REEF Technology raises $700 million
REEF Technology, “the ecosystem that connects the world to your block,” announced a $700 million funding round led by Mubadala Investment Company’s financial investment arm, Mubadala Capital. SoftBank Vision Fund, funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., UBS Asset Management and Target Global also participated in the round. Additionally, and separately, REEF and Oaktree established Neighborhood Property Group, a $300 million joint infrastructure vehicle to acquire strategic real estate assets.
The story of REEF begins with ParkJockey, which provides hardware, software and management services for parking lots. In 2018, ParkJockey raised nearly a billion dollars in debt and equity from SoftBank Vision Fund, and acquired the two largest parking operators in North America, Impark and Citizens Parking. Now, REEF helps parking lot landlords monetize unused supply of parking for modern businesses, such as REEF Kitchens and EV charging stations.
The company is transforming its distributed real estate network of more than 4,500 parking lots and garages into Neighborhood Hubs, leveraging the power of proximity to connect people and neighborhoods to locally curated goods, services, and experiences. For example, REEF operates kitchen trailers on unused parking spaces, selling their own menu items on third-party delivery platforms in addition to partner brands like Rachel Ray’s virtual restaurant made exclusive on UberEats.
In addition to the food business, REEF has announced partnerships with DHL for micro-fulfillment and last-block e-cargo bike delivery, national COVID testing and pop-up clinics with Carbon Health and BioReference, and vertical urban farming with Crate to Plate.
“We are excited for this next stage of growth and are committed to continue learning, listening and working with our communities to reimagine urban real estate into localized and networked infrastructure that entrepreneurs and cities can use to deliver goods and services sustainably and directly to our neighborhoods. By working together, we can reimagine and rebuild our urban spaces for people, not just cars, and help our cities become more sustainable and inclusive centers of community and opportunity.” – Ari Ojalvo, CEO of REEF.
“Identifying entrepreneurs who create and leverage their businesses to first articulate a vision and then deliver on it is central to our investment approach. The concept of transforming infrastructure to better connect the origin of production with the destination of consumption resonated with us. REEF is strongly positioned to serve communities where they have key infrastructure, proving essential to food delivery, package delivery, grocery delivery and healthcare.” – Adib Mattar, the Head of Mubadala Capital’s Private Equity.
“As long-term investors who specialize in value-add transportation infrastructure, REEF fits our thesis that core parking facilities should be augmented with technology to transform these core assets into mobility infrastructure hubs. These alternative uses support communities with critical last block logistics solutions such as food delivery, micro-mobility, same-day parcel delivery, essential groceries and electric charging infrastructure.” – Josh Connor, Co-Portfolio Manager of Oaktree’s Infrastructure Investing Strategy and Chairman of Neighborhood Property Group.
“We believe REEF’s conversion of city parking lots into urban logistics hubs makes them much more useful than in their current form. As we have witnessed during the pandemic, proximity to the consumer is increasingly important in today’s economy. We’re excited about management’s vision of transforming and revitalizing the urban center, and are confident in REEF’s ability to execute.” – Ervin Tu, Managing Partner of Softbank Investment Advisers.
Bottom Line: REEF was covered in a Coverager report from February.
