Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy secretive self-driving car company Zoox for less than $3.2 billion

• Amazon is in late-stage talks to acquire US self-driving car company Zoox, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• The deal would expand Amazon's move into robotics and autonomous driving.
• The Journal reported that the deal, if it happens, would value Zoox at less than its most recent valuation of $3.2 billion.
• Zoox has suggested it is in talks with multiple potential buyers.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon is in late-stage discussions to acquire secretive self-driving car company Zoox, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Zoox is based in Foster City, California, was founded in 2014, and is working on software and hardware for autonomous vehicles. In 2019, Business Insider's Mark Matousek took a test ride in one of its self-driving vehicles, and described the experience as more comfortable than taking an Uber or a Lyft.

According to the Journal, the deal, if it happens, would value Zoox at less than the $3.2 billion valuation it attracted at its previous fundraising in 2018.

And it would also expand Amazon's reach in autonomous driving, with the firm investing in self-driving car startup Aurora in February 2019.

Zoox hinted that it had received interest from multiple buyers. The firm told the Journal that it "has been receiving interest in a strategic transaction from multiple parties and has been working with Qatalyst Partners to evaluate such interest." 

Business Insider's Mark Matousek previously reported that self-driving car startups are going through a tough patch during the pandemic, noting that Zoox and other companies have had to lay off staff. It has become tougher for these capital-intensive, experimental startups to raise cash and it's likely several will be looking for buyers.

Zoox's progress so far has not been totally smooth.

Its founding CEO Tim Kentley-Klay left the company in 2018 under mysterious circumstances, after the firm raised $500 million at the $3.2 billion valuation. Intel executive Aicha Evans was brought in to replace him in January 2019. In an April 2019 interview, Evans told Business Insider that the firm planned to focus on autonomous driving in dense environments, rather than for personal ownership or deliveries.

Business Insider approached Zoox, Aicha Evans, and Amazon for comment.