NVIDIA shares close higher on Friday, company to acquire AV mapping startup DeepMap

NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) said last week that it had agreed to acquire DeepMap, a startup specialized in building high-definition maps for autonomous vehicles, helping them to navigate the world safely.

Established five years ago by Wu and Mark Wheeler, veterans of Google, Apple and Baidu, DeepMap is anticipated to extend NVIDIA’s mapping products, scale global map operations and expand its full self-driving expertise, the chip maker said.

The acquisition is to be finalized during the third quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

Yet, the two companies did not disclose any financial details of the agreement.

“The acquisition is an endorsement of DeepMap’s unique vision, technology and people,” Ali Kani, vice president and general manager of Automotive at NVIDIA Corp, said in a press release.

“DeepMap is expected to extend our mapping products, help us scale worldwide map operations and expand our full self-driving expertise.”

“NVIDIA is an amazing, world-changing company that shares our vision to accelerate safe autonomy,” James Wu, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of DeepMap, said.

“Joining forces with NVIDIA will allow our technology to scale more quickly and benefit more people sooner. We look forward to continuing our journey as part of the NVIDIA team.”

NVIDIA shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Friday. It has also been the sharpest single-session gain since June 4th. The stock went up 2.30% ($16.01) to $713.01, after touching an intraday high at $717.57. The latter has been a fresh all-time high.

Shares of NVIDIA Corporation have risen 36.54% so far in 2021 compared with a 13.08% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2020, NVIDIA Corp’s stock surged 121.93%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 16.26% gain.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to TipRanks, at least 25 out of 26 surveyed investment analysts had rated NVIDIA Corp’s stock as “Buy”, while 1 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $729.12.