SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 5, 2014) - ZIRX, the leading on-demand valet parking service, today announced it has closed $6.4M in Series A financing jointly led by Norwest Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures. In conjunction with the financing, Ajay Chopra from Trinity Ventures and Sergio Monsalve from Norwest Venture Partners have been named new board members. ZIRX, which is already transforming the San Francisco parking experience, plans to use the increased funds to expand services to additional cities throughout the United States.
Every year San Franciscans spend $700M on parking. Each day, many spend at least 15-20 minutes searching and paying for parking, then walking to their final destinations, which are often many blocks away. ZIRX provides an alternative to the traditional urban parking experience, which is based on an archaic model rife with inefficiency, stress, frustration and expense. A growing number of customers living in and around San Francisco have successfully used ZIRX, which delivers a secure, convenient and fast on-demand valet parking experience.
Using the ZIRX app, a customer can choose a location from a map and is then sent the name and photo of a vetted and trained ZIRX agent who meets the customer within 5-7 minutes. The agent provides a security code and parks the customer's car in a secure, managed storage facility. When desired, the customer uses the ZIRX app to contact the ZIRX agent, who returns the car to any desired location. The complete experience costs $15 per use or $275 for a monthly subscription and is fully insured for up to $2M.
"Parking is a perennial problem for anyone with a car in an urban market, and ZIRX is the first company to offer a technical solution that fosters secure, low-cost and easy valet parking," said Sean Behr, veteran of Shopping.com, eBay, Adap.tv and CEO/Co-founder of ZIRX. "ZIRX is changing how people park their cars, and this round of funding boosts our ability to aggressively expand our engineering and go-to-market teams beyond San Francisco."
"For years, NVP has seen and fostered the mobile disruption of large industries and the growth of marketplace businesses," said Sergio Monsalve, Partner at Norwest Venture Partners. "In ZIRX, we found an amazing team focused on disrupting parking by combining mobile technology, real-world customer delight and powerful marketplace dynamics. Before we invested, we were customers. The service is addictive; ZIRX changes the game."
"ZIRX is pioneering an on-demand valet parking service that takes aim at the $18B U.S. commercial parking industry by providing drivers with an Uber-like experience through the power of their smartphones," said Ajay Chopra, General Partner at Trinity Ventures. "Sean and his team have the tech and operational chops needed to make a logistically-complex business run smoothly and deliver exceptional service to their customers. We could not be happier to be partnering with ZIRX, along with our friends at Norwest Venture Partners, to transform the way people think about parking."
For more on ZIRX, please read Ajay's blog post at: www.trinityventures.com/zirx-making-parking-uber-good.
What Customers Are Saying About ZIRX:
William Henpenn, Wine Sales Leader at Henpenn Farms, Napa, CA
"There's no better way to park. I've used ZIRX several times already and won't park any other way in San Francisco. Whether I am coming to San Francisco for a dinner party, a Giants game or to meet prospective clients, ZIRX is always on time and always convenient."
Jane Lively, Wings Team Member at Red Bull SFO and Student, San Francisco, CA
"ZIRX is the only way I park in SoMA. Now when I come to work, I don't worry about the hassle of searching for parking. I trust each agent when they take the keys, and my car is always returned just as I left it."
Bridget Gleason, Vice President, Sales at Yesware, San Francisco, CA
"At first I was suspect about on-demand valet parking, but once I tried it -- there's no way to go back. I also love the friendly ZIRX agents and the bottle of water I get when they return my car."
About ZIRX
ZIRX is the leading on-demand valet parking service. Using the ZIRX app, customers choose drop-off locations and ZIRX agents meet them and park the cars in secure storage facilities. When desired, ZIRX agents return the cars to any desired location. All ZIRX agents are vetted and trained and the complete experience is fully insured. Customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area have used ZIRX to transform the experience of parking.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, ZIRX was founded by in 2014 by Internet veterans who have built marketplace businesses in e-commerce and advertising. The company is funded by Norwest Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures.
About Trinity Ventures
Trinity Ventures is a boutique, early stage venture capital firm dedicated to partnering with passionate entrepreneurs to transform revolutionary ideas into reality. With over $1 billion under management, Trinity focuses on early stage and seed technology investments with particular emphasis on Digital Media, Social and Mobile Commerce, Cloud/Mobile Infrastructure and Software-as-a-Service. Trinity Ventures has invested in more than 100 ventures, including such leading companies as 21Vianet, Affinity Labs, Aruba Networks, BeachMint, Bix, Blue Nile, Crescendo Communications, Extreme Networks, Forte Software, Infoblox, IntruVertNetworks, KIXEYE, LoopNet, Modulus Video, Network Alchemy, Photobucket, SciQuest, Speedera Networks, Starbucks, SygateTechnologies, Trion Worlds, Wall Data, and Zulily.
About Norwest Venture Partners
Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a global, multi-stage venture capital and growth equity investment firm that has partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 50 years. The firm manages approximately $5 billion in capital and has funded more than 550 companies since inception. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., NVP has subsidiaries in Mumbai and Bengaluru, India and Herzelia, Israel. NVP makes early to late-stage venture and growth equity investments across a wide range of sectors including: technology, information services, business services, financial services, consumer products/services and healthcare.
