A technology company which processes data from millions of cars is in talks to raise $350m (£268m) from investors, in what would be one of the biggest-ever fundraisings targeted by a British start-up.
Sky News has learnt that Wejo, which is based in Cheshire, is close to hiring investment bankers to oversee the mammoth capital injection as it attempts to gain scale in the fast-growing “connected car” data market.
Wejo, whose existing backers are led by General Motors, collects and analyses the data from 18 million cars on its platform, selling it under licence to businesses ranging from parking app developers to local authorities.
Image: Richard Barlow is the company’s founder and CEO. Pic: Wejo
The company, which was founded six years ago by Richard Barlow, is aiming to conclude its fundraising early next year, according to insiders.
It represents one of the most ambitious efforts to secure capital by a UK tech business, and sources said it would be one of the biggest Series C rounds completed in Britain.
On Friday, Wejo announced that it had struck a deal with Cosworth “to identify and investigate intelligent mobility and vehicle data concepts”.
The company says that the insights provided by its data “enable smarter, safer and more efficient journeys – from real-time information on the nearest available parking space to optimising road network signalling”.
GM invested in the company early last year, a deal that included an “in-kind” consideration worth more than $70m (£53.5m) to supply data from millions of the car-maker’s vehicles for Wejo to manage for seven years, according to insiders.
One banker said that Wejo could seek to raise its funding by combining with a special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC), a glut of which have listed on US stock markets this year.
Wejo declined to comment on its fundraising target.