Amazon has just taken its boldest step yet into self-driving vehicles, acquiring six-year-old start-up Zoox, the company announced Friday.
Amazon said the deal will help bring Zoox’s “vision of autonomous ride-hailing to reality.” Zoox will continue to operate as a standalone business within Amazon, with CEO Aicha Evans and Jesse Levinson, the company’s co-founder and CTO, continuing to lead the team, Amazon said.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the Financial Times previously reported that Amazon would pay more than $1.2 billion to acquire Zoox. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.
