Microsoft and Sompo Join General Motors and
Palantir Technologies as Strategic PIPE Investors
On the heels of a definitive agreement to enter a business
combination with Virtuoso Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:VOSO)
(“Virtuoso”) in a transaction expected to close later this year,
Wejo Limited (“Wejo”), a global leader in connected vehicle data,
today announced that it has joined forces with industry leaders
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) (“Microsoft”), Palantir (NYSE: PLTR) and
Sompo Holdings (TYO: 8630) (“Sompo”) to advance the cutting-edge
applications of connected vehicle data worldwide. Through the
combination of their strategic partnerships and investment, the
companies will play a critical role in supporting Wejo’s vision of
building the manufacturer-agnostic industry standard in connected
vehicle data, creating applications across multiple marketplaces,
including automotive, smart city, fleet, insurance, mobility,
payments and more, while enriching lives around the globe.
Depth and Breadth of Wejo Data Plus the Power and Privacy of
Microsoft Azure
Wejo entered a strategic partnership with Microsoft to bring the
power of connected vehicle data to the commercial sector and enrich
Wejo’s mobility intelligence portfolio. Under the new agreement,
Wejo will build its suite of data and intelligence solutions on the
Microsoft Azure cloud platform. By combining forces, the two
organizations will unlock the power of connected vehicle data –
providing customers with greater value, at scale and across
multiple industries, while demonstrating a shared respect for and
total commitment to data privacy and security. In addition to the
partnership, the companies’ long-term vision for their relationship
includes the potential for Wejo’s integration into Microsoft’s data
platform, including operational data stores, analytics, AI and
machine learning, data sharing, data governance and business
intelligence.
Wejo is a leader in the fast-growing landscape of connected
vehicle data. Every day, Wejo collects more than 16 billion data
points and analyzes 48 billion journeys in near real-time across a
network of 11 million live vehicles from a supply base of more than
50 million connected vehicles. To date, Wejo has ingested more than
10 trillion data points from connected vehicles. Effectively
managing and analyzing that volume and complexity of data requires
the expertise of a world-class partner like Microsoft, which brings
decades of experience in delivering core technology platforms and
solutions for the automotive market. Its unparalleled Azure cloud
platform builds, runs and manages data and applications at scale in
a secure and trusted environment.
“Connected vehicle data creates the potential to drive broad
transformation across industries,” said Sanjay Ravi, general
manager of automotive, mobility and transportation industries,
Microsoft. “With Wejo’s extensive and growing data assets on Azure,
together we have the opportunity to help customers make better
business decisions, provide differentiated customer experiences,
find new revenue streams and drive future innovation.”
Together, Wejo and Microsoft will deliver on the promise of
connected vehicle data across industries. Initial applications
include traffic and insurance solutions, as well as remote
diagnostics, integrated payments, advertising, retail and
logistics. In addition, the companies are evaluating the use of
Wejo for Microsoft mapping solutions.
Wejo, Sompo and Palantir Co-Innovate to Transform the
Insurance Industry, Additional Sectors and Society for the
Better
Wejo has also entered a partnership with global insurance
provider Sompo Holdings and Palantir. This partnership creates an
opportunity for connected vehicle data in the Japanese market that
will accelerate the development of Wejo’s groundbreaking products
and expansion into APAC. Sompo will analyze the connected vehicle
data from Wejo using the Palantir Foundry platform.
Through its Real Data Platform initiatives, Sompo and Palantir
are strengthening their contributions to the digital transformation
of Japanese businesses. The new partnership with Wejo puts all
three organizations in the unique position of transforming the
insurance industry – and society as a whole – by delivering
digital-first, data-driven business practices and outcomes.
“Wejo holds a unique position in the rapidly evolving connected
vehicle market, with a visionary leadership team and powerful
technology,” says Shyam Sankar, Chief Operating Officer of Palantir
Technologies. “Foundry has powered data-driven R&D, customer
service, early warning detection, risk management, and other
critical workflows in this and other industries. We are excited to
partner with Wejo, and further our partnership with Sompo, to power
this critical work.”
“Our partnerships with Wejo and Palantir have many unique
benefits. Wejo extends our ability to leverage data across
insurance and beyond, from co-creating new insurance products for
connected vehicles to proactively addressing mobility issues facing
aging populations,” said Koichi Narasaki, Chief Digital Officer of
Sompo Holdings. “With Palantir, we are accelerating our mission to
create a digital universe for security, health and wellbeing.”
