Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox and engineer Jack Grigg
This was an article posted by Bitcoin Magazine on Feb 16 2017 and the founder Zcash Zooko Wilcox had stated:
But the main reason for the enthusiasm of the Zcash tech is, indeed, Equihash’s resistance to ASIC mining.
https://cryptocurrencywatchgroup.com/zcash-founder-zooko-wilcox-and-engineer-jack-grigg/