A.I.-tech firm Metropolis acquires Nashville-based Premier Parking
Nashville-based Premier Parking, whose blue-and-white logo is synonymous with downtown lots, has been acquired by artificial-intelligence platform developer Metropolis Technologies.
Company officials on Wednesday announced the union, which is now called Metropolis. Premier CEO Ryan Hunt has been appointed chief operating officer of the merged firm.
"We're expecting rocketship-type growth," Hunt said. "In Nashville, Premier is a household name, but we have a sizable presence nationally.
"The goal is to be the next-generation parking operator."
Together, the brands will maintain headquarters in Nashville and Los Angeles.
Metropolis did not release the price it paid for Premier. Parking-space rates and fees will not be impacted by the merger, company officials said.
"Nashville is a booming metropolis and our goal is to make thinking about parking a part of the past," Metropolis co-founder and CEO Alex Israel said. "You can drive in, seamlessly park and get to your final destination without having to fumble with credit cards or wallets or tickets."
The tech platform was quietly founded in 2017 in Venice, Calif., with a mission of bringing parking lots into the future. By last year, it raised more than $60 million from real estate and technology investors.
The acquisition will lead to new branding, officials said, as they quickly scale the technology to more than 60 markets nationwide.
Together, the brands operate more than 600 U.S. parking garages and 130,000 parking spaces.
"We're absolutely committed to Nashville," Israel said, "in terms of expanding office space, our team and our footprint."
The two companies have about 2,000 employees and are actively hiring 200 more, officials said.
Premier was Metropolis' largest real-estate operations partner last year as they began implementing the new technology, which requires users to register. It's already being used by more than a half-million customers in Nashville.
Currently, its platform allows registered users to use Premier lots without touching a kiosk or a wallet.
But Metropolis plans to eventually transform the underutilized land for a variety of vehicles, including scooters and electric cars.
The "mobile commerce and modern parking" platform's long-term vision is to modernize parking lots into Internet-connected infrastructure.
"We're working on a lot right now," Israel said. "But right now our core focus is on integrating the two companies."
Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at smazza@tennessean.com, by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: A.I.-tech firm Metropolis acquires Nashville-based Premier Parking
