Amazon’s reported to be in advanced talks to buy the self-driving car start-up Zoox, the company which describes itself as producing “more than just a car with a computer.”

The Wall Street Journal says that Amazon’s set to pay US$3.2 billion (£2.6 billion) for the company, which is apparently lower than recent market valuations. But it adds that the deal may still not happen.

Zoox is already testing in San Francisco’s Bay Area “driving autonomously in ways that no one else has shown… in cities and on highways. Making unprotected lefts and rights on red. Yielding to pedestrians and passing double parked vehicles.”

With such a complex and human-intensive delivery system, investing in autonomous technology would seem to make sense for Amazon. This investment, if it goes through, would follow up its investment last year in autonomous technology developer Aurora. It said then that, “Autonomous technology has the potential to help make the jobs of our employees and partners safer and more productive.”

(Picture – Zoox website of vehicle outside Paris Hotel in Las Vegas)