ParkJockey

ParkJockey was an American parking technology company founded in 2013 and headquartered in Miami, Florida. It developed technology for the off-street parking market, serving both consumers and business customers. Its initial proposition was a website and mobile application that enabled drivers to find, reserve, and pay for parking spaces in advance. The company positioned this service as a response to inefficiencies in urban parking, where availability, pricing, payment, and access were often managed through fragmented systems. The company was co-founded by two former management consultants in Chicago. After identifying operational and customer-experience problems in the parking industry, they began with a digital payment and reservation service. ParkJockey raised $1.8 million in angel investment in 2013 to support development of its mobile application and formally launched its services during the same year. It expanded internationally in 2014 by opening a London office to serve the United Kingdom. Over time, ParkJockey broadened beyond consumer reservations. It became a business-to-business real-estate technology platform for landlords, parking operators, and commercial property owners. Its offering included software for managing parking operations, payment and access hardware, reservation infrastructure, and data services intended to help operators understand demand and optimize the use of parking assets. This shift allowed the company to participate in the management and monetization of parking facilities rather than merely act as a booking intermediary. ParkJockey built a network of commercial and event-related partnerships. In the United Kingdom, it partnered with Ticketmaster to connect parking reservations with ticket purchases. It also worked with Odeon Cinemas and ResDiary so that parking could be offered alongside cinema or restaurant reservations. In the United States, ParkJockey became the official parking provider for the Miami HEAT Group in 2014, supporting advance parking for basketball games, concerts, and other events at the team’s arena. A later partnership with PayByPhone sought to combine aspects of the companies’ parking services for customers. The company attracted substantial attention in late 2018 when SoftBank Group and Mubadala were reported to have acquired stakes. Contemporary reports placed the combined investment at approximately $800 million to $1 billion and said the financing was intended in part to support the acquisition of major North American parking operators. The reported transaction valued ParkJockey at more than $1 billion, although the exact financial terms were not publicly detailed in the supplied reference material. ParkJockey ceased operating under that name when it was relaunched as REEF Technology in June 2019. The rebrand reflected a broader platform strategy around urban real estate, parking, logistics, and neighborhood infrastructure. Consequently, ParkJockey is best understood as the predecessor brand and operating platform that developed the technology and business relationships later carried forward under REEF Technology.

ParkJockey emerged in 2013 from work by two former management consultants who had identified structural inefficiencies in urban and commercial parking. The company initially focused on a straightforward consumer problem: enabling drivers to pay for and reserve off-street parking spaces through a website and mobile application. It raised $1.8 million in angel funding during 2013 to build the application and launched its service that year. The company’s early model depended on aggregating parking availability and making it easier for customers to complete reservations and payments before arriving at a facility. This approach addressed uncertainty over where to park, whether spaces were available, and how payment could be made. In 2014, ParkJockey opened a London office as part of an expansion into the United Kingdom, giving it an operating presence beyond the United States. ParkJockey subsequently developed into a broader parking and real-estate technology business. Rather than concentrating only on consumer bookings, it supplied parking operators, landlords, and commercial property owners with software, payment hardware, and data-oriented tools for managing facilities. The company’s business-to-business platform was intended to support operational control, demand analysis, payment processing, and more efficient use of parking assets. Its consumer application remained part of the broader system, linking drivers to the spaces and services managed by its commercial customers. Partnerships helped ParkJockey extend its service into contexts where parking is purchased alongside another activity. Its 2014 relationship with Odeon Cinemas supported parking reservations associated with cinema visits. The same year, ParkJockey became the official parking provider for the Miami HEAT Group, making advance parking available for basketball games, concerts, and other events. In 2015, the company announced a United Kingdom partnership with Ticketmaster. It also partnered with ResDiary, allowing restaurant customers to arrange parking through a dining-reservation journey, and with PayByPhone in an effort to combine complementary parking services. ParkJockey also undertook charitable activities. The supplied reference material states that it made financial contributions to the Little Dreams Foundation and The Gurkha Welfare Trust, and supported the It Gets Better Project during the 2015 Pride Week. These activities formed part of the company’s public-facing community engagement while it was expanding its commercial partnerships. By late 2018, ParkJockey had become a significant target for technology and real-estate investment. Reports published on December 3 said that SoftBank Group and Mubadala had acquired stakes. The reported investment was between $800 million and $1 billion, and the financing was associated with plans to acquire two of North America’s largest parking operators. Reports also placed ParkJockey’s valuation above $1 billion. The precise ownership structure and transaction terms are not established in the supplied material, so the figures should be treated as reported estimates rather than audited company disclosures. In June 2019, ParkJockey was relaunched under the name REEF Technology. The change marked a transition from a parking-focused brand to a wider urban infrastructure platform. ParkJockey therefore represents the company’s original consumer parking and parking-operations identity, while REEF Technology became the successor brand through which the business continued.

