Aeva, the US-based autonomous driving technology developer backed by automotive manufacturer Porsche, agreed on Monday to a reverse merger with special purpose acquisition company InterPrivate Acquisition Corp at a $2.1bn post-merger valuation.
The transaction will include $243m held in trust by InterPrivate, which floated on the New York Stock Exchange in a $210m initial public offering in February this year, and $120m in financing from investors including Porsche and hedge fund Adage Capital.
Founded in 2017, Aeva has developed what it claims is the world’s first 4D lidar on chip, which uses frequency modulated continuous wave technology to integrate the capabilities of a lidar sensor – used by autonomous cars to track objects around them – on a miniaturised photonics chip.
The product allows lidar technology to be incorporated into a vehicle much more compactly and affordably than current models.
Porsche invested an undisclosed amount in the company in December 2019 that came after $3.5m from unnamed investors in 2017 and $45m in a late 2018 round co-led by Lux Capital and Canaan.
Aeva’s other backers include aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin and Socii Capital, and it said all its investors will retain their equity stakes through the deal, which will involve the company and its backers taking 80% of the merged business.
Soroush Salehian, Aeva’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “From the beginning our vision has been to create a fundamentally new sensing system to enable perception across all devices.
“This milestone accelerates our journey toward delivering the next paradigm in perception to mass market applications, not just in automotive but consumer and beyond.”
Photo courtesy of Aeva Inc.
