In this articleAMZNFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTA Zoox robotaxi sits outside the company’s large office and warehouse in Las Vegas.Michael Wayland / CNBCLAS VEGAS — This year is expected to be a crucial one for Amazon’s autonomous vehicle unit Zoox, as the company plans to grow its operations and commercialize its robotaxi business.Zoox is aiming to begin offering rides to the public “quite soon,” expand its operating regions and “significantly” grow its self-driving vehicle fleet from the couple dozen it currently operates, according to co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jesse Levinson.”That’s a lot of work, but we’re excited for that,” Levinson said during a 40-minute drive around Las Vegas in one of the company’s robotaxis. “We’re pretty happy with the progress we’ve made.”Zoox’s plans come even as some investors have lost enthusiasm for autonomous vehicles, and they’re not alone as legacy automakers such as General Motors, Ford Motor and Volkswagen have disbanded self-driving units in recent years.Zoox, founded a decade ago and purchased by Amazon for $1.3 billion in 2020, has been testing its purpose-built robotaxis on public roads since early 2023. It is currently testing the vehicles, which do not include manual controls such as a steering wheel or pedals, in three cities: Las Vegas; San Francisco; and Foster City, California, where it is headquartered.A row of Zoox robotaxis sit inside the company’s large office and warehouse in Las Vegas.Michael Wayland / CNBCLas Vegas is expected to be Zoox’s first commercial market. The company is hoping to launch an “Early Rider Program” in Sin City in the coming months before opening it up to the general public later this year. San Francisco, where Zoox began testing in November 2024, will follow, the company said.Levinson said Zoox also is eyeing an expansion to Miami; Austin, Texas; and others, but the company has not announced a set timeframe for those cities.”Hopefully by the end of this decade, if you’re in most of the major cities in the U.S., this will be your favorite way to get around,” Levinson said.Amazon does not publicly disclose its investments in Zoox or other early-stage business, saying such investments are viewed as emerging, long-term initiatives to assist the company and its customers.Riding in a robotaxiThe Zoox robotaxi differs from others, as it was developed from the start to not have a human driver. That is a different path from Alphabet-backed Waymo — the U.S. leader in robotaxis — which has retrofitted traditional vehicles to have autonomous vehicle capabilities.Zoox co-founder and Chief Technology officer Jesse Levinson.Courtesy imageSome have described vehicles such as Zoox’s robotaxis as “boxes” or “toasters.” The doors open from the middle, with rows of seats facing each other, and there’s no space for a driver. GM’s Cruise also had plans to launch such a vehicle, the Origin, but canceled production as the company faced problems following an accident involving a pedestrian in October 2023.”The vehicle itself, I think, is quite interesting,” Sam Abuelsamid, an autonomous expert and vice president of market research at Telemetry Insights, said about Zoox. “It’s kind of the right size of vehicle, the right kind of form factor.”During a sunny morning driving around the outskirts of the Las Vegas Strip, the Zoox autonomous vehicle handled well. It made turns as it should and drove assertively, but not aggressively. There were some questionable choices during the ride, such as opting to stay in a long line of vehicles and not navigating around a large trailer, but overall, the vehicle operated as it should.Driving assertively is something the Amazon-backed company has been working on during years of testing, Levinson said. An autonomous vehicle cannot break laws like many human drivers, but it also cannot be too cautious or aggressive because that can lead to accidents or incidents with other human drivers.Future of the businessTest and data-capture vehicles inside Zoox’s large office and warehouse in Las Vegas.Michael Wayland / CNBC If Zoox can grow as planned this year and begin commercial operations, it would arguably be a far second in the robotaxi business to Waymo.”I don’t want to imply that it’ll be a commercially meaningful business this year … but it’s going to be useful in terms of customers will be able to get value out of it and actua …
