Vend Park, a company focusing on unified technology and operations for commercial real estate parking, has successfully completed a $17.5 million Series A funding round. The financing will accelerate the firm’s expansion across major U.S. markets. It will also advance its AI-powered product development and resource hiring across key teams.

The funding round was led by Blue Heron Capital. It saw participation from Nuveen’s Real Asset Ventures, Communitas Capital, and John McMahon. Follow-on investments came from Derive Ventures, Floating Point, PagsGroup, Crossbeam, and other investors.

Vend replaces fragmented point solutions and outdated operators. It unifies AI with a professional operations team. This approach automates daily management and removes inefficiencies. It aims to unlock revenue currently trapped in legacy systems and operating processes. Owners using Vend typically report increases in Net Operating Income (NOI) of 30%. They also see reduced operating costs of 30–50%. The platform also delivers a seamless experience for tenants and visitors.

Michael Miele, CEO of Vend Park, explained the company’s mission. “Parking has been running inefficiently for years, built on a dual-vendor model that splits responsibilities between a traditional operator and a third-party technology provider. This setup creates high costs for real estate owners with significant inefficiencies like fragmented systems across access, billing, and reporting, and a poor experience that every driver can relate to,” he said. “Vend replaces that outdated structure with an AI-powered infrastructure that unifies technology and operations to drive NOI and deliver a seamless experience. With Nuveen as a new partner and this additional capital, we’re excited to scale into hundreds of premium properties nationwide.”

Vend has experienced rapid growth, achieving 35 times growth in just 24 months. It has expanded from 3 cities to 15. Its customer base now includes major commercial real estate owners such as Nuveen, Jamestown, Federal Realty, and Harwood International.

Brad Wilner, EVP at CBRE, who joins Vend’s board of directors, commented on the platform. “Vend is unlocking real value for real estate owners with a platform approach that blends operations and technology seamlessly,” he said. “This team is not just modernizing parking—they’re creating digital infrastructure for the built world.”

Leading investor Blue Heron Capital recognised the significant opportunity to modernise this overlooked segment. Kevin Musco, Vice President at Blue Heron Capital, stated: “The majority of parking assets across the country are still operating on outdated systems and legacy operating models that haven’t evolved in decades. Vend is uniquely positioned to revolutionize this space by delivering a unified, AI-powered platform that transforms parking into a strategic asset. We see enormous potential for Vend to capture market share and redefine what’s possible for owners and operators in this category.”

Jeanne Casey, Head of Real Asset Ventures at Nuveen, noted the platform’s ability to create value. “Our extensive research on the changing landscape of the parking industry revealed a sector undergoing a fundamental transformation from traditional labor-intensive operations toward digital solutions,” she confirmed. “Vend’s integrated technology and operations platform quickly proved it can drive significant value for real estate owners and capture market share. What differentiates Vend is their flexible approach to implementation, tailoring solutions to meet each property’s unique operational requirements and ensuring frictionless onboarding. Their approach makes it easy for us to work with them across a diverse set of assets.”