Oosto bought for $125M, far less than $352M raised but 6x annual revenues

Israeli real-time facial recognition company Oosto has been acquired by AI-based parking lot operator Metropolis for US$125 million.

The figure represents not even a third of the $352 million that the startup had raised from investors, which include SoftBank, Qualcomm, Bosch, Lightspeed, DFJ and Eldridge Industries, according to Cruchbase numbers.

The price tag is likely the result of several factors, including Oosto’s previous controversies with surveillance technology, geopolitical scrutiny towards Israeli startups and the firm’s failure to commercialize its technology. The company currently employs a few dozen workers, down from over 200 at its peak, according to Calcalistech.

Oosto’s main products are in the public safety industry, including real-time AI facial recognition monitoring of existing security camera feeds, automated watchlist alerting, contactless access control and surveillance.

According to a Techcrunch report on the sale, Oosto was making around $20 million in annual revenues.

The acquisition comes after several turbulent years for the Tel Aviv-based startup which rebranded from AnyVision in 2021. The company attracted controversy in 2019 when a media report alleged that its technology was used by the Israeli government to surveil Palestinians in the West Bank. The optics were worsened by the discovery of AnyVision’s deals in Russia and Hong Kong. Microsoft divested its stake from the firm despite an audit clearing the firm from its involvement in West Bank surveillance. The startup also lost other key investors.

Since then, the company has committed to “ethical facial recognition,” launching initiatives on AI ethics compliance. In 2023, however, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) ended its relationship with the then-named Oosto for undisclosed reasons.

In 2023, it branched out its flagship Vision AI software from embedded apps in edge devices to edge-to-cloud algorithms. That year, the company also axed 10 of its 95 employees.

Oosto’s deal with Metropolis was likely orchestrated by Oosto and Metropolis shareholder Eldridge Industries. The U.S.-based AI parking platform is used in 4,000 locations and is reportedly in the process of fundraising. CEO Avi Golan and CTO Dieter Joecker are expected to take senior roles at Metropolis. As part of the transaction, Oosto’s investors will receive Series D stock, per media reports.

Among Oosto’s clients were Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, Ford, Verizon and Macy’s.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Metropolis  |  Oosto  |  real-time biometrics