On the heels of a definitive agreement to enter a business combination with Virtuoso Acquisition Corp. in a transaction expected to close later this year, Wejo Limited, a global leader in connected vehicle data, announced that it has joined forces with industry leaders Microsoft, Palantir and Sompo Holdings 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 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.”
