Amazon Said To Be In Talks To Buy Self-Driving Startup Zoox

Amazo
AMZN
n may be preparing to make a big move into the self-driving vehicle world as the logistics giant is said to be in “advanced” talks to acquire Zoox, a stealthy developer of robotaxi technology, according to the Wall Street Journal. Along with Amazon, other interested parties are considering offers for the Silicon Valley startup, a person familiar with the matter tells Forbes.

The purchase terms would value Zoox below its estimated market value of $3.2 billion, a level attained after its last funding round, the Jounal said, citing people familiar with the matter. There’s no final agreement yet, and the timing of when a deal could happen isn’t clear, according to Forbes’ source. Some Zoox investors are hopeful the company, which seeks to build both its own fleet of robotaxis and the technology that operates them, can remain independent, the person tells Forbes.

Kyle Cabodi, an outside spokesperson for the Foster City, California-based company, said “as a matter of policy, Zoox doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation.” Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cofounded by Australian artist and designer Tim Kentley-Klay and Stanford computer scientist Jesse Levinson in 2014, Zoox has sought to build a business of on-demand robotaxis and delivery vehicles that blend the most advanced aspects of autonomous driving tech with cutting-edge electric powertrains to serve customers in dense urban markets. Its purpose-built vehicle is designed for use in a company-branded fleet, not individual ownership, with a goal to begin operation late this year. Kentley-Klay was fired in 2018, shortly after the company announced a $500 million funding round, and was replaced as CEO in early 2019 by former Intel
INTC
executive Aicha Evans.

(For more, see The Wild Ride of Zoox, a profile of the company from May 2018.)

Although Zoox has raised nearly $1 billion since its founding, the company’s cost-intensive plans require significantly more capital for vehicle development and production. It’s inability to secure additional billions of dollars have likely led it to consider a potential acquisition.

Although Amazon has made a significant investment into electric vehicle maker Rivian, committing $440 million of funding and announcing plans to buy 100,000 delivery vehicles from the startup, it’s moved more cautiously when it comes to self-driving vehicle technology.

It participated in a $530 million investment round in Aurora Innovation, another autonomous tech startup created by self-driving stars from Google
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, Tesla
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and Uber
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, though hasn’t announced plans to deploy Aurora’s tech.