Metropolis Technologies
 Company logo | |
| Industry | Artificial intelligence Parking industry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founder | Alexander Israel (CEO) Travis Kell Peter Fisher Courtney Fukuda |
| Headquarters | |
Number of employees | 20,000+ (2024) |
| Subsidiaries | SP Plus Corporation |
| Website | metropolis |
Metropolis Technologies is an American technology company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. It is the largest parking operator in North America.[1]
Founding and key people
[edit]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
[edit]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.[2]
In 2023, the company raised $1.8 billion in funding, led by investors Eldridge and 3L,[11] before its $1.5 billion acquisition of SP Plus Corporation.[12] The deal was completed in 2024, taking SP Plus private.[13] This merger made it the largest parking operator in North America.[1]
In June 2025, Lookman Olusanya became chief financial officer. He had previously been CFO of Square, and held financial roles at Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services. At the time, the company was reportedly approaching a $5 billion valuation.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Sichko, Adam (May 20, 2024). "Metropolis Technologies expands Nashville 'co-headquarters' after $1.5 billion purchase of SP Plus". Nashville Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19.
- ^ a b Mazza, Sandy. "A.I.-tech firm Metropolis acquires Nashville-based Premier Parking". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "Metropolis, Eyeing Growth, Closes $1.5B Deal for Parking Company". Los Angeles Business Journal. 2024-06-17. Archived from the original on 2024-12-02. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ Mitroff, Sarah. "Solving Parking Woes, One App at a Time". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2024-12-09. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (2015-09-09). "Inrix Buys ParkMe To Add Smart Parking Services To Its Real Time Traffic Data". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
- ^ "Twenty in Their 20s: Sam Friedman and Alex Israel". Los Angeles Business Journal. 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
- ^ "Meet NPA's 40 Under 40 - Class of 2016 - National Parking Association". weareparking.org. Archived from the original on 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
- ^ "Entrepreneur Of The Year Greater Los Angeles winners and finalists". www.ey.com. Archived from the original on 2024-06-21. Retrieved 2025-01-27.
- ^ Madler, Mark R. (June 27, 2022). "Metropolis Raises $167M Series B Funding". LA Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2024-12-13.
- ^ "Metropolis CEO Alex Israel on Parking's Future - dot.LA". dot.la. Archived from the original on 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ Wiggers, Kyle (2023-10-05). "AI-powered parking platform Metropolis raises $1.7B to acquire SP Plus". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "Metropolis Technologies, Inc. to Acquire SP Plus Corporation for $1.5 Billion". Los Angeles Times. 2023-10-06. Archived from the original on 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ Vinn, Milana (October 5, 2023). "Parking platform Metropolis agrees to buy SP Plus for $1.5 billion". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2024-12-02.
- ^ Estrada, Sheryl. "Exclusive: Metropolis appoints new CFO as AI company nears $5 billion valuation". Fortune. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
