BY Fraser Tennant
In a transaction that it believes “will help bring the vision of autonomous ride-hailing to reality”, online retailer Amazon is to acquire self-driving start-up Zoox for a reported $1.2bn.
The acquisition represents further investment by Amazon in the autonomous car industry, following its participation in a $530m funding round by Aurora Innovation – also a self-drive start-up – in 2019.
At the same time, Amazon has been working on its own autonomous vehicle technology projects, including its last-mile delivery robots – six-wheeled sidewalk-treading bots designed to carry small packages to the homes of customers.
Zoox, however, is Amazon's first acquisition in the autonomous vehicle industry.
“Zoox is working to imagine, invent and design a world-class autonomous ride-hailing experience,” said Jeff Wilke, chief executive worldwide consumer at Amazon. “Like Amazon, Zoox is passionate about innovation and about its customers, and we’re excited to help the talented Zoox team to bring their vision to reality in the years ahead.”
Founded in 2014 with the vision of purpose-built, zero-emissions vehicles designed for autonomous ride-hailing, Zoox's ground-up vehicle focuses on the ride-hailing customer, with tightly integrated features designed to provide a revolutionary passenger experience. The California-based firm’s approach to invention provides flexibility and the means to iterate rapidly to continuously deliver a superior experience for its customers.
“This acquisition solidifies Zoox's impact on the autonomous driving industry,” said Aicha Evans, chief executive of Zoox. “We have made great strides with our purpose-built approach to safe, autonomous mobility, and our exceptionally talented team working every day to realise that vision. We now have an even greater opportunity to realise a fully autonomous future.”
Aicha Evans, along with Jesse Levinson, Zoox co-founder and CTO, will continue to lead the team post-acquisition, as they innovate – including the development of their robot taxi – and drive towards their mission: to create autonomous mobility from the ground up.
“Since Zoox's inception six years ago, we have been singularly focused on our ground-up approach to autonomous mobility,” concluded Mr Levinson. “Amazon's support will markedly accelerate our path to delivering safe, clean and enjoyable transportation to the world.”
News: Amazon agrees to buy self-driving technology startup Zoox