Morning Report:聽A quick look at Zoox’s half-billion-dollar round.
A of self-driving car startup caught our eye. In a space where Alphabet, Uber, and traditional auto manufacturers are competing, how much room is left for a plucky startup? Especially a startup that wants to build its own vehicle along with its own self-driving tech?
Follow Crunchbase News on
As it turns out, there’s plenty of room, at least according to . The firm recently put $500 million into Zoox at a post-money valuation of $3.2 billion. According , Zoox was worth $2.7 billion before the infusion. The company likely sold more stock at a flat per-share price.
As has been reported, Zoox has raised around $800 million across three rounds. Grok, , did the latest round itself. The company has had little trouble, therefore, getting capital into its balance sheet.
(Here’s a of Grok’s known ventures to date.)
Zoox is something of binary wager. If the company manages to pull off its technical efforts, it will be worth a multiple of $3.2 billion. The firm wants to launch its own ridesharing service, , and could certainly license its tech to any number of global corporations. Or the company will be raided for parts, patents, and people after running out of money.
Only in 2018 can a company with $800 million in capital raised count as a long shot.
From The聽:
- New York-based VC聽聽has raised $250 million for its latest early-stage fund, which will invest in seed through Series A rounds for promising technology startups.
- Two-year-old fintech startup聽聽has filed for a U.S. IPO, hoping to raise $70 million.The Beijing-based company provides online financial services including loans, wealth management, and insurance.
- , a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of drugs based on genetically-engineered red blood cells, has raised $241 million in an upsized IPO that reportedly sets an initial market valuation for the company of around $2 billion.
K Health adds AI to online diagnosis
- , an app that uses AI and anonymous health records to augment the diagnoses of health problems, has raised $12.5 million. Investors include Comcast Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Mangrove Capital Partners, among others.
- Niantic, the augmented reality game developer best known for Pokemon Go, has acquired聽, a venture-backed developer of mobile games based on the Marvel comic universe.
Stay up to date with recent funding rounds, acquisitions, and more with the Crunchbase Daily.


67.1K Followers