Amazon made its biggest deal in the drone industry

Retailer Amazon bought Zoox, a startup that develops hardware and software for unmanned taxis, for $1.2 billion. This acquisition will be the company's largest investment in the unmanned industry, according to The Information and The Financial Times .

The moment from the point of view of the buyer is good: in 2018, Zoox was valued at $3.2 billion, but it was severely crippled by the corona crisis. The company itself considers the main know-how to be a software and hardware system that navigates in the most difficult road conditions, including large cities, and a promising all-electric “board”.

Under the terms of the deal, Zoox will operate independently of Amazon. The takeover will help the retailer compete with Uber, Waymo and other drone makers, according to The Financial Times. But it is not yet clear how Amazon will use Zoox technology: for its own purposes or to launch autonomous taxis.

A few years ago, Amazon created a team to test self-driving technology. The goal is to robotize the delivery service with the growth of its own share. So, at the beginning of last year, the company invested $ 530 million in the company for the development of self-driving cars Aurora Innovation.

Amazon has long been involved in environmental issues. In 2015, she invested in electric truck developer Rivian to reduce the carbon footprint of delivering orders.

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