Zoox (company)
{{short description|American company developing self-driving taxis}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Zoox, Inc.
| logo = Zoox logo 2021.png
| type = Subsidiary
| industry = Automotive
| founded = {{Start date and age|2014}}
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|Tim Kentley-Klay|Jesse Levinson}}
| hq_location = Foster City, California
| products = Self-driving cars
| website = {{URL|zoox.com}}
| parent = Amazon.com, Inc.
| key_people = Aicha Evans (CEO)
| num_employees = {{circa|2,200}} (2023){{cite news |last=Roy |first=Abhirup |last2=Sriram |first2=Akash |date=2023-06-27 |title=Zoox headcount grows as Amazon's self-driving unit expands testing in Vegas |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/zoox-headcount-grows-amazons-self-driving-unit-expands-testing-vegas-2023-06-27/ |publisher=Reuters}}
}}
Zoox, Inc. is an American technology company subsidiary of Amazon developing driverless vehicles that provide mobility as a service. It is headquartered in Foster City, California and has offices of operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington. Zoox sits in the Amazon Devices & Services organization alongside other Amazon units like Amazon Lab126, Amazon Alexa, and Kuiper Systems.{{Cite web|title=Amazon to acquire autonomous driving startup Zoox|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/26/amazon-to-acquire-autonomous-driving-startup-zoox/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=TechCrunch|date=26 June 2020 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Patel|first=Nilay|date=2021-10-12|title=How Amazon runs Alexa, with Dave Limp|url=https://www.theverge.com/22719945/amazon-alexa-dave-limp-interview-ambient-computing-ring-eero-decoder|access-date=2021-12-21|website=The Verge|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Kim|first=Eugene|date=2020-10-28|title=Amazon might be aiming its newly acquired Zoox self-driving division toward a full-on rivalry with Uber and Lyft|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-owned-zoox-under-alexa-and-hardware-boss-dave-limp-2020-10|access-date=2021-12-21|website=Business Insider|language=en}}
History
Zoox was founded in 2014 by Australian artist-designer Tim Kentley-Klay{{Cite web|title=Company Overview of Zoox Inc.|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=344500417|access-date=2019-02-11|publisher=Bloomberg}}{{Cite news|date=2018-09-12|title=Secretive robot-car maker Zoox opens up|work=San Francisco Chronicle|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Secretive-robot-car-maker-Zoox-opens-up-13221844.php|access-date=2019-02-11|quote=Zoox sprang up in 2014 as the brainchild of Australian artist-designer Tim Kentley-Klay, who had no tech background but was excited about self-driving cars' potential.}} and Jesse Levinson, son of Apple Inc. chairman Arthur D. Levinson, who was developing self-driving technology at Stanford University.{{Cite news|title=The Wild Ride Of Zoox|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/feature/zoox-autonomous-cars-taxis/|access-date=2019-02-11}} The name "Zoox" is a reference to Zooxanthellae, a marine organism that, like the Zoox robo-taxi, depends on renewable energy and is able to maintain a symbiotic relationship with organisms in its surrounding habitat.{{cite podcast|url=https://pca.st/7qqo84la#t=1h2m55s|title=Aicha Evans and Jesse Levinson: Self-driving taxis will be here in 2021|website=Recode Decode|publisher=Vox|first=Kara|last=Swisher|author-link=Kara Swisher|date=2020-03-06|access-date=2020-03-07}}
In January 2019, Zoox appointed a new CEO, Aicha Evans, who was previously the Chief Strategy Officer at Intel.{{Cite news|last=Higgins|first=Tim|date=14 January 2019|title=Autonomous Vehicle Startup Zoox Names Intel Executive Aicha Evans as CEO|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/autonomous-vehicle-startup-zoox-names-intel-executive-aicha-evans-as-ceo-11547499600}}{{Cite news|title=Zoox CEO Aicha Evans reveals what will set the company's electric, self-driving cars apart from the rest|work=Business Insider|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/zoox-ceo-aicha-evans-interview-2019-4}} On June 26, 2020, Amazon and Zoox signed a definitive merger agreement, under which Amazon acquired Zoox as a wholly-owned subsidiary for over $1.2 billion.[https://www.ft.com/content/37ae69d9-f160-48c3-b3c5-736730c110ce Amazon acquires self-driving start-up Zoox for over $1.2bn]. Financial Times.{{Cite web|last=Levy|first=Annie Palmer,Ari|date=2020-06-26|title=Amazon to buy self-driving technology company Zoox|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/26/amazon-buys-self-driving-technology-company-zoox.html|access-date=2020-07-17|website=CNBC|language=en}} As is the case with other Amazon subsidiaries like Amazon Web Services, Zoox has no independent board of directors, but operates as a separate legal entity with its own governance structure. Zoox sits within the Amazon Devices & Services organization with Evans reporting into Amazon Senior Vice President, Panos Panay.
