Tencent leads $30m funding round in Chinese smart parking platform

China’s PP Parking, a smart parking platform operated by ChinaRoad, announced that it has secured 200 million yuan (US$29.8 million) in a strategic investment led by Chinese tech giant Tencent.

PP Parking CEO and founder Jian Li / Photo credit: PP Parking

Launched in 2013, PP Parking operates a software-as-a-service platform that provides features including smart car-parking management, real-time data sharing, and digital payments, among others.

In China, revenue in the mobility services segment is expected to reach US$380.7 billion by 2025, growing by a 24.2% annual growth rate from 2020 to 2025, according to Statista.

It’s often difficult for car owners to find parking slots due to a lack of transparent data at parking lots, said PP Parking CEO Jian Li. These days, however, owners can effectively locate slots, as the internet can now give them real-time data.

The company has formed partnerships with over 93% of parking equipment manufacturers in China and has served over 50 million car owners in the country, it claims.

In the future, it aims to connect all the parking lots in the country and build a parking data platform.

Prior to the latest investment, the company raised around 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million) in a series A funding round from Synergetic Innovation Fund Management in 2015.

Tencent’s archrival Alibaba also led a series B+ round in a smart parking startup TJD Parking in 2018.

Currency converted from Chinese yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.71 yuan.