1. 2019Relaunch as REEF Technology

   The company changed its name and relaunched as REEF Technology in June.

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2. 2018Reported strategic investment

   SoftBank Group and Mubadala were reported to have invested between $800 million and $1 billion to support expansion and planned parking-operator acquisitions.

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3. 2014United Kingdom expansion

   ParkJockey opened a London office to serve the United Kingdom market.

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4. 2014Miami HEAT Group parking partnership

   ParkJockey became the official parking provider for Miami HEAT Group events.

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5. 2013Company founded and service launched

   ParkJockey was co-founded by two former management consultants, raised $1.8 million in angel investment, and launched a website and mobile service for paying for and reserving off-street parking.

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A parking technology and real-estate software platform connecting drivers, parking operators, landlords, venues, and reservation partners through digital booking, payment, operational management, and data tools.

• ParkJockey consumer mobile appConsumer parking application2013

  ParkJockey’s consumer application helped drivers locate, reserve, and pay for off-street parking. It was designed to reduce uncertainty around space availability and payment, and could be connected to parking opportunities offered through event, cinema, restaurant, and other reservation partners.

• Parking management platformEnterprise parking software

  The company expanded into business-to-business software for landlords, commercial property owners, and parking operators. The platform supported the administration and optimization of parking operations, combining reservation capabilities with operational software and data services.

• Parking payment and access hardwareParking hardware

  ParkJockey sold payment hardware alongside its software platform. The hardware formed part of an integrated operating system for parking facilities, enabling commercial customers to manage payment and related parking workflows.

• 2015Pride Week support for the It Gets Better Project

  United States

  ParkJockey supported the It Gets Better Project during its 2015 Pride Week activities.

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• Community contributions

  United States · United Kingdom

  The company made financial contributions to Phil Collins’ Little Dreams Foundation and The Gurkha Welfare Trust.

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• 2019Rebrand and relaunch as REEF TechnologyStrategy

  ParkJockey had developed from a consumer parking reservation service into a broader business-to-business platform serving parking and commercial real-estate stakeholders.

  What changed. The company changed its name and relaunched under the REEF Technology brand in June 2019.

  Aftermath. ParkJockey ceased to operate as the company’s standalone brand, while the broader business continued under REEF Technology.

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• 2018Use investment to pursue parking-operator acquisitionsM&A

  Reports said the SoftBank Group and Mubadala investment was intended in part to finance the purchase of two of North America’s largest parking operators.

  What changed. ParkJockey sought to use newly available capital to expand from parking software and reservations into ownership or control of larger parking operations.

  Aftermath. The reported investment was followed by the company’s 2019 relaunch as REEF Technology.

  Reported investment. $800 million-$1 billion (2018)

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• 2019ParkJockey relaunched as REEF Technology

  ParkJockey changed its name and relaunched as REEF Technology, ending the ParkJockey brand’s standalone operating period.

  Product generation
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• 2018SoftBank Group and Mubadala reported to invest in ParkJockey

  Reports said SoftBank Group and Mubadala had invested approximately $800 million to $1 billion in ParkJockey, primarily to finance parking-operator acquisitions, with the company valued above $1 billion.

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• 2015ParkJockey announces Ticketmaster partnership

  ParkJockey announced an exclusive United Kingdom partnership with Ticketmaster intended to connect parking reservations with event ticket sales.

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• 2015ParkJockey forms partnerships with PayByPhone and ResDiary

  ParkJockey announced collaborations with PayByPhone and restaurant-reservation platform ResDiary to broaden parking payment and reservation access.

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• 2014ParkJockey partners with Odeon Cinemas

  ParkJockey partnered with Odeon Cinemas to allow cinema customers to reserve parking together with their cinema visit.

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• 2014ParkJockey becomes official parking provider for the Miami HEAT Group

  The company began providing advance parking for Miami HEAT games, concerts, and other events at the team’s arena.

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1. Parkjockey