Zoox

Zoox is an American autonomous-vehicle technology company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon, headquartered in Foster City, California, with operations across the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 2014 by Jesse Levinson and Tim Kentley-Klay, the company set out to deliver mobility as a service through purpose-built, zero-emissions driverless vehicles paired with an end-to-end autonomy software stack.

Unlike competitors that retrofit existing cars, Zoox designs its robotaxi from the ground up, featuring a carriage-style interior, four-wheel steering, and bidirectional driving. It was the first in the industry to showcase a driving, purpose-built robotaxi capable of operating up to 75 mph, and manufactures its vehicles in a former bus factory in Hayward, California. The company is led by CEO Aicha Evans (formerly Intel's Chief Strategy Officer, appointed January 2019), with co-founder Jesse Levinson serving as CTO.

Amazon acquired Zoox in a deal signed June 26, 2020, valued at over $1.2 billion (widely reported as roughly $1.2–1.3 billion), and Zoox has since operated as an independent business within Amazon. In September 2025, Zoox opened its robotaxi service to the public for the first time in Las Vegas, offering free rides while awaiting regulatory approval for paid service, followed by free rides in parts of San Francisco in November 2025. As of early 2026 it was also testing in markets including Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.—roughly 10 U.S. markets—having logged nearly 2 million autonomous miles and transported over 350,000 passengers since the Las Vegas launch.

As an autonomous-vehicle developer, Zoox is a direct competitor to Alphabet's Waymo in the U.S. robotaxi market, with its Las Vegas launch marking Amazon's first official entrance into that race. Innovations in autonomy, vehicle design, and ride-hailing operations are central to its business.