EXL to Acquire IMerit in a $310 Million Deal
The deal positions EXL to support enterprises in building customized, small-language models tailored to their data and workflows.
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EXL, a global data and AI firm, on Wednesday announced the $310 million acquisition of iMerit, a company specializing in AI model training to help enterprises deploy and scale AI solutions.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026 and positions EXL to help enterprises build customized, small-language models tailored to their data and workflows.
iMerit’s solutions enhance EXL’s integrated AI stack and its capacity to develop and refine domain-specific language models. These models are essential for regulated industries such as healthcare, insurance, banking, and capital markets, where EXL is already a trusted data and AI partner.
The deal includes an upfront payment of $170 million, with an additional $140 million in incentives and earnouts over two years, contingent on achieving specified milestones.
“The acquisition of iMerit strengthens EXL’s AI strategy and our 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,” said Rohit Kapoor, chairman and chief executive officer of EXL.
iMerit enhances EXL’s platform and human intelligence capabilities through its Ango platform and Scholars network.
Ango enables data interactions with GenAI models, supporting chain-of-thought reasoning, red teaming, and multimodal evaluations. The Scholars network expands EXL’s domain expertise by leveraging iMerit’s global network of specialists, including physicians, scientists, engineers, linguists, and other subject-matter experts, who provide human intelligence-driven feedback for reinforcement learning workflows.
EXL will integrate Ango with its agentic platforms, including EXLerate.ai, EXLdata.ai, and EXLdecision.ai.
“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,” said Radha Ramaswami Basu, chief executive officer and founder of iMerit.
This acquisition enables EXL to expand into high-growth AI sectors, including high-tech, mobility, autonomous systems, and physical AI. iMerit’s expertise in text, image, video, voice, and LiDAR data provides a strong foundation for AI solutions in robotics, autonomous vehicles, and intelligent real-world environments.
