EXL to Acquire iMerit in $310 Million Deal

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from experimentation to enterprise-wide deployment, and organizations are increasingly seeking partners capable of building trustworthy, domain-specific AI solutions. In one of the biggest AI-focused acquisitions of the year, EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire AI model training and reinforcement learning specialist iMerit in a transaction valued at up to $310 million.

The acquisition represents a significant milestone in EXL’s strategy to strengthen its position as a global data and AI company while expanding its capabilities across foundation model training, evaluation, reinforcement learning, and enterprise AI deployment.

Once completed, the deal will combine EXL’s deep industry expertise with iMerit’s advanced AI capabilities, enabling enterprises to accelerate the transition from AI experimentation to production-scale deployment.

The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

A Strategic Move to Capitalize on Enterprise AI Growth

As organizations across industries invest heavily in generative AI, large language models (LLMs), multimodal AI and autonomous systems, demand is shifting toward specialized AI models capable of delivering measurable business outcomes.

Rather than relying solely on generic AI models, enterprises increasingly require solutions trained using industry-specific data, human expertise and continuous model evaluation.

This is precisely where iMerit has built its reputation.

The company specializes in helping leading AI developers and enterprises improve the performance of foundation models through:

• AI model training
• Reinforcement learning
• Model evaluation
• Human feedback workflows
• High-quality data annotation
• Multimodal AI validation

By bringing these capabilities into its portfolio, EXL significantly strengthens its ability to deliver enterprise-ready AI solutions across highly regulated industries.

Why the Acquisition Matters

The acquisition goes beyond simply adding another AI company.

It gives EXL direct access to one of the most critical parts of the modern AI ecosystem—how foundation models are built, trained, fine-tuned and continuously improved.

As AI adoption accelerates globally, companies increasingly require:

• Reliable AI outputs
• Domain-specific intelligence
• Better model accuracy
• Responsible AI governance
• Human-in-the-loop validation

These capabilities have become essential for deploying AI in sectors where accuracy and compliance are business-critical.

The transaction also positions EXL to build customized Small Language Models (SLMs) tailored specifically to enterprise datasets and industry workflows.

Unlike large public AI models, SLMs are optimized for specific business functions, making them more secure, efficient and easier to deploy inside regulated enterprises.

EXL Strengthens Its AI Strategy

Commenting on the acquisition, Rohit Kapoor, chairman and chief executive officer of EXL, said:

“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. 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.”

The acquisition supports EXL’s broader strategy of helping enterprises scale AI responsibly while ensuring transparency, governance and measurable business value.

Direct Relationships with Foundation Model Builders

One of the biggest strategic advantages for EXL is iMerit’s established relationships with leading foundation model companies.

These partnerships provide valuable insight into how next-generation AI models are:

• Trained
• Fine-tuned
• Evaluated
• Reinforced
• Improved continuously

Access to this ecosystem enables EXL to stay closer to the cutting edge of AI innovation while translating these advancements into practical enterprise applications.

For clients, this means faster deployment of AI solutions backed by the latest developments in foundation model research.

Enterprise AI Moves Beyond Pilot Projects

Across industries, organizations are moving beyond AI proofs of concept and pilot projects toward full-scale implementation.

However, many enterprises continue to face challenges around:

• Data quality
• Model hallucinations
• Accuracy
• Regulatory compliance
• Human oversight

The combination of EXL’s domain expertise and iMerit’s human intelligence capabilities addresses these challenges by embedding expert validation throughout the AI development lifecycle.

This approach helps enterprises deploy AI systems capable of operating reliably in real-world business environments.

iMerit’s Human Intelligence Platform Adds Competitive Advantage

A key differentiator in the acquisition is iMerit’s proprietary AI ecosystem built around two major assets:

Ango Platform

The Ango platform enables sophisticated interaction with generative AI models through:

• Chain-of-thought reasoning
• Red teaming
• Model evaluation
• Multimodal AI testing
• Human validation workflows

These capabilities help improve the reliability, safety and performance of enterprise AI applications.

Scholars Network

Equally important is iMerit’s global Scholars network.

The platform connects enterprises with highly specialized professionals, including:

• Physicians
• Scientists
• Engineers
• Linguists
• Researchers
• Industry experts

These specialists provide expert feedback that improves AI reasoning, reinforces model performance and supports continuous learning.

This combination of technology and human expertise has become increasingly valuable as enterprises seek AI systems capable of delivering accurate, domain-specific outputs.

Founder Sees Opportunity to Scale AI Globally

Commenting on the acquisition, Radha Ramaswami Basu, chief executive officer and founder of iMerit, said:

“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. 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 statement reflects the growing importance of high-quality enterprise data as organizations seek to unlock value from proprietary information using artificial intelligence.

