Zoox Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Zoox was acquired by Amazon for $1.3B in June 2020.
Cumulative funding Zoox raised
$955M
across 5 funding rounds
Key investors in Zoox
Lux Capital
Threshold
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Composite Capital ManagementIDG Capital
Blackbird Ventures
Employee Stock Option Fund
Grok Ventures
Visionnaire Ventures
About Zoox
Zoox is a Foster City-headquartered autonomous vehicle company developing purpose-built robotaxis for rider-only urban transport. The firm designs bidirectional electric vehicles with 360-degree sensor suites, LiDAR, radar, and cameras for full self-driving capability. Unveiled in December 2020, its custom platform eliminates traditional steering wheels and pedals. Amazon acquired Zoox in June 2020 to advance its mobility ambitions, following deployments of employee shuttle services in California and Nevada since 2019.
Founded
2014
HQ
San Francisco, CAWebsite
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Usage-based
Valuation
$3.2B (Jul 2018)
Zoox Acquisition
Zoox was acquired by Amazon for $1.3B on 26 June 2020.
Before the acquisition Zoox had raised $955M across 5 funding rounds.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Jun 2020 | Strategic M&A | $1.3B |
Zoox Valuation
Zoox is currently valued at $3.2B, based on its Series B in July 2018.
The $465M round was led by Grok Ventures, with participation from Alium Capital and Employee Stock Option Fund.
Zoox's valuation has grown 3.2x from $1B at its Series A in October 2016 to $3.2B in July 2018, across 3 priced rounds.
Zoox valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 2018 | Series B | $3.2B |
| Nov 2016 | Series A | $1.5B |
| Oct 2016 | Series A | $1B |
Zoox Funding History
Zoox has raised a total of $955M across 5 funding rounds.
Zoox's first fundraising round was a $40M seed round in July 2015. The most recent completed round was a $200M Series C in October 2019.
Zoox funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2019 | Series C | - | $200M | - | Zoox is an autonomous vehicle startup founded in 2014, focused on developing fully self-driving robotaxis without traditional controls like steering wheels or pedals, aiming to compete with companies like Waymo and Cruise. Zoox's approach emphasized purpose-built hardware and software for autonomy, differentiating it from retrofitting existing vehicles. The company raised $200 million in a convertible note round on October 21, 2019, as confirmed by multiple sources, with the funding intended to accelerate development and production of its unique bidirectional autonomous vehicles. This followed a Series B round in July 2018 where Zoox raised $465 million at a $3.2 billion post-money valuation, led by investors including Grok Ventures. Total funding raised by Zoox reached approximately $955 million to $1 billion across multiple rounds by late 2019. |
| Jul 2018 | Series B | Grok Ventures (lead); Alium Capital; Employee Stock Option Fund | $465M | $3.2B | Zoox is a self-driving car startup founded in 2014 that develops electric, fully autonomous vehicles for its own ride-hailing service. The company was founded by Tim Kentley-Klay and Jesse Levinson and had grown to 500 employees by mid-2018. In July 2018, Zoox closed a Series B funding round raising $465 million (reported as $500 million in some sources) at a post-money valuation of $3.2 billion, up from a pre-money valuation of $2.7 billion. The round was led by Grok Ventures, specifically by investor Mike Cannon-Brookes, bringing the company's total funding to approximately $800 million to $955 million depending on the source and round accounting. The capital was intended to boost the company's bankroll for developing electric robotaxis and accelerate product development. Zoox's strategic plan at the time was to publicly deploy autonomous vehicles by 2020 as its own ride-hailing service, competing in a space that also included autonomous vehicle programs from Uber, Lyft, and various large automotive players. The company's founding in Australia but rapid relocation to California reflected the appeal of Silicon Valley capital markets for autonomous vehicle innovation. |
