Case Study: Akippa achieves rapid scaling to 20,000+ parking spaces and fast launch with Google Cloud Platform

Akippa helping drivers in Japan find, reserve and share available parking spots near their destinations

akippa is an Osaka-based startup (founded 2014) that built a peer-to-peer “Airbnb for parking” to help drivers in Japan’s congested cities find and reserve nearby parking. With more than 76 million cars in the country, akippa connects owners of unused monthly or private spaces with drivers; the service now serves roughly 700,000 users and lists over 20,000 parking spaces, and has an alliance with Toyota.

Using Google Maps Platform and the Maps SDKs for iOS/Android, akippa launched its service in just 3–4 months and added Street View to help drivers locate spots that lack clear signage. The implementation scaled smoothly to support rapid growth with no service interruptions, improved ease of use, and enabled plans for overseas expansion and partnerships with car-rental and car-sharing services.

Akippa

Yasuhiro Hirota

Chief Marketing Officer