Embark Trucks

Embark Trucks, an autonomous trucking company founded in 2016, announced in March 2023 that it was shutting down and laying off 70% of its workforce.^1234678 The company went public in November 2021 via a SPAC merger with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II, valued at $5.16 billion, but faced financial difficulties and was unable to find a buyer or alternative path forward.^2347111215 Embark's board approved exploring strategic alternatives including liquidation, and the company was subsequently acquired by Applied Intuition for $71 million in May 2023.²³⁷¹⁰

Timeline

Money raised

Embark raised a $2 million seed round in May 2016.¹⁰ Embark raised a $6 million seed round and a $15 million Series A round in July 2017.¹⁰ Embark raised a $30 million Series B round led by Sequoia Capital in July 2018.¹⁰¹² Embark raised a $70 million Series C round in September 2019.¹⁰¹² In June 2021, Embark announced a SPAC merger expected to provide $614 million in gross cash proceeds, including a $200 million PIPE.¹⁵ The SPAC merger closed in November 2021, but early redemptions reduced proceeds by about $300 million, leaving Embark with $314 million in SPAC proceeds.¹¹ Embark was acquired by Applied Intuition for $71 million in May 2023.¹⁰

Investors named in the sources: Sequoia Capital¹⁰¹², Y Combinator¹⁰¹², DCVC (Data Collective)¹⁰¹², Maven Ventures¹⁰¹², SV Angel¹⁰¹², Tiger Global Management¹⁰, Ankona Capital¹⁰, BDC Venture Capital¹⁰, Boldstart Ventures¹⁰, Dunce Capital¹⁰, GFT Ventures¹⁰, Graph Ventures¹⁰, Menlo Ventures¹⁰, OMERS Ventures¹⁰, Redpoint Ventures¹⁰, AME Cloud Ventures¹⁰¹², Social Starts¹⁰, YC Continuity¹⁰, Founder Collective¹⁰, Freestyle Capital¹⁰, Third Kind Venture Capital¹⁰, 8VC¹⁰, Andreessen Horowitz¹⁰, Bling Capital¹⁰, Zachary Bogue¹⁰, Decibel Partners¹⁰, DIG Ventures¹⁰, DST Global¹⁰, Founders' Co OP¹⁰, Grace Beauty Capital¹⁰, IDG Ventures¹⁰, Khosla Ventures¹⁰, Lytical Ventures¹⁰, Meritech Capital Partners¹⁰, Northpond Ventures¹⁰, Norwest Venture Partners¹⁰, Jeff Richards¹⁰, Queensbridge Venture Partners¹⁰, Alexander Rosen¹⁰, Section 32¹⁰, Serena Ventures¹⁰, SNR¹⁰, Sparrows¹⁰, Tiger Global Management¹⁰, Xfund¹⁰, Anthony Saleh¹⁰, Brad Holden¹⁰, Charlie Songhurst¹⁰, Chung MAN TAM¹⁰, James Beshara¹⁰, Michael Levit¹⁰, Patrick S. Chung¹⁰, Anne Wojcicki¹⁰, Amasia¹⁰, Better Tomorrow Ventures¹⁰, BlueRun Ventures¹⁰, C2 Investment¹⁰, Cedar Capital Group¹⁰, Coughdrop Capital¹⁰, Footwork¹⁰, Fuel Capital¹⁰, Gotham GAL Ventures¹⁰, GSV Acceleration¹⁰, IVP¹⁰, Long Journey Ventures¹⁰, Looking Glass Capital¹⁰, NextView Ventures¹⁰, Resolute Ventures¹⁰, Seven Seven SIX¹⁰, Social Capital¹⁰, Spero Ventures¹⁰, Telescope Partners¹⁰, The HIT Forge¹⁰, Thrive Capital¹⁰, UpHonest Capital¹⁰, Elad GIL¹⁰, Leore Avidar¹⁰, Marc Benioff¹⁰, Mark Gillespie¹⁰, Noam Bardin¹⁰, RAN Makavy¹⁰, Aspiration Growth Fund¹⁰, Slow Ventures¹⁰, Csc Upshot Ventures¹², Fundersclub¹², Garage Capital¹², Mubadala Development Company¹², Tiger Capital Partners¹², Transform Vc¹², Transpose Platform Management¹².

