Austin's FlashParking Inc. said March 16 it landed a $250 million-plus strategic investment led by Austin-based private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, which acquired a minority stake in the business.
The startup, founded in 2011 by Dean Cleaver, Eliseo Diaz and Juan Rodriguez, had previously raised about $64 million. That included a $60 million round in 2020 led by L Catterton, which also contributed to the new funding round.
Flash, led by CEO Dan Sharplin, has developed a parking software platform that provides real-time data and dynamic pricing for parking garage and real estate operators. In January 2021, the company merged with Chicago parking startup Arrive, which was founded in 2006 and had raised about $60 million.
Flash plans to use the new money to expand its mobility operating system and payments platform. It says its software is used at more than 10,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Flash also plans to hire more than 200 employees in 2022.
"FLASH’s visionary team is bringing best in class software and services to the parking ecosystem," Aaron Gupta, senior vice president at Vista Equity, said in a statement. "We see massive growth opportunities for FLASH based on market dynamics such as accelerating digitization and the proliferation of connected and electric vehicles, and we believe they are strongly positioned to capitalize on the shift towards a more efficient and sustainable future for mobility."
Aside from maximizing parking revenue, Flash's platform helps operators manage congestion, parking supply and demand and consumer experiences. It has also positioned itself to help with electric vehicle charging stations, autonomous vehicle staging and mobility-as-a-service applications.
“We are rapidly future-proofing urban mobility infrastructure by providing an agile, cloud-based, mobile-first platform for the myriad opportunities facing cities, citizens, asset owners, utilities, and parking operators," Sharplin said in a statement.
Evercore was financial adviser to Flash on the funding deal.
This appears to be the largest funding round for an Austin company so far in 2022. Cart.com Inc., an e-commerce software company that recently relocated its headquarters to Austin from Houston, announced Feb. 3 a $240 million round. TechCrunch reported in mid-February that Icon Technology Inc., which is applying 3D printing to homebuilding, had secured a $185 million round of funding. In late January, artificial intelligence company SparkCognition Inc. said it raised $123 million at a $1.4 billion valuation, and on Jan. 19 telehealth startup Wheel Health Inc. announced a $150 million series C round.
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