The general hype around all things AI is not lifting all boats: certain startups continue to struggle and are looking for exits. In one of the latest developments, TechCrunch has heard from a reliable source that Metropolis, an AI-powered parking platform, is buying Oosto, the controversial computer vision company that used to be known as AnyVision. The source tells TechCrunch that the deal is valued at $125 million — just one-third of the $380 million that the startup had raised from investors over the years — and likely a fraction of its peak valuation.
Metropolis buying Oosto for $125 million are details that are also being reported in Israeli press. Last week, Globes broke the news that Oosto was up for sale. We understand that the two companies had already been working together prior to this deal, and that a large part of the transaction involves shares. We have reached out to both Metropolis and Oosto for further information and will update this post as we learn more.
If it completes, the sale will cap off a turbulent several years for Oosto.
As AnyVision, the company was one of a wave of computer vision startups building technology being used in controversial surveillance applications. Over the years, there were reports exposing which organizations were quietly using its technology and how the Israeli government tapped it to spy on Palestinians; other reports shed light on just how much data the company was able to collect. The bad publicity led to the company losing Microsoft as a key strategic investor, although other investors were ready to double down. In 2021, AnyVision, pitching itself as an ethical AI company, raised a whopping $235 million led by SoftBank and Eldridge. Other backers of the company have included Lightspeed and Qualcomm, per PitchBook data.
Just months after the big SoftBank raise, AnyVision rebranded to Oosto and looked to pivot to more enterprise applications as it inked a research partnership with Carnegie Mellon. But it seems that the difficulties continued, with rounds of layoffs and Oosto parting ways with the university. Today’s report in Calcalist noted that it was not making more than $10 million in annual revenues.
It’s worth wondering whether some of Oosto’s problems might have been a question of timing. The last couple of years have seen big geopolitical shifts; AI entering the mainstream of public consciousness; and a new wave of AI companies like Anduril and Helsing that seem to be breaking through many taboos on building military, defense and (more euphemistically) “resilience” technology.
Would AnyVision (or Oosto) have appeared as controversial today as it did five years ago? Regardless, the rise and fall of Oosto can be seen as a memento mori for the newer wave of AI companies that are being funded today on very high hopes, but perhaps not very high revenues (let alone profits).
That brings us to Metropolis. It, too, is focused on computer vision, but focus is perhaps the operative word here: its square aim is to build AI-based systems for parking, automatically tracking cars when they enter or leave a space and charging accordingly. In 2023, Metropolis raised $1.7 billion in financing and other investment, most of which was used to make a $1.5 acquisition of another parking technology specialist called SP Plus. Whether it will be using Oosto to continue building out that business, or to extend into a wider range of mobility and other applications, remains to be seen.
“Tech-wise this acquisition makes the perfect sense,” Avihai Michaeli, an investment banking advisor based in Tel Aviv, told TechCrunch. “Both Metropolis and Oosto (formerly known as AnyVision Tech) are key players in the AI-driven computer vision and security solutions space, with applications that enhance urban management, public safety, and automation. Both companies focus on leveraging cutting-edge technology to create safer, smarter, and more efficient environments through artificial intelligence and data analytics.” He added that the current war in Israel right now has made it challenging for some Israeli companies looking to raise money or do other business, which could have also played a role here.
