Parking Guidance Systems Inc. (PGS) has acquired ParkZen, a parking software development company based in Baton Rouge, La. ParkZen was incubated within the Louisiana State University ecosystem and funded by its management team and a number of individual investors. Capital to support the acquisition was provided by the employees and board members of PGS.
PGS, powered by Indect GmbH’s ultrasonic and optical sensors, provides custom, technology-driven parking guidance solutions in parking structures serving a broad range of industries and has earned recognition for its efficient design, installation and support services. PGS has built a commercial relationship with ParkZen to create an integrated suite of software solutions, including a user-friendly smartphone application and an AI-driven management platform that seamlessly connects with Indect sensors, delivering real-time parking availability data and powerful predictive analytics that help operators maximize efficiency.
“After collaborating closely with ParkZen in recent years, we’re thrilled to welcome this innovative team. Their sophisticated AI-powered software solution perfectly complements the Indect hardware solution,” said Derek Frantz, CEO of PGS. “The intuitive customer dashboards and predictive analytics capabilities enhance our core offering, resulting in a comprehensive parking guidance ecosystem that provides unprecedented value to parking operators and end users alike.”
ParkZen has developed a sophisticated smartphone application utilizing intelligent crowdsourcing technology and proprietary algorithms to estimate real-time parking availability based on geofenced parking lots and user-generated data. ParkZen’s comprehensive platform also streamlines payment processing and offers unique permission management tools for owners and permit holders, creating a fully integrated parking management solution.
“Over the last few years, ParkZen has become an unofficial extension of PGS’ product offering as Derek would often refer ParkZen’s products to his customers,” said Manos Chatzopoulos, ParkZen’s CEO and co-founder. “This acquisition provides a substantial installed base of PGS and Indect customers to whom we can offer our innovative software. Furthermore, by becoming part of the PGS family, we expect to accelerate the customer feedback loop, allowing customer insights to flow directly into our product development for faster implementation of user-driven enhancements to our intelligent platform.”
