Self-driving truck tech startup Embark is going public via a $5.2 billion SPAC deal

In late 2019, we wrote about 50 tech startups with the most chance of becoming unicorns. One of the startups on the list is Embark Trucks, a San Francisco-based tech startup that is building self-driving semi-trucks for freight and logistic services. Fast forward two years later, our prediction turned to be true.

Today, Embark announced it is going public via a SPAC deal with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II at a market capitalization of $5.2 billion. Embark becomes the latest startup to join the SPAC frenzy.

The red-hot Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) market continues to grow with no sign of slowing down. In 2021 alone, there are more than 330 SPAC IPOs of the 463 IPOs, according to data from the SPAC insights website, SPACAnalytics.com.

A blank-check company sometimes called a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is a shell company that has no operations but plans to go public with the intention of acquiring or merging with a company utilizing the proceeds of the SPAC’s initial public offering (IPO).

The deal will get the Tiger Global Management-backed startup about $614 million in cash proceeds, including a $200 million private investment from Mubadala Capital, CPP Investments, Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Global among others. In conjunction with the IPO announcement, Embark also said that Former Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao will join its board.

Founded in 2016 by Alex Rodrigues and Brandon Moak, Embark is building self-driving truck technology to make roads safer and transportation more efficient. Embark’s technology is already moving freight for five Fortune 500 companies in the southwest U.S. By moving real freight through our purpose-built transfer hubs.

Co-founded Alex Rodrigues started building robots at age 11, and Brandon Moak, who Rodrigues first met and collaborated with while studying mechatronics engineering at the University of Waterloo.

Embark has also compiled many firsts for automated trucks, including driving across the country, operating in rain and fog, and navigating between transfer hubs. Embark is advancing the state of the art in automated trucks and bringing safe, efficient commercial transport closer every day. Embark is assembling a world-class group of engineers from companies like Tesla, Google, Audi, and NASA with a professional operations team that averages over a million miles per driver.

Embark Trucks Team