Zoox, a California-based autonomous vehicle company, is not owned by Amazon. The company, founded in 2014, has been striving to develop an autonomous driving system that is safer and more efficient than existing systems.
The company recently announced its intentions to go public through a reverse merger with the Blank Check Company, which is essentially a shell corporation designed to facilitate the acquisition of private companies. This move has sparked speculation that Amazon might be involved in some way, but that is not the case.
Amazon has invested heavily in self-driving technology in recent years, most notably through its acquisition of Zoox’s rival Aurora Innovation in 2021. However, Amazon’s investment was solely financial and it did not take an ownership stake in the company.
Instead, Zoox is majority owned by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp., which acquired a majority stake in 2020 for $1 billion. SoftBank also owns stakes in several other autonomous vehicle companies such as Cruise Automation and Nuro Inc., as well as ride-hailing giants Uber and Didi Chuxing.
Zoox has been able to make significant progress on its mission of developing a fully autonomous vehicle system due to its formidable technical capabilities and strong financial backing from SoftBank Group Corp. The company has received multiple rounds of funding from investors including BlackRock Inc., Daimler AG, and Microsoft Corporation. It also boasts an impressive roster of top-tier engineers and scientists with expertise ranging from robotics to artificial intelligence.
Zoox recently unveiled its first commercialized robotaxi service which will be available to consumers later this year in Las Vegas. This service will provide passengers with ridesharing options that are powered by Zoox’s proprietary self-driving technology.
Ultimately, while Amazon may have invested financially in some autonomous vehicle companies such as Aurora Innovation, it does not own or operate Zoox or any other self-driving technology provider at this time. Zoox remains an independent entity backed by SoftBank Group Corp., although it is set to become public later this year following its reverse merger with the Blank Check Company.
In conclusion, Zoox is not an Amazon company but instead is majority owned by SoftBank Group Corporation and will soon be publicly traded following a reverse merger with the Blank Check Company later this year.