EXL Completes $310M iMerit Acquisition to Accelerate Enterprise AI Leadership

EXL Completes Strategic iMerit Acquisition

ExlService Holdings has completed its acquisition of iMerit, a recognized leader in AI model training, evaluation and reinforcement learning, for $310 million3

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. The transaction, which closed on August 3, 2026, includes a cash consideration of $170 million and an earnout payment of $140 million3

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. As part of the deal, iMerit founder and CEO Radha Ramaswami Basu joins EXL as Executive Vice President, Head of iMerit, and becomes a member of the company's executive committee1

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Building an End-to-End AI Platform for Enterprises

The EXL acquisition establishes an end-to-end AI platform that unites EXL's deep data, context and AI expertise with iMerit's technology and generative AI capabilities1

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. This combination helps clients accelerate the transition from pilot to production-scale enterprise AI. iMerit brings approximately $59 million in revenue as of March 31, 2026, along with direct relationships with major AI foundation model builders3

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. The acquisition gives EXL access to iMerit's Ango platform for multimodal data collaboration and AI model evaluation, along with Scholars, a global network of specialists including physicians, scientists, engineers and linguists who work on data creation and model alignment2

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Strategic Value for Regulated Industries

Rohit Kapoor, chairman and chief executive officer of EXL, described the transaction as "a transformational pivot for EXL, deepening our vertically specialized AI capabilities and expanding our reach into high-growth AI technology sectors"1

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. The combined entity is positioned to help clients build, fine-tune and operationalize AI that performs reliably in production, particularly in regulated industries where domain knowledge, context and compliance are critical1

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. EXL Service Holdings provides data and AI services to corporations in insurance, healthcare, banking, retail, communications and energy sectors2

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. The company, founded in 1999 and headquartered in New York, employs approximately 68,000 people across six continents2

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Bridging Innovation and Execution in Enterprise AI

Radha Ramaswami Basu emphasized that the next generation of enterprise AI will be defined by deployment effectiveness rather than model selection. "What excites me most about joining EXL is the opportunity to combine iMerit's pioneering work in AI data, evaluation and human intelligence with EXL's extraordinary depth in data, AI and enterprise transformation," Basu stated1

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. The integration extends the data and AI-led strategy EXL has been executing for several years, positioning the company to help clients bridge the gap between innovation and execution while turning AI potential into measurable business results1

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. iMerit's expertise in AI fine tuning, evaluation and reinforcement learning services to AI labs and enterprises complements EXL's existing capabilities2

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. This combination addresses the growing demand for trusted, accountable AI systems built to perform in enterprise environments where financial terms and operational reliability matter most.