Amazon Buys Autonomous Driving Startup Zoox For A Reported $1B

Amazon.com AMZN has agreed to acquire self-driving startup Zoox Inc for the reported amount of $1 billion.

The company has not confirmed the amount of the transaction reported by The Information. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions.

Zoox is headquartered in Foster City, California and has over 1,000 employees. The company was started in 2014 with the vision of purpose-built, zero-emissions vehicles designed for autonomous ride-hailing, along with an end-to-end autonomy software stack.

Once the acquisition is complete, the Zoox CEO and CTO will continue to lead the team.

"This acquisition solidifies Zoox's impact on the autonomous driving industry," Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said in a statement.

Co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson said that since Zoox's inception six years ago, it has been "singularly focused on our ground-up approach to autonomous mobility."

Amazon's backing will speed up the company's path to safe, clean and enjoyable transportation globally, Levinson said. 

Amazon shares were trading slightly positive at $2,754.62 at the time of publication.

The stock has a 52-week high of $2,796 and a 52-week low of $1,626.03.

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