Amazon Looks To Double-Down On Self-Driving Tech With Zoox Acquisition: WSJ

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN is in "advanced talks" with a self-driving technology startup Zoox Inc. for an acquisition, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

What Happened

The deal under discussion puts Zoox lower than the $3.2 billion valuation it last achieved in a funding round in 2018, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.

Zoox said in a statement to the Journal that it "has been receiving interest in a strategic transaction from multiple parties and has been working with Qatalyst Partners to evaluate such interest," but didn't comment on the talks.

The two companies could take weeks to reach an agreement, and discussions could still fall apart, the Journal noted.

Why It Matters

The autonomous driving startup founded in 2014 has struggled to raise funds lately, failing to grab attention in a field dominated by giants like Tesla Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL GOOG Waymo, General Motors Company's GM Cruise, and Uber Technologies Inc. UBER.

Amazon had created an internal team focused on self-driving technology back in 2017, the Journal reported at the time, and has since made multiple investments to forward its interest in the area.

The e-commerce giant in February last year participated in a $530 million funding round for Aurora, and led a $700 million funding for Rivian, both working on developing self-driving technology.

Price Action

Amazon shares closed 0.6% lower at $2,421.86 on Tuesday and traded further lower at $2,416.61 in the after-hours session.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Zoox.