The Routing Company landed its first robotaxi deal with Amazon-owned Zoox.
Zoox bought a non-exclusive license to The Routing Company’s route optimization tech. Five engineers from the startup will join Zoox to boost its robotaxi service’s efficiency and scalability.
James Cox, ex-head of UberPool’s ride-share product and current CEO of The Routing Company, now becomes a senior advisor to Zoox’s CPO Mike White. Cox stays CEO of his startup. Any new tech created inside Zoox stays with them. Terms were not disclosed. 
This deal joins a wave of AV companies teaming up with external experts. Waymo linked with Uber and Avis. Nuro outsourced simulation work to Toyota-backed Foretellix last year.
Zoox plans to expand its early-rider program to San Francisco and start paid public rides in Las Vegas this year. Cox said working with transit agencies was rewarding but sees faster progress in robotaxis.
“I’m hopeful that this deal enables us to scale the positive impacts of our technology within what will be a very fast expansion in the robotaxi space,” Cox told TechCrunch.
Route optimization is crucial but overlooked in AVs and ride-sharing, Cox says. He compared the challenge to:
“Imagine playing chess in four dimensions, and the board was melting, the pieces move themselves, and there was a cost to moving every piece – and you have to do all of that in real time,” Cox said.
“Any player that doesn’t take all into account all that chaos in a live manner will always struggle.”
