Self-driving car startup Zoox talks funding with SoftBank

Zoox, the secretive Silicon Valley startup building a completely self-driving car, has held discussions with SoftBank Group about a new funding round that could value the company at between $3 billion and $4 billion, Axios has learned from multiple sources. The talks are still at a preliminary stage, the sources caution, and may not result in a deal.

Big checks: It's no surprise that Zoox is raising so much money — one source tells Axios it's seeking to raise at least $1 billion —given its ambitions. Unlike other startups in the self-driving car realm, Zoox wants to build the entire robot car from the ground up, not just specialized software. This takes huge amounts of money and resources.