While no party has confirmed the negotiations, Amazon.com is said to be in advanced discussions to buy Zoox, a self-driving car startup. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the autonomous driving system was worth around $3.2 billion in 2018, but the purchase price is likely lower as a result of the ongoing global health crisis. 

In a statement by a Zoox representative, as reported in the Motley Fool, Zoox has received interest in a "strategic transaction from multiple parties" and has been coordinating with Qatalyst Partners to study such interest.

Established in 2014, Zoox is headquartered in Foster City, California, and works on self-driving car operating systems and other equipment. Mark Matousek, of Business Insider, took a test ride in one of the startup's autonomous cars last year, and characterized the experience as more relaxed than riding in an Uber or a Lyft vehicle.

The transaction will give Zoox a market value of less than the $3.2 billion valuation it received at its previous fundraising in 2018, if it pushes through, the Journal reported. And it will also boost Amazon's influence in self-driving vehicles, with the company in February 2019 investing in Aurora, an autonomous vehicle startup.

Zoox has been approached by other firms in the automotive and semiconductor sector with regards a possible acquisition bid. The startup's valuation is unlikely to be lower compared to the $1 billion it has already secured, Bloomberg disclosed.

Zoox is working to integrate state-of-the-art automotive innovation, robotics, and renewable energy technology into its latest designs and has previously released videos of vehicles equipped with Level 3 technology performing a series of complex driving maneuvers in downtown San Francisco in heavy, multi-lane traffic in the midst of pedestrian crowds.

Amazon has shown its interest to invest on the latest technology. In 2012, the company announced the acquisition of warehouse automation and robot manufacturer Kiva Systems to the tune of $775 million in an effort to make its operations more efficient and the robotic systems have become an important presence in Amazon's warehouses.

So far, the growth of Zoox has not been absolutely smooth.  Under unclear circumstances, its founding chief executive officer Tim Kentley-Klay left the company in 2018, after the group secured $500 million at the $3.2 billion valuation.

In January last year, executive of Intel, Aicha Evans was hired as his replacement.  Evans told Business Insider in an interview in April last year that the company considered focusing on self-driving technology in dense environments, rather than for personal ownership or deliveries.