Development and operations
File:Zoox Test Vehicles (50047425813).jpg
Zoox is creating an entirely new autonomous vehicle targeted at the robo-taxi market.{{Cite news|title=Zoox's driverless cars will operate like Lyft and Uber|publisher=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/10/24/zooxs-driverless-cars-will-operate-like-lyft-and-uber.html|access-date=2019-02-11}} The company's approach is centered around the fact that a retrofitted vehicle is not optimized for autonomy. Zoox has applied the latest techniques in automotive, robotics and renewable energy to build a symmetrical, bi-directional battery-electric vehicle that solves for the unique challenges of autonomous mobility.{{Cite news|last=Ohnsman|first=Alan|title=Robotaxi Startup Zoox Becomes A Big Acquirer Of Tesla-Incubated Talent|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2018/06/27/robotaxi-startup-zoox-tesla-talent-musk-autopilot-apple/|access-date=2019-02-11}}{{Cite web|title=Zoox car: Mysterious Australian start-up worth $1.9b, but what do they do?|url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/inventions/mysterious-aussie-company-worth-19b-despite-no-one-knowing-exactly-what-it-does/news-story/4c99dfc8c93abb305628262d44eb98c8|access-date=2019-02-11|website=www.news.com.au}}
The company has used retrofitted Toyota Highlanders with their self-driving system in final preparation for their commercial vehicle reveal in December 2020. As of July 2018 test driving was taking place in both San Francisco's Financial District and North Beach districts, as well as Las Vegas.{{Cite magazine|last=Davies|first=Alex|date=2018-07-20|title=Zoox Flashes Serious Self-Driving Skills in Chaotic San Francisco|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/zoox-self-driving-car-video-san-francisco/|access-date=2019-02-11|issn=1059-1028}}
Progress and competition
File:Zoox autonomous prototype vehicle on Lombard St San Francisco dllu.jpg
File:Zoox autonomous vehicle at CVPR 2022.jpg 2022]]
In December 2018, Zoox became the first company to gain approval for providing self-driving transport services to the public in California.{{Cite news|date=2018-12-21|title=California lets self-driving startup Zoox offer autonomous rides|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zoox-selfdriving-idUSKCN1OK2AK|access-date=2019-02-11}}{{Cite news|title=Zoox Inc. Snags First California Permit To Transport Passengers In Self-Driving Cars|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/23/679705342/zoox-inc-snags-first-california-permit-to-transport-passengers-in-self-driving-c|access-date=2019-02-11}}{{Cite news|last=Keck|first=Catie|title=Self-Driving Car Company Zoox to Offer Free Rides in California|work=Gizmodo|url=https://gizmodo.com/self-driving-car-company-zoox-to-offer-free-rides-in-ca-1831270076|access-date=2019-02-11}} By July 2018, according to Bloomberg, Zoox had raised $800 million in venture capital, at a valuation of $3.2 billion.{{Cite news|title=$800 Million Says a Self-Driving Car Looks Like This|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-07-17/robot-taxi-startup-zoox-has-800-million-and-a-wild-pitch|access-date=2019-02-11|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=17 July 2018 }} Draper Fisher Jurvetson is an investor in the company. In September 2020, Zoox became the fourth company in the State of California to receive permit to test driverless automobiles on public roads.{{Cite web|title=Zoox becomes fourth company to land driverless testing permit in California|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/18/zoox-becomes-fourth-company-to-land-driverless-testing-permit-in-california/|access-date=2020-09-24|website=TechCrunch|date=18 September 2020 |language=en-US}} On December 14, 2020, Zoox showcased a fully autonomous, all-electric, purpose-built vehicle that is capable of driving up to 75 mph.{{Cite news|date=2020-12-14|title=Amazon's Zoox Unveils Robotaxi for Future Ride-Hailing Service|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-14/amazon-s-zoox-unveils-robotaxi-for-future-ride-hailing-service|access-date=2021-02-19}}{{Cite web|author=Matt McFarland|title=Here's the robotaxi Amazon wants you to ride around in|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/14/cars/zoox-amazon-robotaxi/index.html|access-date=2021-02-19|website=CNN|date=14 December 2020 }}
