Soul Parking, an Indonesian startup focused on developing smart parking solutions for motorcycles, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding in a round led by AC Ventures and Agaeti Ventures, along with several strategic angel investors.
The startup provides locally produced compact motorcycle storage (CMS), which enables motorcycle parking to be more “secured, accountable, and comfortable.”
According to the company, there are around 120 million motorcycles in Indonesia, and around 15% of them are in Jakarta, making the capital one of the most congested cities in the world. Moreover, the number of motorcycles on the road continues to increase by 7% yearly, while the annual growth of road surface in the archipelago is less than 0.1%, based on data from the country’s statistics office.
“With an approximately 60-square meter plot of land, one CMS module can cater up to 240 motorcycles, essentially eight times more productive than conventional off-street parking,” Kenneth Darmansjah, chief financial officer at Soul Parking, said.
To ensure the security of parked vehicles, the startup deploys CCTV cameras and hires parking attendants as well. And since the CMS is 100% designed and made in Indonesia, it can be adjusted to fit the shape and size of each plot of land, the company said.
With the fresh capital, Soul Parking is looking to build 10 CMS modules this year. It currently has three units in its first location in Jakarta at Kebon Kacang area, where it claims thousands of motorcycles park every day.
Part of the new funds will also go toward the development of apps with parking discovery, booking, and payment features. Soul Parking plans to launch them by the end of this month.
Across Asia, there are other startups developing smart parking solutions to address traffic and parking issues in key cities. For example, Indian app Park+, which is being developed by a former Tokopedia exec, has recently raised US$11 million from Sequoia India and other investors ahead of its launch. There’s also Get My Parking, which operates in Indonesia as well.
