Crowd-safety technology provider Evolv Technologies Inc. announced Sunday that it will become the latest startup to go public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company rather than through an initial public offering.

The company is planning to merge with the blank-check firm NewHold Investment Corp. in a deal that’s expected to close during the second quarter. When it does, it will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “EVLV.” The deal is expected to value it at around $1.7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Evolv, which is backed by several investors, including Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, sells screening technology that combines artificial intelligence with data science to check people for weapons and other threats as they enter public venues.

The Evolv Express system (pictured) is designed to replace cumbersome metal detectors and physical security checks that many consider to be inappropriate or unwelcome. It has previously been employed at venues in the U.S. such as Six Flags Entertainment Corp.’s amusement parks, Gillette Stadium, the home of the New England Patriots NFL team, and Lincoln Center in New York. The company says its system has so far screened more than 50 million people over the last four years.

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Evolv Express system added the capability to check for elevated body temperatures. Evolv Chief Executive Peter George told the Journal that this feature has been in high demand as businesses look to reopen their premises following months of shutdowns.

SPACs are shell companies that exist to raise funds and acquire a private startup such as Evolv with the express purpose of taking it public. It’s a novel way to go public that dispenses with the need to hold an IPO, and it has become increasingly popular in recent months because it provides more certainty over how much funds will be raised and involves less scrutiny.

NewHold was reported to have been one of several SPAC firms competing to take Evolv public, having raised $159 million when it went public itself last year.

The Journal said that through the merger and an associated fundraising round called a private investment in public equity, Evolv will raise around $470 million in total. Some of the investors in the PIPE round include former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and ex-tennis players Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller told SiliconANGLE that SPACs are popular not only because it means companies can avoid the lengthy and costly IPO process, but also because it means there’s no pressure on companies to deliver four consecutive quarters of stable financial results prior to going public.

“It’s an easier and faster way for tech companies to access capital,” Mueller said. “Basically, SPACs have become the antidote to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Let’s hope that the faster access to capital will help Evolv to invest into the right areas.”

Evolv already has plans to do so. It will use some of the cash it has raised to launch a public-benefit corporation that will make its system affordable for schools, the Journal reported.

Despite the growing popularity of SPAC mergers, many of those that have successfully gone through a merger and started trading on public markets have seen their stocks perform badly, as investors pull back from tech stocks in favor of government-bonds, the Journal said.

Photo: Evolv