General Motors takes 35% stake in Chester based ‘connected car’ start-up wejo

US car giant General Motors (GM) has taken a 35% stake in a Chester based tech company which is pioneering connected car data

Sky News reports that wejo has struck a “landmark deal that includes a $25m (£19.4m) cash injection from GM alongside a long-term data-sharing agreement between the two companies.”

Wejo tweeted: “ we are excited with the new strategic investment by General Motors which enables wejo to accelerate its global growth, enhance its scale and opens up opportunities.”

The deal values the company at $275m (£213m).

The firm’s technology collects messages from thousands of sensors in modern vehicles, which can be used to predict breakdowns, analyse collisions and monitor a car’s impact on the environment.

To date, wejo has processed data from 78 billion miles of car journeys

Wejo, which has headquarters in Tattenhall was foundered in 2014 by entrepreneur Richard Barlow, the company employs over 150 people.

“GM’s investment includes an ‘in-kind’ consideration worth more than $70m to supply data from millions of the car-maker’s vehicles for wejo to manage for seven years.” Sky reports.

In a statement issued to Sky News, a wejo spokesman said: “GM has more experience with connectivity than any other automaker and wejo’s data scientists are at the forefront of analysing and understanding the data generated by vehicle sensors. Together, we will create even more value for customers from connectivity.”