Applied Intuition Inc., a tooling and software provider for autonomous vehicle development, and Embark Technology Inc., a self-driving trucking software company, last week announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the agreement, Applied will acquire Embark in an all-cash transaction with an equity value of approximately $71 million.
“We are excited to acquire Embark,” said Qasar Younis, co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition, in a release. “This acquisition should enable us to advance our products and solve more specific, complex challenges for our customers.”
“We respect the work Embark has accomplished in the autonomous vehicle industry and look forward to leveraging their expertise to better serve our global customer base,” he said.
Applied Intuition said its software makes it faster, safer, and easier to bring autonomous systems to market. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said autonomy programs across industries and 17 of the top 20 global automotive OEMs rely on its technology to develop, test, and deploy autonomous vehicles and mobile robots at scale.
It recently said it is working with NI to provide reliable test systems for self-driving and advanced driver-assist system (ADAS) validation, enabling the automotive industry to bring their products to market faster.
Embark logged 1.5M miles of experience
Founded in 2016, Embark claimed that it had built a robust autonomous software stack that uses machine learning methodologies for perception while relying on a safety-redundant compute system. The San Francisco-based company had also built custom hardware optimized for self-driving trucks.
Embark added that it had performed extensive real-world testing and system deployment, with more than 1.5 million miles of autonomous operations conducted on highways. Focused on improving safety, efficiency, and sustainability, the company said it had partnered with some of the largest shippers and carriers in the U.S.
Although Embark had raised $614 million in a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021, it recently shut down without a prospective buyer.
“Today marks an exciting, new chapter for Embark,” said Alex Rodrigues, co-founder and CEO of Embark. “I would like to thank all past and present employees for their contributions over the past seven years. I appreciate everything they have done for the company, and I cannot wait to see where Applied takes the technology we have built.”
Applied Intuition said it plans to integrate Embark’s internal tools, data, and software assets to further improve its offerings for customers in the trucking and automotive industries. Embark plans to retire its fleet of test vehicles as part of the transaction.
The companies said they expect key Embark employees to remain to support Applied Intuition and expand its product suite.
Applied Intuition to take Embark private
Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both companies, Embark shareholders will receive $2.88 per share in cash. The agreement came after Embark’s March announcement that it was engaging in a process to explore, review, and evaluate a range of potential strategic alternatives.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023 and is subject to approval by Embark shareholders and other customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the transaction, Embark shares and warrants will cease trading on NASDAQ, and Embark will become a privately held company.
Goodwin Procter LLP is serving as legal counsel to Applied Intuition. Evercore is serving as financial advisor, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati P.C. is serving as legal counsel to Embark and its Transaction Committee. Houlihan Lokey provided additional financial advisory services to Embark’s Transaction Committee.
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