Amazon’s unruly list of businesses is on the verge of gaining a driverless addition. The trillion dollar ecommerce company’s reported interest in autonomous vehicle start-up Zoox seems an unusually capital intensive move for such a frugal company… But the possibility of autonomous deliveries could power Amazon’s bid for logistical self-sufficiency. Cutting the cost of deliveries is crucial to Amazon’s plans. Luring customers with one day deliveries is proving expensive… Chinese tech companies like? JD.com? have already begun to automate deliveries. But success requires heavy investment. Last valued at $3.2 billion in 2018… Zoox would be Amazon’s second largest acquisition after its $13.7 billion purchase of supermarket Whole Foods in 2017. The cash is available… At $3 billion Zoox would equal less than 0.3 per cent of Amazon’s market capitalisation… With almost $1 billion already raised, Zoox is the best funded start-up in the area. But it has less experience and less money than Alphabet’s Waymo — which is estimated to be spending $1 billion per year… Driverless car hype has undergone a reality check as the scale of capital required continues to grow and regulators remain spooked by accidents. What the sector needs is deep pockets and patience. Luckily Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is known for both.?

Lex.