Amazon Acquires Option to Purchase Stake in Autonomous Truck Startup
Although Jeff Bezos may be abdicating his throne at Amazon, his thirst for dominating every single industry in the world remains unscathed.
As reported by Bloomberg, Amazon has revealed it has ordered 1,000 new autonomous driving systems from truck startup Plus, while also purchasing the option to acquire nearly a quarter stake in the company. According to a regulatory filing published by Plus, Amazon will now have the right to purchase preferred shares of the tech startup at a price of $0.46647 per share, which amounts to about a 20% stake when based on the company’s pre-SPAC merger outstanding share count.
Plus, which is headquartered in California, and backed by Sequoia Capital China, focuses on producing autonomous driving technology for long-haul trucking purposes, and is being valued at $3.3 billion. The company has also recently raised $150 million via a private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal with BlackRock and D.E. Shaw.
Amazon’s latest move could create potential ramifications for the e-commerce giant’s logistics as well as for the broader autonomous vehicle industry.
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
