EXLService Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded data and AI company, announced its plan to acquire California-based AI data firm iMerit for $310 million. The deal includes an upfront payment of $170 million and up to $140 million in earnouts tied to milestones over two years. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, according to livemint.com.
The acquisition process involves an initial payment of $170 million, with additional payments contingent on iMerit meeting specific performance milestones within two years. EXLService Holdings, listed on Nasdaq, is pursuing this deal to expand its AI deployment services amid growing enterprise demand. Both companies confirmed the financial details and timeline of the transaction in their joint announcement.
This acquisition underscores the increasing importance of AI data services in the enterprise sector. iMerit specializes in providing annotated data crucial for AI training, complementing EXL’s existing capabilities. The $310 million deal ranks among notable investments in AI data firms this year, reflecting a broader trend of established tech companies acquiring specialized AI service providers to enhance their offerings.
The deal is set to finalize in the third quarter of 2026, marking a significant expansion for EXL in the AI data services market. The structured earnouts of up to $140 million will depend on iMerit achieving agreed milestones, aligning incentives for both companies during the integration phase, as reported by livemint.com.