UAE’s Mubadala and SoftBank invest in American parking startup ParkJockey at valuation over $1 billion

Miami-based parking startup ParkJockey has announced an investment from SoftBank, with UAE’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala also participating in the round and have helped ParJockey acquire two of the largest parking operators in North America including Imperial Parking Corporation aka Impark and Citizens Parking Inc.

The round according to a local publication, comes at valuation over $1 billion, making ParkJockey first unicorn from the city.

Founded in 2013, ParkJockey enables drivers find parking spots and book them through its app. The startup partners with property owners to help them improve the performance of their parking real estate.

“Our solutions streamline the parking process for drivers and facilitate immediate improvements in operations, transparency, data capture, cost management, security and revenue maximization,” notes their website.

Their services, according to the website, are available, in Miami, New York City, Chicago, and United Kingdom.

Ari Ojalvo, co-founder and CEO of ParkJockey, in a statement, said, “ParkJockey’s technology enables property owners to better serve their consumers and improve the performance of their real estate assets. We are excited to partner with Impark and Citizens given their strong operating capabilities, complementary geographic reach and dedication to customer service.”

Adib Mattar, Head of Private Equity at Mubadala Capital, the financial investment arm of Mubadala Investment Company, added, “We are pleased to partner with ParkJockey and SoftBank on this transaction. The investment is a great example of the evolving role technology can play to positively impact even the most traditional of industries, like parking.”

There are two similar startups in UAE, Nester and YallaParking that offer similar services in Dubai, helping people find and book parking spaces  that help people find and book parking spaces in Dubai.

Two UAE startups, Nester and YallaParking offer the similar services in Dubai, helping people find and book parking spaces, through their website and mobile apps