Metropolis, which uses AI and computer vision to identify vehicles and take parking lot payments without any physical transaction, has raised $1.6 billion in combined debt and equity in a new fundraising round at a $5 billion valuation.
Already the largest parking lot network in the U.S., handling more than 7% of licensed drivers (nearly 20 million people) across over 4,000 locations, the Santa Monica, California-based company is planning to use the capital for a major expansion across the retail sector, including gas stations and quick-service restaurant drive-thru windows, as well as into hotels and office buildings.
“With this new capital, we’re continuing to scale our platform and forge the foundation of the Recognition Economy, building a new paradigm for how AI is deployed in the real world,” said Alex Israel, CEO and co-founder of Metropolis, in the deal announcement.
The $1.6 billion capitalization includes a $1.1 billion senior secured loan and $500 million in Series D equity funding, led by new investor LionTree. Additional investors included Eldridge, SoftBank, DFJ, Tekne Capital, Vista and BDT & MSD Partners’ affiliated credit funds. It’s the largest round that the company has raised across its $2 billion in deals not specifically tied to an acquisition — Metropolis took parking lot operator SP Plus private in 2024, the largest private M&A deal of 2024. The company doubled the debt it was able to raise since its last credit market deal in 2024 in a new financing led by J.P. Morgan, which the company attributed to its expanding gross margins.
“Metropolis is demonstrating that AI can be thoughtfully commercialized at real-world scale,” said Ramin Arani, head of investments at LionTree, in the deal announcement.
Metropolis ranked No. 13 on the 2025 CNBC Disruptor 50 list.
Any driver that has used a Metropolis parking lot knows that the payment can be conducted with no waiting, no tickets, machines, credit cards, or apps. The company’s proprietary computer vision platform recognizes a “vehicle fingerprint” based on their unique characteristics. Users do have to first set up an account in the company’s app or on its website with basic profile information including a license plate number, though its technology is not limited to license plate scanning.
The company says it has been growing by one million members per month and sees a total addressable market of at least 50 million individuals. Across its current operations, Metropolis is handling $5 billion in annual transactions.
“The physical world remains hopelessly analog,” said Courtney Fukuda, chief integration officer and co-founder of Metropolis, at the recent CNBC AI Summit in Nashville. “We started by fixing parking, partially because it’s ubiquitous and because it’s a nightmare,” she added.
As the company expands into retail locations including fueling and drive-thrus, it will be focused on a software-as-a-service model, with retail and real estate owners benefitting from offering…
Read More: AI-based parking lot payment startup Metropolis raises $1.6 billion