| Nov 2016 | Series A | IDG Capital; Composite Capital Management | $50M | $1.5B | Zoox, founded in 2014 by Jesse Levinson and Tim Kentley-Klay, develops fully autonomous electric ride-hailing vehicles as a service rivaling Uber, focusing on a five-year vehicle development program without plans to sell cars directly to consumers. The company, based in Menlo Park/Foster City, California, had raised prior funding including $200M at a $1B valuation months before the November 2016 round. In November 2016, Zoox raised $50M from Hong Kong-based Composite Capital Management (and previously noted investors like IDG Capital in some sources), achieving a post-money valuation of $1.5B, as confirmed by TechCrunch and The Wall Street Journal. This Series A round came amid rising valuations in autonomous driving startups, boosted by deals like GM's $1B acquisition of Cruise Automation. At the time, Zoox had grown to over 100 employees, hiring talent from Tesla, Alphabet, and Apple, and was operating in stealth mode without a public product unveil. Zoox continued raising capital post-2016, with a $465M Series B in 07/2018 and $200M convertible note in 10/2019, reaching over $1B total funding. The company advanced toward public robotaxi testing on roads since 2023, planning commercial launches in Las Vegas and San Francisco by 2025 via an app-based service with per-ride or subscription pricing, emphasizing emission-free, 24/7 availability in a market projected to hit $614.88B by 2030. |
| Oct 2016 | Series A | Blackbird Ventures (lead); Lux Capital (lead); Thomas Tull (lead); Threshold (lead); ARCHina Capital Partners; AID Partners Capital; David Spector; Visionnaire Ventures; Composite Capital Management | $200M | $1B | Zoox is an autonomous vehicle startup founded in 2014 by Jesse Levinson and Tim Kentley-Klay, developing fully autonomous electric ride-hailing services to compete with traditional ride-sharing platforms like Uber. The company planned to launch a robotaxi service initially in Las Vegas, with expansion to San Francisco and other cities, operating on a model where customers book rides through a mobile app with pricing based on distance, passengers, and other factors. Zoox raised $250 million in a Series A round in October 2016 and an additional $50 million in November 2016 from investors including Composite Capital Management, Blackbird Ventures, and other backers, achieving a $1.5 billion post-money valuation by November 2016. By late 2019, the company had raised $200 million via convertible note, and total funding exceeded $1 billion across multiple rounds. Although the company did not disclose revenue figures in its early funding rounds, it had hired over 100 employees from companies like Tesla, Alphabet, and Apple, and began testing vehicles on public roads starting in 2023 with plans to launch commercial robotaxi services in 2025. |
| Jul 2015 | Seed | Lux Capital (lead); Threshold (lead) | $40M | - | Zoox is a self-driving car startup developing fully autonomous vehicles and the supporting ecosystem for mobility-as-a-service in urban environments, founded by Tim Kentley-Klay and Jesse Levinson. The company raised $40 million in a seed round in July 2015 led by Lux Capital and Threshold to kickstart development of its autonomous vehicle technology, with valuation not publicly disclosed. Zoox had previously raised funding, bringing totals higher in subsequent rounds, and was in stealth mode with over 140 employees from top tech firms like Alphabet, Tesla, Apple, Nvidia, and NASA by mid-2016. In 2014 and 2015, Zoox spent about $15 million on operations according to investment documents, but as a stealth startup, it did not disclose revenue or financials. The company received a permit in March 2016 to test driverless cars on California public roads, joining firms like Google, Tesla, and others. Zoox showcased concepts like a futuristic roadster-style vehicle at the 2013 LA Auto Show and aimed to deploy a fleet for ride-sharing by 2020. Later rounds included a $200 million Series A in 2016 at $1 billion valuation with Lux Capital and others, a $465 million Series B in 2018 at $3.2 billion valuation led by Grok Ventures, and a $200 million convertible note in 2019, totaling $955 million raised. Zoox competed with Cruise Automation (acquired by GM for $1 billion), Google, Uber, and traditional automakers in the autonomous vehicle space, focusing on purpose-built robotaxis without steering wheels or pedals. |
Who has invested in Zoox?
13 investors have backed Zoox across its funding rounds, including Lux Capital, Threshold, Composite Capital Management, IDG Capital, Blackbird Ventures and Employee Stock Option Fund.
Lead investors include Grok Ventures, Blackbird Ventures, Lux Capital, Thomas Tull and Threshold.
