Amazon (NASDAQ AMZN) is reportedly in talks to acquire a stake - rumored to be 20% - in the AI truck start startup company Plus. The e-commerce giant has already placed an order to buy 1,000 autonomous driving systems from the startup.
Plus is planning to merge with SPAC Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V (NASDAQ: HCIC). Bloomberg reports Amazon is looking to buy preferred shares of Plus via a warrant at a price of $0.46647 per share.
The startup is valued at $3.3 billion after merging to raise $500 million in fresh capital. Plus also raised $150 million via PIPE from funds including BlackRock Inc. and D.E. Shaw.
The AI truck startup, which was founded in 2016 by a group of Stanford University classmates 2016, is working to develop self-driving trucks as the entire truck industry is struggling to cope with a surging need for drivers.
Plus previously raised $200 million in February, just a month before raising a further $220 million from investors in the private market.