Cambridge Mobile Telematics has acquired rival TrueMotion for an undisclosed price in a deal that give it an expanded presence and capabilities in the global auto insurance market.

The cash and stock transaction closed on June 17. CMT declined to disclosed the specific purchase price, though a spokesperson disclosed it was a 9-figure deal.

Massachusetts-based Cambridge Mobile Telematics is considered the global leader in the mobile telematics and analytics space, and TruMotion, which is headquartered in Boston, is the second largest mobile telematics provider, the deal announcement noted. By combining, the companies are poised to capitalized more broadly on an increasing trend of insurers turning to telematics as a more precise underwriting tool to measure client driving risks.

“With this acquisition, we will use our world-class talent, technology, and scale to help our partners overcome the complex challenges of global road safety,” William Powers, CMT’s CEO, said in prepared remarks. “Both companies have helped transform the auto insurance industry, powering the shift from traditional rating models to usage-based and behavior-based insurance. We are excited to work together to bring telematics solutions to the users of the 1.4 billion vehicles on the world’s roads.”

The combined company provides telematics services to 21 out of the 25 largest auto insurers in the United States, as well as carriers in 20 countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Africa, Japan and Australia, according to the deal announcement. CMT has offices in Cambridge, Mass., Seattle, Tokyo, Chennai and London. TrueMotion, outside of Boston, has offices in Budapest.

TrueMotion CEO Ted Gramer noted in prepared remarks that both companies were founded in Cambridge, Mass. about a decade ago with the same mission and focus.

“Today, we are joining forces to accelerate this journey,” Gramer said. “This acquisition makes sense on so many levels.”

Complementary Parts

Both companies bring to the table things the other company lacks. Cambridge Mobile Telematics, for example, has a hardware/Internet of Things component that TruMotion doesn’t have, the CMT spokesperson noted. On the other hand, TruMotion has been entirely app based, but CMT has “App+Tag” programs that have a second source of ground truth data (data provided by direct observation and measurement). As well, CMT just launched a video telematics product with a dual facing camera.

At the same time, the spokesperson pointed out, both companies have similar crash detection and claims products, and their telematics platforms are similar. The main gain here is one of synergy, the spokesperson said, with CMT tapping into TrueMotion’s great talent working on very similar technology” and compatible cultures focused on customers and data privacy also combining.

CMT said that the acquisition will strengthen its ability to help insurers and the mobility industry modernize emergency response and claims process. This will be possible due to the companies’ innovations for real-time crash detection and AI-based crash reconstruction using high-frequency sensor data, according to the deal announcement. CMT explained that the technology enables organizations to dispatch roadside assistance within seconds of a crash, receive detailed information about a crash in minutes and improve damage assessment for insurance claims.

Plans call for absorbing TrueMotion fully into the CMT, which will remain as Cambridge Mobile Telematics and be based in Cambridge. TrueMotion talent will also remain on the team, and Gramer is now CMT’s chief operating officer.

The combined company will have 400 employs: 225 from CMT and 175 from TrueMotion.

Source: Cambridge Mobile Telematics