back from a $10K investment), to game tech at Havok and Emergent, and six years at Google during its innovative era. He explains how VR and self-driving “aha” moments led to Deepen AI, which provides sensor-fusion data labeling tools and services, calibration software, and a data “refinery,” including SafetyPool.ai to share crash scenarios for safer ADAS/autonomy. 00:00 Stock Loss Cold Open 00:44 Podcast Intro Guest Setup 02:14 Texas Move Community 05:42 Identity Youth Programs 07:09 Ithan Robotics Impact 11:34 Post 9 11 Identity 15:26 Faith Quran Reflection 19:03 Workplace Assimilation Pressures 23:29 Japan Startup Detour 26:37 Game Tech Startup Shutdown 30:49 Early Career Elevator Tech 32:07 Sonics Equity Heartbreak 38:42 Dilution Horror Story 40:22 Regret and Lost Upside 42:13 From Startups to Google 45:17 Google Culture and Lessons 47:33 VR Experiment to Autonomy 53:04 Why Mobility Matters 56:16 Deepen Explained Simply 01:01:16 Calibration and Data Refinery 01:03:48 Safety Pool for Edge Cases 01:07:12 Tazkiya App and Quran Reflection 01:12:45 Closing Thoughts and Farewell