Zoox Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York City, NY | 2 | Lead | Jul 2015 | |
| Composite Capital Management |  Hong Kong | 2 | Participant | Oct 2016 |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Lead | Jul 2015 | |
| Hong Kong | 1 | Participant | Oct 2016 | |
 Beijing | 1 | Participant | Nov 2016 | |
 Sydney | 1 | Lead | Oct 2016 | |
| Hong Kong | 1 | Participant | Oct 2016 | |
| Sydney | 1 | Participant | Jul 2018 | |
| David Spector | San Francisco, CA | 1 | Participant | Oct 2016 |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | Participant | Oct 2016 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 1 | Participant | Jul 2018 | |
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Zoox
Zoox has acquired 1 company to date.
Last acquisition by Zoox was on November 4th 2023. Zoox acquired Strio.AI for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Zoox
| Description | Strio.AI is a Boston-based robotics firm developing AI-driven automation for agriculture, focusing on strawberry harvesting and pruning. Its autonomous robots use computer vision and machine learning to pick ripe fruit and trim plants with precision, addressing labor shortages in U.S. farms. The technology integrates with existing greenhouse operations to increase yields and reduce crop damage. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | Boston, MA |
| Deal Date | 4 Nov 2023 |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Zoox acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |
Zoox Competitors
Zoox competitors include listed companies like Cidi and Extreme Vision, and private ones like Highland Electric Transportation, Skyryse, Zhuoyu Technology and Forterra.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH | Private | - | - | $925M | - | |
| China | Publicly listed | $132M | ($155M) | $1.3B | 5.0x | |
| Los Angeles, CA | Private | - | - | $1.1B | - | |
| Shenzhen | Private | - | - | $1.4B | - | |
| China | Publicly listed | $44M | ($6M) | $1B | 11.6x | |
| Washington, DC | Private | - | $82M | $1B | - |
Zoox Public Comps
Zoox is no longer listed, but its public comps include Cidi, T1 Energy, Eacon Group, Polestar, Xtend AI Robotics, Braiin, Uniconn, AEVEX, Droneshield and Amprius.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $132M | ($155M) | 8.8x | 5.0x | (7.5x) | (22.7x) | |||
| $755M | ($210M) | 2.7x | 2.2x | (9.7x) | 52.8x | |||
| $214M | ($33M) | 6.6x | - | (42.5x) | - | |||
| $3.1B | ($1.9B) | 2.2x | 2.1x | (3.4x) | (7.9x) | |||
| $20M | ($27M) | 64.2x | - | (47.5x) | - | |||
| $73M | ($15M) | 15.8x | 13.0x | (76.1x) | 89.6x | |||
| $768M | $73M | 1.3x | 1.1x | 13.9x | - | |||
| $433M | $30M | 5.2x | 3.5x | 74.9x | 25.6x | |||
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Common questions about Zoox
| When was Zoox founded? | Zoox was founded in 2014. |
| Where is Zoox headquartered? | Zoox is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Zoox publicly listed? | No, Zoox was acquired by Amazon in June 2020. |
| Who acquired Zoox? | Zoox was acquired by Amazon in June 2020. |
| How much was Zoox acquired for? | Zoox was acquired for $1.3B in June 2020. |
| What is Zoox's valuation? | Zoox was last valued at $3.2B in its Series B in July 2018. |
| How much funding has Zoox raised? | Zoox has raised $955M across 5 funding rounds. |
| What was Zoox's last funding round? | Zoox's last funding round was a $200M Series C in October 2019. |
| Who are Zoox's investors? | Zoox's investors include Lux Capital, Composite Capital Management, Threshold, ARCHina Capital Partners, IDG Capital, Blackbird Ventures, AID Partners Capital, Alium Capital, David Spector, Visionnaire Ventures and 3 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Zoox? | Companies comparable to Zoox include Highland Electric Transportation, Cidi, Skyryse, Zhuoyu Technology, Extreme Vision and Forterra. |
| How many companies has Zoox acquired? | Zoox has acquired 1 company, including Strio.AI. |
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