Sompo shares Wejo’s vision for using connected vehicle data for
good to reduce emissions and accidents on roadways while looking
toward the future of mobility and autonomous vehicles. Sompo will
start working with Wejo to deliver new services for the Asia
region, combining Wejo’s unrivaled connected vehicle data set and
Sompo’s deep expertise in the insurance market.
Wejo’s $125 Million PIPE Financing Fully Committed including
a Combined Investment of $25 Million from Microsoft and
Sompo
Wejo also announced today that Microsoft and Sompo have
bolstered their partnerships with an additional combined investment
of $25 million as part of the company’s Private Investment in
Public Equity (PIPE) financing. Microsoft and Sompo join General
Motors and Palantir Technologies as strategic PIPE investors as
Wejo prepares to list publicly through a business combination with
Virtuoso Acquisition Corp. With this latest investment, the company
now has a $125 million fully committed PIPE. With the cash in trust
and the fully committed PIPE, Wejo expects gross proceeds of $355
million upon consummation of the business combination, assuming no
redemptions by Virtuoso’s public stockholders.
“Wejo is committed to becoming the universal communications and
data stack for all connected vehicles,” said Richard Barlow,
founder and CEO at Wejo. “The new relationships with Microsoft and
Sompo, combined with the additional investment they’ve provided,
validate our vision and provide us with the critical resources we
need to continue to lead the market and unlock additional value
streams.”
For more on Wejo, please visit its website: www.wejo.com.
About Wejo
Wejo is a global leader in connected vehicle data,
revolutionizing the way we live, work and travel by transforming
and interpreting historic and real-time vehicle data. The company
enables smarter mobility by organizing trillions of data points
from over 11 million vehicles and more than 48 billion journeys
globally, across multiple brands, makes and models, and then
standardizing and enhancing those streams of data on a vast scale.
Wejo partners with ethical, like-minded companies and organizations
to turn that data into insights that unlock value for consumers.
With the most comprehensive and trusted data, information and
intelligence, Wejo is creating a smarter, safer, more sustainable
world for all. Founded in 2014, Wejo employs more than 200 people
and has offices in Manchester in the UK and in regions where Wejo
does business around the world.” For more information, visit:
www.wejo.com.
Forward-Looking Statements.
This communication includes “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes
only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by
any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a
definitive statement of fact or probability. Virtuoso Acquisition
Corp.’s (“Virtuoso”) and Wejo
Limited’s, a private limited company incorporated under the laws of
England and Wales with company number 08813730 (“Wejo”) actual results may differ from their
expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you
should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions
of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,”
“budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,”
“will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,”
“continue,” and similar expressions (or the negative versions of
such words or expressions) are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
include, without limitation, Virtuoso’s and Wejo’s expectations
with respect to future performance and anticipated financial
impacts of the proposed business combination, the satisfaction or
waiver of the closing conditions to the proposed business
combination, and the timing of the completion of the proposed
business combination.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and
uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ
materially, and potentially adversely, from those expressed or
implied in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors
are outside Virtuoso’s and Wejo’s control and are difficult to
predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are
not limited to: (i) the occurrence of any event, change, or other
circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the
Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger
Agreement”); (ii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that
may be instituted against Virtuoso, Wejo Group Limited, a company
incorporated under the laws of Bermuda (the “Company”) and/or Wejo following the announcement
of the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein;
(iii) the inability to complete the proposed business combination,
including due to failure to obtain approval of the stockholders of
Virtuoso, certain regulatory approvals, or the satisfaction of
other conditions to closing in the Merger Agreement; (iv) the
occurrence of any event, change, or other circumstance that could
give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement or could
otherwise cause the transaction to fail to close; (v) the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic on Wejo’s business and/or the ability of the
parties to complete the proposed business combination; (vi) the
inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the Company’s common
shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market following the proposed business
combination; (vii) the risk that the proposed business combination
disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the
announcement and consummation of the proposed business combination;
(viii) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the
proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among
other things, competition, the ability of Wejo to grow and manage
growth profitably, and retain its key employees; (ix) costs related
to the proposed business combination; (x) changes in applicable
laws or regulations; and (xi) the possibility that Wejo, Virtuoso
or the Company may be adversely affected by other economic,
business, and/or competitive factors. The foregoing list of factors
is not exclusive. Additional information concerning certain of
these and other risk factors is contained in Virtuoso’s most recent
filings with the SEC and will be contained on Form S-4 (the
“Form S-4”), including the proxy
statement/prospectus expected to be filed in connection with the
proposed business combination. All subsequent written and oral
forward-looking statements concerning Virtuoso, Wejo or the
Company, the transactions described herein or other matters and
attributable to Virtuoso, the Company or any person acting on their
behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary
statements above. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date made. Each of Virtuoso, Wejo and the Company expressly
disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein to reflect any change in their expectations with respect
thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on
which any statement is based, except as required by law.