On March 20, 2019, Tesla, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Zoox and several now-former Tesla employees (who left Tesla for employment at Zoox) alleging theft of Tesla's proprietary information and trade secrets related to warehousing, shipping, and logistics in late 2018 and early 2019.{{Cite news|date=2019-03-20|title=UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, Case No. 3:19-cv-01462, Document 1|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/402640433/Tesla-s-lawsuit-against-former-employees-Zoox#from_embed?campaign=SkimbitLtd&ad_group=58287X1517249X314223ffda30c1da397e6600ecc8ddb8&keyword=660149026&source=hp_affiliate&medium=affiliate|via=Scribd}} The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum in April 2020 where Zoox "acknowledged that certain of its new hires from Tesla were in possession of Tesla documents pertaining to shipping, receiving, and warehouse procedures when they joined Zoox's logistics team".{{cite web | url=https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/04/self-driving-startup-zoox-settles-claim-that-it-stole-secrets-from-tesla/ | title=Self-driving startup Zoox settles Tesla lawsuit, lays off 100 workers | date=16 April 2020 }}
In July 2022, Zoox became the first purpose-built, fully autonomous, all-electric passenger vehicle that was certified to the existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) without the need for regulatory changes or exemption requests.{{cite web | url=https://zoox.com/journal/self-certification// | title=The next step on our journey to public roads | date=11 July 2022 }}
In 2023, Zoox was given approval by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to begin testing self-driving robotaxis on open public roads with passengers on board. The DMV provided Zoox with a limited permit to operate on roads at speeds of up to 35 miles an hour at a designated area around its Foster City headquarters.{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazons-zoox-tests-robotaxi-public-road-with-employees-passengers-2023-02-13/ | title=Amazon's Zoox tests robotaxi on public road with employees as passengers | newspaper=Reuters | date=13 February 2023 | last1=Roy | first1=Abhirup }} In June 2023, Zoox expanded its facilities and operations to Las Vegas, Nevada, after being authorized by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles to operate its autonomous robotaxis on public roads.{{cite web | url=https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/27/zoox-begins-testing-robotaxis-on-public-roads-in-las-vegas/ | title=Zoox begins testing robotaxis on public roads in Las Vegas | website=TechCrunch | date=27 June 2023 | last1=Bellan | first1=Rebecca }}
In May 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into potential flaws in Zoox vehicles after two rear-end collisions involving motorbikes and Zoox vehicles.{{Cite news |last=Thadani |first=Trisha |last2=Duncan |first2=Ian |date=2024-05-24 |title=Major robotaxi firms face federal safety investigations after crashes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/24/all-major-robotaxi-firms-are-facing-federal-safety-investigations/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://zoox.com/}}
{{Amazon|state=collapsed}}
Category:Self-driving car companies
Category:Companies based in Foster City, California
Category:Transportation companies based in California
Category:2014 establishments in California
Category:American companies established in 2014
Category:Transport companies established in 2014
Category:2020 mergers and acquisitions