Amazon’s venture capital rebate

Amazon.com just made a canny deal by ordering 1,000 systems from autonomous-driving firm Plus to retrofit conventional trucks. In exchange, it will receive warrants in the company, which is set to go public at a $3.3 billion equity valuation in a merger with a blank-check company.

Amazon could buy up to 20 per cent of Plus providing additional units are ordered, according to a filing. A similar past agreement shows that the e-commerce giant’s validation, while useful, might be expensive. In 2017, Amazon agreed to buy fuel cells from Plug Power to electrify its forklifts and other equipment. Amazon eventually received warrants for about a fifth of the company after purchasing $600 million of gear and services.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ blessing of both fuel cells and Plug Power helped the maker. Its shares are up over 20 times since before the agreement. Yet the discounted stake it exchanged for sales meant Plug Power’s revenue from Amazon in 2020 netted out at negative $310 million. That is a pricey vote of confidence.