More than 40 million members, 30 million iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon downloads, 3 million messages exchanged daily, 80 countries, 25 languages, 10+ years — these are the impressive numbers behind Zoosk, one of the largest and most popular dating sites and apps in the world. Jun 26, 2020 The acquisition is notable for Amazon, which paid $13.7 billion for Whole Foods in 2017. Amazon has just taken its boldest step yet into self-driving vehicles, acquiring six-year-old start-up Zoox. Go to www.amazon.com. Sign into your Amazon account. From the Your Account menu, select Your Apps and Devices. You’ll be taken to the Your Apps and Devices page. Select Your Subscriptions. Locate Zoosk in the list of your current subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal for your Zoosk subscription. Amazon has bought self-driving taxi firm Zoox. A source familiar with the matter told The Information on that the acquisition was for more than $1 billion, and two sources told the Financial Times. The acquisition is notable for Amazon, which paid $13.7 billion for Whole Foods in 2017. Amazon has just taken its boldest step yet into self-driving vehicles, acquiring six-year-old start-up Zoox.
Zoox should not be confused with Zoosk, the dating app. Although Amazon and Zoox just got engaged.
It's official: they're getting married!
Amazon ($AMZN) is diving into the world of self-driving cars by acquiring Zoox ($ZOOX) for $1.2 billion dollars, the company announced today. Amazon is no stranger to the world of robotics M&A, having acquired Kiva Systems in 2012 in a deal worth nearly $800 million, to bring bots to its warehouse floors.
So, you might be asking 'what is Zoox and why is it worth a billion dollars to Amazon?' right now. Zoox is from California, it was founded in 2014 'with the vision of purpose-built, zero-emissions vehicles', and the last time we reported on the startup, it was looking for a buyer. How prescient that was, because it's much easier to rely on arguably the biggest company in the history of business than to make it out on your own. So, Zoox got its buyer in Bezos and now we have to start examining why this deal was made.
All 1,100+ Zoox employees will now aid Amazon in competing with Apple ($AAPL) and Google ($GOOG) not only in the tech industry, but for entertainment, advertising, video games, and now cars. Waymo, Cruise, Uber, Lyft, and anything other projects going on at traditional automakers is what Amazon wants to go up against, and by acquiring Zoox it ensures lots of money is going to be spent trying to win and be the first to market with a self-driving car.
But in order to be the first to do that, or the best to do it, Amazon might have to pump more resources and staff into Zoox. Hiring has been down since October, and considering Amazon has the most to gain from a fleet of autonomous vehicles, we expect Zoox to start growing sooner rather than later.
Imagining the goal for Amazon long term is easy: they want to be able to ship anything to anyone anywhere, and having AI drivers on 18-wheelers or smart cars darting through the streets of New York City to deliver a package is what gets them to that lofty dream.
About the Data:
Zooks Amazon
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Zoosk Amazon Prime
- Simple interface: Zoosk’s website has a sleek design that makes it easy to navigate profiles and message potential matches.
- Easy setup: Some websites require lengthy questionnaires to find matches, but it takes only a few minutes to set up a profile on Zoosk.
- SmartPick: This proprietary technology tracks users’ interactions with other profiles to better match people with similar interests and values. This feature improves search results, so it is more efficient to scroll through profiles.
- Security: All Zoosk users must verify their photos and phone numbers, ensuring that a match really is who they say they are