Metropolis Technologies
American technology company
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Metropolis Technologies is an American technology company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. It is the largest parking operator in North America.[1]
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 |
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] In 2015, ParkMe was acquired by Inrix, a traffic data company that spun off from Microsoft Research.[5]
History
The company uses computer vision and deep learning algorithms to recognize registered members[6] and process payments automatically through a mobile application.[7] The company has headquarters in Santa Monica, Nashville, Tennessee, New York City,[8] Seattle, and Chicago.[9]
In 2022, Metropolis Technologies acquired the Nashville-based company Premier Parking in 2022.[2]
In 2023, the company raised $1.8 billion in funding, led by investors Eldridge and 3L,[10] before its $1.5 billion acquisition of SP Plus Corporation.[11] The deal was completed in 2024, taking SP Plus private under a growth buyout.[12] This merger made it the largest parking operator in North America.[1] In 2025, Metropolis Technologies acquired Oosto (previously named AnyVision), which develops biometric technologies used in data centers, healthcare, and consumer products.[13]
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]
As of 2025, the company processes approximately $5 billion in payments from 20 million customers annually, representing almost 10% of licensed drivers in the United States. That year, it raised $1.6 billion in Series D funding led by Aryeh Bourkoff’s LionTree to expand its computer vision platform into new industries, including quick-service restaurants, fueling, hospitality and retail.[15] The company's platform uses artificial intelligence and computer vision technology to recognize users and enable contactless transactions without the need for traditional digital payments, apps or credit cards, in what CEO Alex Israel described as the "recognition economy".[16]
The company operates checkout-free parking, baggage and mobility services at over 75 airports throughout the United States.[17]
The company was included in CNBC's 2025 Disruptor 50 list.[15]