Zoox's commercial deployment is landing in Las Vegas. Amazon.com, Inc.'s "self-driving ambitions" are being realized.

Amazon.com, Inc.'s (AMZN.US) subsidiary self-driving company Zoox is accelerating its move into the commercialization stage. Its self-driving taxi service has officially launched to the public on Las Vegas Boulevard, and at the same time, it has initiated capacity expansion and business expansion plans in multiple cities in the United States. Zoox emphasizes that it is currently the only company in the world that operates self-driving taxis designed for autonomous driving scenarios in compliant operation on public roads. In Las Vegas, Zoox has been designated as the official ride-hailing service provider for the T-Mobile Arena, marking the first partnership between the self-driving transportation company and a major sports venue. The new service will have dedicated pick-up and drop-off lanes at the VIP entrance on the west side of the venue. This partnership is seen as a transformational moment for transportation development at the T-Mobile Arena and even in the future of Las Vegas. It is worth noting that Zoox plans to launch passenger fee services in Las Vegas in early 2026, and later in the same year implement a fee model in the San Francisco Bay Area. Zoox's testing range has expanded from the core area of the West Coast to Washington, D.C., with the testing network now covering eight cities, including Las Vegas, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. In particular, in Los Angeles, as part of the expansion plan in California, Zoox has announced that it will conduct vehicle mapping and testing on public roads. Next, Zoox will enter the stage of scaled expansion: planning to significantly increase the size of its fleet, establish a new production base in the San Francisco Bay Area, and gradually break through the limitation of operating only a few dozen vehicles in a few cities in the U.S. The industry believes that the operation on Las Vegas Boulevard will become an important showcase for Zoox's unique symmetrical bidirectional electric self-driving taxi design. It is understood that Amazon.com, Inc. acquired Zoox for approximately $1.2 to $1.3 billion in 2020. As an independent subsidiary, Zoox operates under the leadership of its original management team. Looking ahead, Amazon.com, Inc. is expected to leverage Zoox's self-driving system and advanced technology to enhance the automation level of its warehouse logistics and delivery network - especially in the "last mile" delivery segment. Industry analysis indicates that after large-scale application, this may significantly reduce Amazon.com, Inc.'s overall logistics costs.