EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS), a global data and AI company, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire iMerit, a leader in AI model training, evaluation, and reinforcement learning. The deal, valued at up to $310 million, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions.
The acquisition positions EXL at the forefront of enterprise AI innovation by adding iMerit’s direct relationships with foundation model builders. iMerit specializes in helping clients train large language and multimodal models to improve accuracy, precision, and effectiveness. By integrating iMerit’s capabilities with its own AI platforms—including EXLerate.ai, EXLdata.ai, and EXLdecision.ai—EXL aims to create a comprehensive end-to-end AI solution that moves enterprises from experimentation to production-scale deployment.
“As organizations reimagine their businesses with AI, success requires industry-specific data, rigorous evaluation and reinforcement learning to deliver reliable results in business-critical workflows,” said Rohit Kapoor, chairman and CEO of EXL. “The acquisition of iMerit strengthens EXL’s AI strategy and ability to help clients move from experimentation to production. By combining iMerit’s capabilities with EXL’s domain expertise and AI platforms, we are setting the standard for AI that is trusted, accountable and built to perform in the enterprise.”
iMerit brings two key assets to EXL: the Ango platform and the Scholars network. Ango enables sophisticated data interactions with generative AI models, supporting chain-of-thought reasoning, red teaming, and multimodal evaluations. Scholars expands EXL’s domain expertise through a global network of specialists—including physicians, scientists, engineers, linguists, and other subject matter experts—who provide human intelligence-driven feedback for reinforcement learning.
These offerings will be integrated with EXL’s agentic platforms to combine expert human judgment, model evaluation, and enterprise-scale execution. The acquisition also expands EXL into high-growth AI sectors such as high tech, mobility, autonomous systems, and physical AI, leveraging iMerit’s expertise across text, image, video, voice, and LiDAR data.
“We see EXL as an ideal leader in this defining moment for AI. We can build on our work with AI innovators and bring those insights to companies seeking to unlock their proprietary data,” said Radha Ramaswami Basu, CEO and founder of iMerit. “Both companies share a belief that specialized high-quality data is the foundation of AI success. We are excited to multiply our impact through EXL’s industry expertise, complementary technology and trusted enterprise relationships.”
The transaction includes upfront consideration of $170 million, with an additional $140 million in incentives and earnouts over two years contingent on meeting specified milestones. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
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