By
Chimamanda U. Martha
March 11th, 2024
Amazon is in talks to buy self-driving car tech company Zoox. However, it is said that Amazon is not the only potential buyer. Meanwhile, AMZN stock is slightly down.
E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) is looking to expand its reach in autonomous-vehicle technology. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is holding negotiations to buy Zoox, California-based company that develops technology for self-driving cars.
Established in 2014, Zoox provides a fully automated electric vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem. It designs zero-emissions vehicles and creates mobility-as-a-service in complex environments. In December 2018, it became the first company to gain approval for providing self-driving transport services to the public in California.
By July 2018, Zoox raised $800 million in venture capital, at a valuation of $3.2 billion. According to those familiar with the matter, if signed, the deal between Zoox and Amazon would put the startup’s value lower.
Notably, Amazon is not the only one that offered to buy Zoox. At least one other company has offered to acquire Zoox. By the way, it will not sell for less than the $1 billion that it had raised by this year.
Declining to comment on the offer from Amazon, Zoox said:
“Zoox has been receiving interest in a strategic transaction from multiple parties and has been working with Qatalyst Partners to evaluate such interest.”
Amazon to Focus on Self-Driving Technology with Zoox
Amazon started to explore driverless technology in 2017. Back then, the giant formed an internal team of 12 members focused on self-driving tech and started investing in the sector. For example, last year, Amazon took part in a $530 million funding round run by the self-driving car startup Aurora Innovation Inc. Besides, Amazon led a $700 million funding for a self-driving tech company Rivian.
Earlier, Amazon said it was not going to build its own driverless vehicles. Instead, it decided to use the technology in its warehouses and supply chain. As Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Jitendra Waral and April Kim said, buying Zoox could help Amazon manage rising shipping costs they predict will exceed $60 billion by 2025.
Amazon (AMZN) Stock Down in Pre-Market
Last week, Amazon (AMZN) stock hit a record high of $2497.94. The soar came along with the giant’s announcement about entering the gaming industry. Less briefly, Amazon introduced its first big-budget multiplayer shooter game called Crucible. It is the first team-oriented video game of Amazon that comes with unique characters and aims at Amazon Prime subscribers.
Since Friday, Amazon stock steadied down. Yesterday, Amazon stock declined by 0.62% and closed at $2421.86 per share. In the pre-market today, Amazon shares are 0.16% down, at $2,418.04. The market cap is $1.208 trillion.