Internet of Things Inc. has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Ottawa, Canada-based Weather Telematics Inc. (WTX) through its IoT Labs Inc. subsidiary. WTX Inc. is an emerging global leader in predictive artificial intelligence and in autonomous vehicle solutions. Weather Telematics is at the forefront of the explosive growth opportunity presented by the combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and the rapidly expanding autonomous vehicle market.
The market size for AI systems for smart transportation is projected to be $220 billion by 2021, and $87 billion by 2030 for autonomous vehicle systems, according to Markets and Markets. WTX Inc.’s products have established market viability, are generating revenue and the company is on track to deliver positive earnings in 2018.
Currently, WTX uses a proprietary vehicle-mounted mobile IoT sensor network and AI machine learning system to generate real-time and predictive road weather conditions, road hazard risk alert notifications and dynamic routing applications.
The combination of WTX Inc.’s IoT sensor network and AI platform also is applicable in various industrial IoT solutions that ITT Inc. is targeting, including but not limited to: measuring and monitoring factory air quality; optimizing the supply chain; logistics and asset tracking. Weather Telematics’ specialized and proprietary sensor design capabilities can be developed for custom chemical and optical solutions for the energy; manufacturing; aerospace and agricultural sectors.
Going forward, ITT Inc. plans to expand the capabilities of WTX Inc.’s technology and use its advanced sensor and predictive analytics capabilities for its key industrial IoT markets. In addition, Weather Telematics’ proprietary AI platform combined with its sensor technology provides real-time and predictive data analytics capabilities, that can be modified for multiple industrial IoT applications for North America and abroad.
WTX Inc. currently has multi-year contracts with several organizations including the United States National Weather Service, a global Tier 1 auto manufacturer and Geotab, among others customers.
In addition, the company was recently selected by Michelin as one of 10 North American companies to showcase at the global Movin’ On Mobility Conference, June 13-15. And, TechStars as one of 50 emerging connected and autonomous mobility companies to showcase at the Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS AutoMobili-D) this past January.
“We are excited to launch a new era of growth for WTX with Internet of Things Inc.,” said Robert Moran, CEO of WTX Inc. “ITT Inc.’s vision to maximize the opportunities presented by the emerging IoT marketplace closely aligns with our strategy to apply predictive data and IoT sensor networks, to solve some of the global challenges facing the transportation, insurance and weather sectors. The deal makes sense for both parties to combine our strengths to accelerate adoption of AI and IoT in addition to expanding our reach into China through ITT Inc.’s joint venture with New Hope.”
“We are impressed by the team behind WTX, their solution offerings and the acceptance and orders that they have secured from leading-edge global automotive, insurance and navigation companies. We are looking forward to working together to grow and expand WTX’s platform from the autonomous vehicle to the industrial IoT markets in North America and internationally, including China through our New Hope JV,” said Michael Frank, CEO of ITT Inc.
The consideration for the acquisition of WTX Inc. is $3 million (CDN) in cash, shares and assumption of debt. It is anticipated that ITT Inc. will close the acquisition of WTX Inc. within the next 90 days.
The transaction is subject to completion of ITT’s due diligence and board approval from both ITT Inc. and WTX Inc., along with TSX Venture Exchange approval.
