Metropolis Technologies is an American technology company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. As of 2024, it is the largest parking operator in North America.[1]
Founding and key people
The company was founded in Venice, Los Angeles in 2017 by CEO Alexander Israel,[2] with co-founders Travis Kell, Peter Fisher and Courtney Fukuda.[3] In 2009, Israel co-founded and served as chief operating officer of ParkMe, a digital parking platform with a real-time database of parking information.[4] ParkMe was acquired by traffic data company Inrix in 2015.[5]
Israel has been included on Los Angeles Business Journal's "20 In Their 20s" list,[6] and the National Parking Association's "40 Under 40" list.[7] In 2024, Ernst & Young named Israel "Entrepreneur of the Year" for Los Angeles.[8]
History
The company uses computer vision and deep learning algorithms to recognize registered members' vehicles[9] and process payments automatically through a mobile application.[10]
In 2022, Metropolis Technologies acquired the Nashville based company Premier Parking in 2022. As part of the merger, Premier CEO Ryan Hunt joined Metropolis as chief revenue officer.[11]
In 2023, the company raised $1.8 billion in funding, led by investors Eldridge and 3L,[12] before its $1.5 billion acquisition of SP Plus Corporation.[13] The deal was completed in 2024, taking SP Plus private.[14] This merger made it the largest parking operator in North America.[15]
In 2024, Metropolis Technologies Inc. allegedly illegally obtained the personal information of people who parked at its parking lots from official motor-vehicle records without their consent in violation of the Drivers Privacy Protection Act.[16] Class action lawsuits have appeared in California, Texas, and Tennessee, with the Tennessee District Attorney collecting over 247 complaints from residents. [17]
