Autonomous trucking startup Embark to go public in $5.2B SPAC deal
Embark also stated previous Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao was joining its board, likely a benefit for a company operating in the self-governing trucking market, which is still only authorized for industrial release in 24 states.
Carriers acquire trucks with compatible hardware straight from OEMs, so Embark states it has actually created its system to be “platform agnostic” across numerous components and producers. The company states its software can mimic up to 1,200 60-second situations per 2nd, and make adaptive predictions using those circumstances for the behaviour of other vehicles on the roadway.
Embark said in an investor presentation for the SPAC deal that it was targeting “driver-out,” or running on roads without a security driver, by 2023 and going for a business scale across the American sunbelt the list below year. However, Embark still has technical turning points yet to accomplish, keeping in mind in the discussion that the software still needs to accomplish actions such as interactions with emergency situation automobiles, and reacting to blown tires and other mechanical failures.
Embark takes a various approach to autonomous trucking: Instead of running a fleet and making of trucks themselves, which is the path rival TuSimple is taking, Embark uses its AV software as a service. Fleets and carriers can pay a per-mile subscription fee to access it. The business includes carriers Mesilla Valley Transportation and Bison Transport, and companies Anheuser-Busch InBev and HP Inc., among its partners.
Five-year old self-driving truck startup Embark Trucks Inc. stated Wednesday it would merge with special purpose acquisition business Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II in an offer valued at $5.2 billion.
Upon closing, the transaction will inject Embark with around $615 million in gross cash earnings, consisting of $200 million in personal financial investment in public equity (PIPE) funding from investors including CPP Investments, Knight-Swift Transportation, Mubadala Capital, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management.
The deal is expected to close in the 2nd half of 2021. The business signs up with competitor AV trucking developer Plus in going public via a SPAC merger. TuSimple chose a standard going public in March.
Embark takes a various approach to self-governing trucking: As opposed to running a fleet and manufacturing of trucks themselves, which is the route competing TuSimple is taking, Embark uses its AV software as a service. Providers buy trucks with compatible hardware directly from OEMs, so Embark says it has developed its system to be “platform agnostic” across multiple parts and producers. Embark said in an investor presentation for the SPAC deal that it was targeting “driver-out,” or operating on roadways without a security driver, by 2023 and introducing at an industrial scale throughout the American sunbelt the following year.
Embark was founded in 2016 by CEO Alex Rodrigues and CTO Brandon Moak, who worked together on self-governing driving while completing engineering degrees from Canada’s University of Waterloo. After introducing out of Y Combinator, the company quickly went on to raise $117 million in total funding, including a $30 million Series B led by Sequoia Capital and a $70 million Series C led by Tiger Global Management.