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EXL to Integrate Ango Platform Across Its Enterprise AI Ecosystem

Following the acquisition, EXL plans to integrate iMerit’s proprietary Ango platform into its existing AI ecosystem, including EXLerate.ai, EXLdata.ai, and EXLdecision.ai. The integration is expected to create a comprehensive AI platform that combines enterprise data, expert human intelligence, model evaluation, and large-scale AI execution.

Ango enables enterprises to interact with generative AI models through advanced capabilities such as chain-of-thought reasoning, multimodal data evaluation, red teaming, and reinforcement learning. These capabilities help organizations improve model accuracy, reduce bias, and enhance the overall reliability of AI-powered business applications.

By combining Ango with its existing AI platforms, EXL aims to help enterprises move more quickly from proof-of-concept projects to production-ready AI deployments capable of delivering measurable business outcomes.

Strengthening AI for Highly Regulated Industries

The acquisition is expected to significantly enhance EXL’s AI capabilities across industries where accuracy, compliance, and explainability are essential.

These include:

• Healthcare and Life Sciences
• Insurance
• Banking
• Capital Markets
• Retail
• Energy and Infrastructure

Organizations operating in these sectors require AI systems capable of handling sensitive information while complying with strict regulatory requirements.

With iMerit’s expertise in high-quality data creation, model evaluation, and human feedback workflows, EXL will be better positioned to build domain-specific language models tailored to industry requirements.

Rather than relying solely on generalized AI systems, enterprises increasingly seek specialized AI models trained using proprietary datasets that reflect their own business processes and compliance frameworks.

Expanding Into High-Growth AI Markets

The acquisition also opens new growth opportunities for EXL beyond its traditional enterprise customer base.

Through iMerit’s capabilities, EXL gains expertise across multiple data formats, including:

• Text
• Images
• Video
• Voice
• LiDAR

This positions the company to expand into several rapidly growing AI sectors, including:

• Physical AI
• Robotics
• Autonomous Vehicles
• Smart Mobility
• Industrial Automation
• Computer Vision
• Intelligent Infrastructure

As global investments in Physical AI continue to accelerate, demand is increasing for high-quality training data capable of supporting autonomous decision-making in real-world environments.

The acquisition strengthens EXL’s ability to participate in this next phase of AI innovation.

AI Data Quality Becomes a Competitive Advantage

While large language models have made AI more accessible, enterprise adoption increasingly depends on the availability of high-quality, domain-specific datasets.

Industry analysts estimate that data preparation and model evaluation account for a significant portion of successful AI deployments.

iMerit’s expertise in human intelligence-driven data creation allows organizations to improve model accuracy through continuous feedback from subject matter experts.

Its global Scholars network includes physicians, engineers, scientists, linguists, and other specialists who validate AI outputs and support reinforcement learning workflows.

This human-in-the-loop approach is becoming increasingly important as organizations seek trustworthy AI systems capable of supporting critical business decisions.

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the agreement, EXL will acquire iMerit in a transaction valued at up to $310 million.

The deal includes:

• $170 million in upfront consideration
• Up to $140 million in milestone-based incentives and earnouts payable over the following two years, subject to the achievement of specified performance targets.

The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of 2026, pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, including applicable antitrust clearances.

Strengthening EXL’s Position in Enterprise AI

Founded in 1999, EXL has evolved into one of the world’s leading data analytics and AI companies, serving global enterprises across insurance, healthcare, banking, retail, communications, media, and infrastructure sectors.

Today, the company employs more than 67,000 professionals across six continents and continues to invest heavily in artificial intelligence, automation, analytics, and digital transformation technologies.

The acquisition of iMerit reflects EXL’s long-term strategy of building vertically integrated AI capabilities that combine technology, industry expertise, and human intelligence.

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About iMerit

Founded to support the growing demand for high-quality AI data, iMerit has established itself as a leading provider of AI model training, fine-tuning, evaluation, and reinforcement learning services.

The company works with frontier AI developers and enterprises to improve the performance of large language models, multimodal AI systems, autonomous mobility platforms, healthcare AI applications, robotics, and other next-generation technologies.

Its proprietary Ango Hub platform enables customers and domain experts to collaborate on complex multimodal datasets, creating validated training data that supports reliable AI model development.

Backed by leading investors including Khosla Ventures, Omidyar Network, Dell Foundation, and British International Investment (BII), iMerit has become a trusted partner for organizations building advanced AI systems.

Enterprise AI Enters Its Next Phase

The EXL–iMerit acquisition reflects a broader trend across the AI industry, where organizations are moving beyond generic AI models toward specialized enterprise solutions built on proprietary data, expert validation, and continuous learning.

As businesses increasingly deploy AI across mission-critical operations, success will depend not only on powerful models but also on the quality of the data, governance frameworks, and human expertise supporting them.

By combining EXL’s enterprise-scale AI capabilities with iMerit’s expertise in foundation model training and reinforcement learning, the combined organization is positioned to help enterprises accelerate responsible AI adoption while delivering trusted, scalable, and industry-specific AI solutions.