Facial recognition firm Oosto, formerly AnyVision, sold for $125M after raising $352M
Facial recognition firm Oosto, formerly AnyVision, sold for $125M after raising $352M
Controversy and market challenges brought the Israeli startup’s ambitions to a halt and resulted in a sale to parking lot company Metropolis.
Oosto, formerly AnyVision, has been sold for just $125 million to the American parking lot company Metropolis. Most of the transaction was conducted in Metropolis shares rather than cash. This represents a disappointing exit for a company that once generated significant interest and raised an impressive $352 million.
The company’s largest investors include SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, which invested $25 million and will recover its investment, as well as Qualcomm, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and others. The sale follows Oosto's failure to successfully commercialize its facial recognition technology, with its estimated annual revenue currently at just $10 million. The company, which is currently managed by Avi Golan—appointed by SoftBank—employs only a few dozen workers in Israel and abroad, down from over 200 at its peak.
The acquiring company, Metropolis, is a privately owned U.S.-based parking lot operator aiming to integrate advanced technologies into its payment processing systems. The deal appears to have been orchestrated by Eldridge Industries, a long-time investor in AnyVision and a shareholder in Metropolis. Until recently, Metropolis was itself a start-up, having raised an amount comparable to AnyVision. However, in late 2023, it made a significant move by acquiring a competitor for $1.7 billion, a deal financed under Eldridge's leadership. Today, Metropolis employs 20,000 people and operates approximately 4,000 parking facilities using its proprietary technology.
AnyVision was founded in 2015 by Professors Shlomo Ben-Artzi and Neil Robertson, along with Eylon Etshtein, to develop facial recognition technology for various applications. The company quickly gained attention, raising substantial funding, and achieved a valuation of $500 million during its Series A round in 2019. In 2021, the company raised $235 million in a Series C round led by SoftBank and Eldridge Industries, which at the time seemed to position it as a leader in the industry.
Despite its significant fundraising efforts, AnyVision struggled to overcome reputational damage following reports that its technology had been used for surveillance of Palestinians in the West Bank. Although the allegations were never substantiated, they led Microsoft’s investment arm, M12, to withdraw from the company. This controversy prompted the company to rebrand as Oosto. Over time, other key investors, such as the German conglomerate Bosch’s investment arm, also pulled out.
In recent years, Oosto attempted to shift its focus to the financial sector, securing contracts with major clients like Citibank. However, the company failed to generate significant revenue and repeatedly downsized its workforce. SoftBank appointed Avi Golan as CEO in an effort to turn the company around, but the current sale suggests even SoftBank concluded that Oosto could not sustain itself as an independent entity.
