❌

Reading view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.

Traffic data pioneer Inrix to be acquired by Allstate’s Arity after more than two decades

Inrix co-founder and CEO Bryan Mistele above rush-hour traffic on Interstate 5 in Seattle in 2011. After more than two decades of turning traffic data into a business, Inrix has agreed to sell substantially all of its assets to Arity, a subsidiary of Allstate. (GeekWire File Photo / Annie Laurie Malarkey)

Inrix, the Bellevue, Wash.-based traffic data company that spun out of Microsoft in 2004 and became one of the Seattle region’s longest-running independent tech companies, has agreed to sell substantially all of its assets to Arity, the mobility data subsidiary of insurance giant Allstate.

The deal, announced Friday, would end Inrixβ€˜s 22-year run as a standalone company. Inrix has raised more than $288 million and flirted with an IPO multiple times over its lifetime. Terms were not disclosed. The companies expect the acquisition to close later this year.

Founded in 2016, Chicago-based Arity analyzes driving behavior for insurers, marketers and public-sector customers. It says it has amassed more than 3 trillion miles of driving data. The acquisition would pair that information with Inrix’s analytics on traffic, road conditions and transportation networks.

β€œBy combining Arity’s predictive insights on driving behavior and risk with Inrix’s transportation intelligence and mobility analytics, we will be uniquely positioned to deliver more robust intelligence and insights into how people, vehicles, goods, and roads interact,” Gary Hallgren, president of Arity, said in a statement.

While the companies are touting the benefits of combining their data and analytics, Arity’s data practices have faced legal scrutiny. In January 2025, Texas sued Allstate and Arity, alleging they collected and sold consumers’ driving and location data without adequate consent.

β€œWe are confident in our compliance with all laws and regulations and are committed to ensuring consumers are informed when their data is used for personalized insurance rates,” an Arity spokesperson told GeekWire via email.

The proposed acquisition charts an alternate course to Inrix’s earlier plans for going public. In 2012, Inrix hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase with an eye toward a 2013 IPO that was expected to raise up to $100 million. The company looked to go public again in 2022 but backed out amid economic uncertainty stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other factors.

β€œWe were about two weeks away from filing our documents with the SEC,” Inrix CEO Bryan Mistele said in an August 2022 GeekWire story. β€œWe’re on standby right now, waiting to see when the markets and economy improve, in which case we’ll take another run at it.”

Inrix declined via email to comment on the reason why it chose to sell at this time.

β€œBy leveraging the complementary strengths of both organizations, we see an opportunity to turn transportation data into actionable intelligence that helps organizations make better decisions and create safer, more efficient, and more connected transportation systems,” an Inrix spokesperson said.

Inrix serves corporate, automotive, technology and public-sector customers including Amazon, IBM, General Motors, Windermere Real Estate and state departments of transportation.

The company got its start selling traffic and transportation-related data. In recent years, it moved beyond supplying raw traffic data into subscription software that helps customers interpret it, including tools for traffic-signal timing, road safety and retail site selection.

Recent public releases include its first Parking Scorecard, which ranks the availability and cost of parking in major cities in the U.S. and Europe.

Inrix has about 277 employees, based on LinkedIn data. A spokesperson said that β€œall eligible” employees will receive job offers from Arity, and there are no planned changes to the company’s Bellevue headquarters.

Editor’s note: Comments from Arity and Inrix spokespeople were added 10/19.

❌