Amazon said in a blog it had signed an agreement to acquire Zoox, a California-based company working to design autonomous ride-hailing vehicles from the ground up.
Aicha Evans, Zoox CEO, and Jesse Levinson, co-founder and CTO, would continue to head the company as a standalone business, Amazon said.
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“Zoox is a forward thinking team that is pioneering the future of ride hailing by designing autonomous technology from the ground up with passengers front of mind,” Amazon added.
“Zoox is working to imagine, invent, and design a world-class autonomous ride-hailing experience,” said Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s CEO, Worldwide Consumer. “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.”
“This acquisition solidifies Zoox’s impact on the autonomous driving industry,” said Evans.
“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 realize a fully autonomous future.”
“Since Zoox’s inception six years ago, we have been singularly focused on our ground up approach to autonomous mobility,” said Levinson.
“Amazon’s support will markedly accelerate our path to delivering safe, clean, and enjoyable transportation to the world.”
Zoox started in 2014.
Completion of this transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
