Catching up to the Car Data Monetization Hype

摘要

I recently became aware of Otonomo Technologies, an Israeli start-up that developed a platform and marketplace for vehicle data. The company was founded in 2015 and produced just 400,000 US dollars in revenue in 2020, but is expected to see its revenue climb spectacularly to 574 million US dollars by 2025. Earlier this year, the company announced that it will be listed on the Nasdaq at an estimated value of 1.4 billion US dollars. Otonomo has gone public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), an approach that has been embraced by at least seven electric vehicle startups. According to The Wall Street Journal, “SPACs, also called blank-check companies, are shell companies that raise money and list on an exchange with the intention of merging with a private firm to take it public. The private company then gets the SPAC’s place on the stock market.” One of the problems with the SPAC process is that it “circumvents the rigorous due diligence of the normal IPO process,” according to a post on CNBC.com, quoting former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.