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- Amazon's reported interest in the autonomous-driving startup Zoox may signal a desire to one day launch a robotaxi service, Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients published on Wednesday.
- The retail giant could offer discounted rides to members of its Prime subscription service, Morgan Stanley said, which would help the company attract and retain subscribers.
- "Discounted ridesharing for Prime members, would, in our view, be a meaningful driver of Prime growth," the bank said.
- Amazon declined to comment.
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Amazon's possible acquisition of the autonomous-driving startup Zoox may be driven by the retail giant's desire to gain more control over its delivery network, but it could also signal a desire to one day launch a robotaxi service, Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients published on Wednesday.
"[Amazon's] innovation focus, capital to invest, and leading shipping volumes (and the miles driven along with them) make it one of the few companies that could build a product to compete with Waymo, Uber, Lyft, and others," the bank said.
Morgan Stanley said it doesn't anticipate autonomous ride-hailing services emerging on a wide scale anytime soon, but the bank added that it expects to see more services limited to individual cities in the coming years (Lyft — using technology from Aptiv — and Waymo have started giving rides in self-driving vehicles to paying customers in recent years).
Were Amazon to start an autonomous ride-hailing service, it could offer discounted rides to members of its Prime subscription service, Morgan Stanley said, which would help the company attract and retain subscribers.
"Discounted ridesharing for Prime members, would, in our view, be a meaningful driver of Prime growth," the bank said.
Amazon declined a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Amazon's possible acquisition of Zoox on Tuesday. The publication said the companies were in "advanced talks," but noted that a deal is not certain.
After creating a team in 2017 to explore the ways self-driving technology could be used for package deliveries, Amazon contributed to a $530 million investment in the autonomous-vehicle startup Aurora Innovation in 2019. Like Aurora, Zoox is developing the software and hardware needed to allow cars to drive themselves. But Zoox has distinguished itself from Aurora and many other competitors by also creating an electric vehicle it plans to use as part of a robotaxi service set to debut next year. (Many of the most high-profile startups in the autonomous-vehicle industry have sought partnerships with automakers instead of attempting to make their own vehicles.)
Among the independent startups in the autonomous-vehicle industry, Zoox, along with Aurora and Pony.ai, has the best technology and the most talented employees, Asad Hussain, a mobility analyst at PitchBook, told Business Insider.
Are you a current or former employee of Zoox or Amazon? Do you have an opinion about Amazon's possible acquisition of Zoox? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com. You can also reach out on Signal at 646-768-4712 or email this reporter's encrypted address at mmatousek@protonmail.com.
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