이 기사는 2021년 09월 28일 08:01 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korean private equity (PE) firm Forest Partners has invested in American automated parking software developer zero5 in a bid to strengthen its mobility portfolio.

Forest Partners recently invested $2 million in zero5, industry sources said on Thursday. The PE firm reportedly decided to make an early stage investment to capitalize on the firm’s possibility of entering into the autonomous driving sector.

Founded in 2019, zero5 is a developer of automated parking software intended to connect available spots, drivers, and vehicles. The company's software collects, analyzes, and distributes on-demand real-time data accurately and transforms data into information, enabling customers to maximize their revenue by reducing operating costs and connecting their unused spots with customers who are looking for parking.

An automated parking services business is still in the early stage in the U.S. as license plates are different for each state, making automated machines difficult to recognize them. Zero5 successfully made its foray into the U.S. market by utilizing excellent domestic hardware and software. South Korea’s leading automated parking lot management companies include Parking Cloud and HiParking.

Zero5 aims to become an automated parking service operator in the era of autonomous driving. The company is developing technologies that enable automated parking using big data accumulated from parking lots.

Forest Partners decided to make the latest investment in a bid to preemptively invest in the self-driving car companies to build a portfolio and secure related data.

Prior to the latest investment, Forest Partners invested $80 million in Chinese driverless startup AutoX in June, which is backed by Alibaba Group Holding and Dongfeng Motor. The Chinese company expects large-scale commercialization of self-driving taxis and trucks in 2023.

Forest Partners plans to further increase its investment in mobility companies at home and abroad. (Reporting by Se-hun Jo)