Zoox, from
the ground up
Zoox was founded to make personal transportation safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable—for everyone. To achieve that goal, the team created a whole new form of transportation.
Zoox will provide mobility-as-a-service in dense urban environments. We will handle the driving, charging, maintenance, and upgrades for our fleet of vehicles. The rider will simply pay for the service.
In 2020, Zoox joined forces with Amazon. And in the process, solidified our future in the autonomous vehicle industry.
We are focused on testing on private and public roads as we move towards launching the first Zoox ride-hailing service.
Our journey so far
The adventure begins
Zoox is founded
Our founders, Jesse Levinson, who completed his Ph.D. and postdoctoral research in Computer Science at Stanford University, and Tim Kentley-Klay, a designer and entrepreneur.
An early social seating concept
This is the beginning of reimagining our vehicle’s interior without a steering wheel or driver.
Our first office—and our first autonomous drive
The firehouse
A converted firehouse seemed like the perfect home base for Zoox.
VH1 is built
Our first proof of concept prototype vehicle (VH1) is built.
Our first autonomous drive
VH1 takes its first autonomous drive in California.
VH2, our second prototype
Meanwhile, VH2 begins development and is added to the fleet.
More than just a concept
The sketch
Many came before, however, this sketch was ‘the sketch’ that unlocked our vehicle’s industrial design.
VH4, the first of our second-generation prototypes
VH4, a second-generation hardware prototype, helps validate our four-wheel steering.
Bidirectionality becomes reality
VH4 completes our first-ever ‘bidi flip’. Having no front, or back, helps to simplify complex driving maneuvers. Here’s VH4 pulling into a parking spot, flipping its lights, and continuing on its journey.
Zoox arrives in San Francisco
Driving autonomously in Menlo Park
One of our L3 vehicles completes the first autonomous drive, in Menlo Park, with zero interventions.
A first for dense urban driving
Our first autonomous loop in downtown San Francisco.
VH5 begins development
Our power-train and architecture validation mule, VH5, begins development.
Final full-size clay
Full-scale clay models allows us to fine-tune our vehicle’s industrial design.
We hit the road and open a new HQ
Merging, lane changes, and high-speed driving
Our first long-range autonomous drive—from Menlo Park to San Francisco.
Zoox in Foster City
As Zoox continues to grow, we open our official HQ in Foster City.
Edging out of stealth mode
We lift the lid on Zoox to host Bloomberg news for a visit.
A growing team—and a whole new city
Aicha Evans joins Zoox
Aicha Evans, who previously held various senior leadership positions at Intel, including Chief Strategy Officer, joins Zoox as CEO.
A growing geo-fence
Expanding operations out of California, we start testing in Las Vegas.
Production vehicles are put through their paces
Our first production vehicle (VH6) undergoes durability and safety testing.
Hello, world
Kato production line
Our assembly and production lines commence operations.
Joining forces with Amazon
Zoox is acquired by Amazon.
The big reveal
We reveal the Zoox vehicle for the very first time.
New challenges ahead
Hello, Seattle!
We expanded our L3 testing to Seattle! The city’s often rainy conditions perfectly supplement our testing in SF, Foster City, and Las Vegas, and serves as an important step in our journey towards commercialization.
A Unique AV Partnership
Zoox partnered with Grammy-nominated artist, Khalid, on his future-set music video, “New Normal.” The video reveals the artist, living in a world where advanced technology, including autonomous vehicles, are seemingly integrated into our everyday lives. Check out the full-length music video on YouTube.
Preparing for the road ahead
Strio.AI joins Zoox
The Strio.AI team, a Boston-based robotics company applying automation and AI to agriculture applications, joined Zoox, kickstarting our new office in Boston, MA.
First-of-its kind self-certification
Zoox became the first company to self-certify a purpose-built, fully autonomous, all-electric passenger vehicle to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The FMVSS are the federal vehicle safety performance requirements needed to operate on public roads.
Ready for public roads
DMV driverless testing permit, check!
We received a driverless testing permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to operate our purpose-built robotaxi autonomously on open public roads in the state of California.
A Historic First
Our robotaxi took its first, completely autonomous, voyage on open public roads. This marked the first time in history that a purpose-built robotaxi—without any manual controls—drove autonomously with passengers on open public roads. A huge milestone for Zoox and the AV industry.
We can’t wait to show you what comes next
Leadership
We are inventors,
builders, and doers
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Aicha Evans
CEO
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Jesse Levinson
Co-Founder & CTO
Executive Leadership
Careers
A talented team for
a great vision
Join the Team