What happened

Embark Trucks was founded in 2016 by Alex Rodrigues and Brandon Moak.^12371012 The company was headquartered in San Francisco and developed autonomous driving software for long-haul trucks.¹²³⁷¹⁰ Embark's products included the Embark Driver, Embark Universal Interface, and Embark Guardian.¹¹⁰ In 2018, Embark completed the first cross-country autonomous truck run with a safety driver on board.³¹¹ Embark partnered with carriers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, HP Inc., Werner Enterprises, Mesilla Valley Transportation, and Bison Transport.¹⁵

In June 2021, Embark announced a SPAC merger with Northern Genesis Acquisition Corp. II, with an implied pro forma equity value of $5.16 billion and expected gross cash proceeds of $614 million.¹⁵ The SPAC merger was completed on November 10, 2021, and Embark began trading on Nasdaq under ticker EMBK.¹¹¹² Early redemptions by SPAC investors reduced Embark's proceeds by about $300 million, leaving it with $314 million in SPAC proceeds.¹¹ Embark had 14,200 nonbinding reservations for its Embark Universal Interface as of November 2021.¹¹ In August 2022, Embark executed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split to avoid delisting from Nasdaq.³⁷

In December 2022, Embark delivered a Kenworth T680 with its Embark Driver software to Knight-Swift as part of the Truck Transfer Program.¹³⁷ Embark targeted commercialization of its manufacturer-agnostic Embark User Interface for 2024.³⁷ Embark's financial prospects dimmed as its stock price fell below $1, leading to the reverse stock split.³⁷ In late 2022 and early 2023, Embark explored alternative markets and a potential sale with the help of financial advisor Evercore.²³⁷ On March 1, 2023, Embark's board approved exploring strategic alternatives including potential dissolution or liquidation.²³⁷⁸

On March 3, 2023, Embark announced layoffs of 70% of its workforce, approximately 230 employees, and the shutdown of its SoCal and Houston offices.^1234678 CEO Alex Rodrigues said the company was unable to identify a path forward for the business in its current form.¹²³⁴⁷⁸ Rodrigues cited capital markets turning their backs on pre-revenue companies and slipping manufacturer timelines as challenges.¹³⁷⁸ The remaining 30% of employees were kept on to wind down operations.¹²³⁷ Embark's layoffs were expected to cost between $7 million and $11 million in severance and related expenses.³⁸

Embark had not logged any revenue as of its most recent quarterly filing.⁸ Embark had more than 14,000 reservations for its autonomous driving system but no actual purchase agreements.⁸ Embark was acquired by Applied Intuition for $71 million in May 2023.¹⁰ A securities class action lawsuit was filed against Embark in April 2022, alleging false and misleading statements regarding the company's business and prospects.¹⁶ The securities class action was settled, with final approval granted on March 29, 2024.¹⁶

Legal outcomes

• filedA securities class action lawsuit was filed against Embark Technology, Inc. on April 1, 2022, alleging that the company made materially false and misleading statements regarding its business, operations, and compliance policies.¹⁶
• settledThe securities class action lawsuit was settled, with the court granting final approval of the settlement on March 29, 2024.¹⁶

Where the founders are now

Alex Rodrigues was the CEO and co-founder of Embark Trucks.¹²³⁷¹⁰ Brandon Moak was the CTO and co-founder of Embark Trucks.¹²³⁷¹⁰ Michael Skupien was a founder and the Mechanical and Embedded Systems Lead at Embark Trucks.¹⁰

Sources

1. Embark Trucks Shuts Down Amidst Uncertainty in Autonomous Trucking Market, Robotics 24/7, Mar 6, 202
2. Embark Trucks lays off workers, explores liquidation of self-driving truck assets | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2023-03-03
3. Embark Trucks laying off 70% of employees, winding down business, FreightWaves, 2023-03-03
4. Embark Trucks Rolls to a Halt: The Latest Casualty In Autonomous Trucking - Grit Daily News, Grit Daily News, 2023-03-07
6. Embark to lay off 70% of workforce as it explores exit strategy, truckingdive.com, Mar 7, 202
7. Embark Lays Off Workers, Explores Liquidation or Sale - TT, Transport Topics, 2023-03-04
8. Embark Technologies Layoffs: 230 Workers Let Go Amid Autonomous..., Tank Transport, 2023-04-06
10. Embark Trucks: Funding, Team & Investors, Startup Intros, Jul 13, 20
11. Embark Trucks concludes SPAC but bolting investors take back $300M, FreightWaves, 2021-11-11
12. Embark Trucks IPO Timeline and Financing Details - Forge, forgeglobal.com, Nov 11, 20
15. Embark Trucks to Raise $614M, Go Public Through SPAC Merger, Robotics 24/7, Jun 23, 20
16. Securities Class Action Clearinghouse: Case Page, securities.stanford.edu, Apr 1, 202

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