Applied Intuition, Inc., a tooling and software provider for autonomous vehicle development, and Embark Technology, Inc., an autonomous trucking software company, announced that the companies 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.
Founded in 2016, Embark has built a robust autonomous software stack that uses machine learning methodologies for perception while relying on a safety-redundant compute system. Embark also developed a custom-built hardware platform optimized for autonomy and has performed extensive real-world testing and system deployment, with over 1.5 million miles of autonomous operations conducted on highways.
Applied aims 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. Key Embark employees are expected to remain to support Applied and expand the company’s suite of product offerings.
“We are excited to acquire Embark,” said Qasar Younis, Co-Founder and CEO of Applied Intuition. “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.”
“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.”
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 comes after Embark’s March 3, 2023 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 Q3 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.
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