Location: AI vision startup Metropolis is buying Oosto (formerly AnyVision) for just $125M.

The excitement surrounding all things AI isn’t lifting all boats: some startups are still struggling and looking for alternatives. In one of the latest developments, TechCrunch has heard from a reliable source that The cityAI-controlled parking, shopping Buy itthe controversial computer vision company formerly known as AnyVision. A source tells TechCrunch that the deal is worth $125 million — a third of the $380 million the startup has raised from investors over the years — and is likely a significant portion of its valuation.

Metropolis’ purchase of Oosto for $125 million is also being reported Israel Press. Last week, Globes announced that Oosto was for sale. We understand that the two companies were already working together prior to this deal, and that a large part of the deal involved shares. We’ve reached out to Metropolis and Oosto for more information and will update this as we learn more.

Once completed, the sale will mark a tumultuous few years for Oosto.

Like AnyVision, the company was one of the most advanced computer systems used in conflict management. For many years, there was reports reveal which organizations quietly use its technology and how they do so The government of Israel he filmed it to spy on the Palestinians; other reports are illuminating on the amount of data the company was able to collect. The bad publicity caused the company dump Microsoft as Investor Strategic Investigative, even some investors were willing to double down. In 2021, AnyVision, which established itself as a leading AI company, raised a total of $235 million led by SoftBank and Eldridge. The company’s other partners include Lightspeed and Qualcomm, at More about PitchBook.

A few months after SoftBank’s big upgrade, AnyVision he was transferred to Oosto and it looked to expand into more business areas when it formed a research partnership with Carnegie Mellon. But it seems that the problems continued, with job hopping and Oosto being separated from the university. Today’s report in Calcalist said that it does not make more than $10 million a year.

It is worth wondering if some of Oosto’s problems were perhaps just a matter of time. The past few years have seen significant changes in the political landscape; AI entering the human domain; and the new wave of AI companies like Anduril and Helsing that seem to be going through a lot of military construction, defense and (more and more) “resilience” technology.

Would AnyVision (or Oosto) seem as controversial today as it did five years ago? Regardless, the rise and fall of Oosto can be seen as a memento mori for the new wave of AI companies that are being supported today with high hopes, but perhaps not much money (let alone profit).

This brings us to Metropolis. It, too, focuses on computer vision, but its focus is the operative word here: its main goal is to build an AI parking system, to track vehicles when they enter or leave a space and charge accordingly. In 2023, Metropolis earned $1.7 billion of money and other expenses, most of which was used to make $1.5 to acquire another parking technology specialist called SP Plus. Whether it will use Oosto to continue building the business, or expand into more channels and other services, remains to be seen.

“Intellectually this purchase makes perfect sense,” Avihai Michaeli, a Tel Aviv-based banking consultant, told TechCrunch. “Metropolis and Oosto (formerly known as AnyVision Tech) are active participants in the AI-powered computing and security space, with software that supports urban management, public safety, and automation. Both companies focus on advanced technology to create a safer, smarter, and better environment using artificial intelligence and data analysis.” which would also work here.