ParqEx, 'Airbnb of parking,' raises $1.2M led by Wisconsin investors

A concept similar to Airbnb -- but for parking spaces -- has more than $1.2 million in funding -- raised in a seed round.

The round was led by Venture Management Partners and Wisconsin Investment Partners, both of Madison, along with investment from startup accelerators Elmspring and gener8tor.

Similar to the way Airbnb lets home owners rent out their places, ParqEx is a marketplace where people, organizations and businesses can make money off their unused parking. The startup has also developed an IoT solution called Access+, which allows renters and approved users to open any garage door or gate with a click of a button on their smart phones.

ParqEx is different from Chicago's other parking startups SpotHero and ParkWhiz in that it connect users to private parking spaces, rather than public lots and decks.