The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued a permit to autonomous vehicle technology startup Zoox to test driverless vehicles on public roads without a human safety driver behind the wheel.

Zoox appointed Aicha Evans, former senior VP and chief strategy officer at Intel Corporation, as CEO in 2019. Evans and Jesse Levinson, Zoox co-founder and CTO, will continue to lead Zoox as a standalone business.  -  Photo courtesy of Zoox.

Zoox appointed Aicha Evans, former senior VP and chief strategy officer at Intel Corporation, as CEO in 2019. Evans and Jesse Levinson, Zoox co-founder and CTO, will continue to lead Zoox as a standalone business.

Photo courtesy of Zoox.

The DMV issued the permit to test two autonomous vehicles in a designated portion of Foster City, Zoox’s headquarters, in San Mateo County. The vehicles are approved to operate in fair weather conditions (light rain/fog) on streets with a speed limit of no more than 45 mph, the agency said in a press announcement.

Zoox is the fourth company, along with Waymo, Nuro, and AutoX, to receive a driverless testing permit in the state. Currently, 60 companies have an active permit to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver.

Zoox had also received permission last year from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles to test on Nevada roads. 

Zoox was acquired by Amazon in June. The e-commerce giant also took part in Aurora Innovation’s $530 million funding round in early 2019.

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