Chicago-based SpotHero is a reservation service for parking spaces. The company which is reported to have agreements in 300 cities has a primary focus on larger North American cities. The company has agreements in place with over one thousand garages.
The company was able to raise a $50 million Series D round from Macquarie Capital, Insight Partners, Global Founders Capital, and AutoTech Ventures. The deal was reported on August 22, 2019.
The company’s value proposition revolves around three key features. First, it has a wide array of relationships providing it regular, consistent access across numerous cities and jurisdictions. Second, in order to work in this varied landscape, SpotHero has built an overlaying platform that interacts with multiple types of systems – including other off-street parking tools, POS systems, and various payment platforms. Third, the company has identified a business model that is useful for one-time users (stadiums, events, etc.), monthly users seeking consistent parking, and multiple users such as fleets. In this way, the company has transformed the off-street parking industry.
“By standardizing the way parking is bought and sold, we are introducing the same visibility into parking inventory that people expect from the airline or hospitality industries,” said Mark Lawrence, CEO and co-founder, SpotHero. “That’s a big win for drivers, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to modernize parking. Together with our network of more than 1,000 operator and platform partners, and our new and existing investors, we look forward to bringing this next phase of industry growth to life.”
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This ability to transform a large, un-glamorous industry provided a significant lure to big name capital providers – such as Insight and AutoTech. But, OCA Ventures, a Chicago based firm was also part of this transaction. The $50 million round was led by Macquarie Capital – an Australian based multi-national investment bank that has a significant stake in numerous energy related holdings.
“SpotHero is in position to transform the entire parking industry and has built a foundation to support the future of mobility for a long time to come, including the movement towards shared use and EV fleets,” said Lucas Joynt, Senior Vice President, Macquarie Capital. “SpotHero’s leadership position makes the company an attractive investment for Macquarie Capital as we continue to drive innovation at the intersection of infrastructure, real estate and technology. We look forward to supporting SpotHero as it scales to its next phase of growth.”
The round represents a significant one in the Midwest, even in Chicago, where it is one of the twenty largest deals in the city. The two largest venture deals, according to Pitchbook, are Flexport and REEF Technologies which were both reported to be more than $900 million transactions.
For more information about Spothero, check out their website at www.spothero.com.