No Offer or Solicitation.
This communication is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a
proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any securities or
in respect of the proposed business combination and shall not
constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy
the securities of Virtuoso, the Company or Wejo, nor shall there be
any sale of any such securities in any state or jurisdiction in
which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to
registration or qualification under the securities laws of such
state or jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except
by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or exemptions
therefrom.
Important Information About the Proposed Business Combination
and Where to Find It.
In connection with the proposed business combination, a
registration statement on Form S-4 is expected to be filed by the
Company with the SEC. The Form S-4 will include preliminary and
definitive proxy statements to be distributed to holders of
Virtuoso’s common stock in connection with Virtuoso’s solicitation
for proxies for the vote by Virtuoso’s stockholders in connection
with the proposed business combination and other matters as
described in the Form S-4, as well as a prospectus of the Company
relating to the offer of the securities to be issued in connection
with the completion of the business combination. Virtuoso, Wejo and
the Company urge investors, stockholders and other interested
persons to read, when available, the Form S-4, including the proxy
statement/prospectus incorporated by reference therein, as well as
other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed
business combination, as these materials will contain important
information about Wejo, Virtuoso, and the proposed business
combination. Such persons can also read Virtuoso’s final prospectus
dated January 21, 2021 (SEC File No. 333-251781), for a description
of the security holdings of Virtuoso’s officers and directors and
their respective interests as security holders in the consummation
of the proposed business combination. After the Form S-4 has been
filed and declared effective, the definitive proxy
statement/prospectus will be mailed to Virtuoso’s stockholders as
of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed
business combination. Stockholders will also be able to obtain
copies of such documents, without charge, once available, at the
SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to:
Virtuoso Acquisition Corp., 180 Post Road East, Westport, CT 06880,
or (203) 227-1978. These documents, once available, can also be
obtained, without charge, at the SEC’s web site
(http://www.sec.gov).
INVESTMENT IN ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN HAS NOT BEEN
APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE SEC OR ANY OTHER REGULATORY
AUTHORITY NOR HAS ANY AUTHORITY PASSED UPON OR ENDORSED THE MERITS
OF THE OFFERING OR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THE INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL
OFFENSE.
Participants in the Solicitation.
Virtuoso, Wejo, the Company and their respective directors,
executive officers and other members of their management and
employees, under SEC rules, may be deemed to be participants in the
solicitation of proxies of Virtuoso’s stockholders in connection
with the proposed business combination. Investors and security
holders may obtain more detailed information regarding the names,
affiliations and interests of Virtuoso’s directors and executive
officers in Virtuoso’s final prospectus dated January 21, 2021 (SEC
File No. 333-251781), which was filed with the SEC on January 26,
2021. Information regarding the persons who may, under SEC rules,
be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of Virtuoso’s
stockholders in connection with the proposed business combination
will be set forth in the proxy statement/prospectus for the
proposed business combination when available. Information
concerning the interests of Virtuoso’s and Wejo’s participants in
the solicitation, which may, in some cases, be different than those
of Virtuoso’s and Wejo’s equity holders generally, will be set
forth in the proxy statement/prospectus relating to the proposed
business combination when it becomes available.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210629005651/en/
Nick Goode Wejo Nick.Goode@wejo.com
Patricia Graue/Simone Selzer Brunswick Group
wejo@brunswickgroup.com
Shannon Casey/Emily Lospennato V2 Communications
wejo@v2comms.com
Investors Investor.relations@wejo.com
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