Startup Zoox's Valuation Soars to $1.55 Billion

Zoox Inc., the secretive Silicon Valley startup working to build its own self-driving cars, has quietly raised another round of funding that puts its valuation at $1.55 billion, a big jump from just a few months prior and a sign of increased interest in automotive technology. The Menlo Park, Calif., company founded by Tim Kentley-Klay, an Australian entrepreneur and designer, and Jesse Levinson, from Stanford University's self-driving car program, raised $50 million in October, according to people familiar with the matter. The new round of funding included an investment from Composite Capital, one of the people said. The Hong Kong-based hedge fund was launched over the summer by David Ma, previously a partner at Chinese fund manager Hillhouse Capital Group. Founded in 2014, Zoox had already raised $240 million, including $200 million this past summer at a valuation of $1 billion, said the people familiar with the matter.