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The Santa Monica startup ParkMe has shown a penchant for turning parking data into big deals – its business partners include automaker Audi. Now, its information will be integrated with the Microsoft search engine Bing. Financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
“After repeated discussions we mutually came to terms,” said Mark Braibanti, director of marketing and business development at ParkMe. “It was a great fit for both of us.”
ParkMe has come a long way since one Friday night in which founders Sam Friedman and Alex Israel found themselves late for a movie and wondered why their car's navigation system couldn't point them toward an empty space. Although the company's value proposition seems obvious now that Microsoft has picked up on it, the startup faced some significant challenges as it built out.
“Compiling our initial database was a lot of work,” Briabanti said. “It took a lot of patience and attention to detail since the parking industry is not as unified as some other industries. There are thousands of lots operated by mom-and-pops that we had to have our street team visit in person just to confirm their existence. We have a great team that worked very hard to create and update the worlds largest parking database.”
Since then, ParkMe has scored funding from Fontinalis Partners, IDG Ventures, and Angeleno Group. This deal should put it firmly in the consciousness of more motorists who prize convenience and want to spare the earth a few wasted exhaust fumes.
“Connected cars are becoming more prevalent and we hope to see our dreams become a reality in the next five years,” said Braibanti.
ParkMe's data and transaction info should begin appearing on Bing within the next few months.
