Los Angeles-based Metropolis Technologies, which is building an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered payment platform for parking facilities, raised $167 million in a Series B funding round on June 15, 2022. The round was co-led by 3L Capital and witnessed participation from Dragoneer Investment Group, Eldridge, Silver Lake Waterman, UP Partners and others.
The mobility commerce platform allows customers to use a parking lot without fumbling to use their credit cards and smartphones at hundreds of properties across the country. It also connects its members to promotions and discounts from the nearby business community, thus giving local merchants new economic opportunities.
The startup is leveraging digital transactions for multiple use cases in reality by bridging the gap between transportation, neighborhood commerce and payments for the first time in the US. The startup claimed that it has around 2 million members with access to more than 600 parking lots and garages. Additionally, it connects thousands of grocery stores, coffee shops and other local merchants.
“By bringing urban mobility infrastructure online, we are knitting disconnected parts of the everyday journey into a remarkable experience,” said Alex Israel, co-founder and CEO of Metropolis Technologies.
“The seamless transactions we take for granted in e-commerce are largely absent from real life, but Metropolis’ computer vision technology is changing that one commute, one-morning coffee, one grocery run at a time. Thanks to this incredible vote of confidence from our investors, Metropolis is leading the charge to power the future of urban commerce,” added Alex Israel.
Post-Pandemic, there is an increase in demand for managing to park
Metropolis Technologies, which is building the digital infrastructure that allows members to transact in the physical world with the same ease we experience online, has witnessed 28 times growth since February 2021, when it closed its Series A funding round in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company claimed in a press statement.
“We do drive-in and drive-out for Class A office buildings, grocery stores, and local coffee shops. In all cases, we make it easy for local merchants to attract new and repeat customers by offering them discounts on parking if they use Metropolis,” said Alex Israel.
Leading urban infrastructure and technology investors also joined the round, including former Deputy Mayor of New York City Dan Doctoroff, DivcoWest, Moving Capital (the Uber Alumni Syndicate), RXR Realty, and Zigg Capital.
The company will use the funds to develop an improved next-generation version of its mobile commerce platform and deploy technology into a mobility-adjacent vertical. The company will hire new talents and will acquire the technology that is required for the growth of its mobile commerce platform.
