Zoox

Zoox was founded in 2014 and is based in the state of California. Representatives of the startup call their main goal to create their own self-driving car. The timing of the project was not disclosed.

'As the Financial Times writes in a publication dated May 26, 2020, the company stands out from the background of competitors in that it is trying to solve three problems at once: to create a control system without drivers, to establish a network for calling cars and transportation, as well as to establish a large-scale production of unmanned vehicles.

Initially, the Zoox project declared itself as a taxi service of the future - without a driver, but later transformed into a developer of compact electric traction devices capable, among other things, of delivering goods and parcels.

History

2025: Frequent accidents due to defective software

In May 2025, it became known that Amazon-owned Zoox recalled software for all 270 of its self-driving robotaxis after a traffic accident in Las Vegas. Between April 16 and 17, 2025, the developer released an update that excludes the possibility of such accidents.

According to Zoox, both vehicles received only minor damage, there were no injuries. The company sent USA its version of what happened to the National Traffic Safety Administration. The accident occurred with a passenger car quickly approaching the lane along which the robotaxi was moving. Assuming that the passenger car would continue to move, the Zoox robotaxi slowed down and turned to the right.

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Фото: Zoox

The passenger car stopped, giving way to robotaxis and remaining in the adjacent lane. The Zoox robotaxi applied emergency braking, but the collision was inevitable. The developer described the essence of the problem in a previous version of the software.

In situations where Zoox cars travel at speeds of more than 64 kilometers per hour, and another car gradually approaches from a perpendicular driveway, approaching the lane of the Zoox car, the system may make an incorrect forecast. A Zoox car may mistakenly assume another car is about to take its lane.

Actions based on this incorrect forecast lead to traffic accidents, which happened in Las Vegas. The company acknowledged a system error in software algorithms that affects the correctness of autopilot decision-making at high speeds.

In March 2025, Zoox reported two other incidents where robotaxis based on modified Toyota Highlanders were braking sharply, causing motorcyclists to crash into them from behind. In November 2024, the company was already releasing a software update that solved a similar problem with unexpected braking.^[1]

2020

Presentation of a serial autonomous car without steering wheel

In December 2020, Zoox introduced a fully autonomous electric car without a steering wheel.

Robotaxi can carry up to four passengers. Thanks to the engines on each side of the electric car, it moves in either direction and speeds up to 75mph. Two batteries, one under each row of seats, generate enough energy to 16 hours of operation without recharging.

The launch of the production car marks an important step for the company, which has been working on an autonomous passenger car since the company was founded in 2014.

Sale of Zoox to Amazon

At the end of May 2020, it became known about the sale of Zoox to Amazon. The value of the transaction is not called. According to The Wall Street Journal, less than $3.2 billion will be paid for the developer of unmanned vehicles, to which the company was valued by investors in 2018.

We believe that $1.1 billion will be a fair price for the company, which is 65.6% less than the previous estimate of $3.2 billion, "Assad Hussain, an analyst at Pitchbook, a company that tracks and evaluates startups, commented to Forbes.

Amazon bought the developer of self-driving cars Zoox

The coronavirus pandemic has damaged Zoox: it had to stop testing its cars, as well as lay off about 100 employees, or 10% of all staff. Before the pandemic, Zoox test cars (the fleet consists mainly of Toyota Highlander) were a frequent occurrence on the streets of San Francisco and Las Vegas, the Financial Times notes.

It is speculated that investing in self-driving cars could be Amazon's next step in automating logistics. According to analysts, by Bloomberg 2025 the company will spend at least $60 billion a year on delivery. If, due to the automation of the process, these costs can be reduced, then the game is definitely worth the candle, they say.^[2]

2019: Lawsuit from Tesla

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against four of its former employees, accusing them of passing confidential information to startup Zoox Inc., which develops self-driving cars. The case was settled in April 2020 when Zoox agreed to pay compensation.

2017: Hiring 17 former Apple self-driving car developers

The American startup Zoox hired 17 specialists in the summer of 2017 who were previously involved in the development of a self-driving car at Apple. This was reported by Bloomberg.

According to the agency's interlocutors, the engineers hired by the company will develop both traditional automotive elements such as suspension and brakes, artificial intelligence and for an autonomous control system. Earlier, Zoox was joined by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (USA NHTSA) specialist Mark Roskind and former Ferrari top manager Corrado Lanzone.

Notes