(GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)

Amazon is in advanced talks to buy the self-driving vehicle startup Zoox Inc., according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal would value Zoox at less than the $3.2 billion that the company raised in 2018, WSJ reports. The potential acquisition could support Amazon’s quest to build autonomous delivery infrastructure.

Based in Foster City, Calif., Zoox is building a platform that would allow customers to hail self-driving taxis using a mobile app. Amazon has been working on its own self-driving technology internally for the past few years. The Zoox discussions suggest that Amazon isn’t backing away from its acquisition strategy despite looming antitrust inquiries from regulators.

The Seattle tech giant has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in high-tech vehicle startups, including Aurora Innovation and Rivian Automotive. The investments signal Amazon’s transportation and logistics ambitions. Inventors from the company published a patent in late 2019 for a system of autonomous ground delivery vehicles that work with drones to deliver packages.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.