Bird, the US-based urban mobility service backed by real estate developer Simon Property Group, added $75m yesterday to a series D round that now totals $350m.
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) co-led the extension having also co-led the $275m first tranche in October 2019 at a reported $2.75bn valuation.
Founded in 2017, Bird runs an app-based service that allows users to rent electric bicycles and scooters. It points users to the nearest vehicle in the company’s fleet and they can be unlocked using a QR code on the app.
The funding was announced together with Bird’s acquisition of Circ, a Germany-based electric scooter developer that raised $62.7m from Target Global, Idinvest Partners, Signals Venture Capital and undisclosed angel investors in January 2019, when it was still known as Flash.
Travis VanderZanden, Bird’s founder and chief executive, said yesterday: “Investors today are looking for financially disciplined companies with a clear path to profitability.
“More than 12 months ago we shifted our focus from growth to profitability which put us in a position to deliver the strongest unit economics and longest-lasting custom-designed vehicles of any micro-mobility company today.”
Simon Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Simon Property, includes Bird as a portfolio company but has not revealed when it invested.
The company secured $15m in an early 2018 series A round featuring Craft Ventures, Tusk Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, Goldcrest Capital and Valor Equity Partners, adding $100m in a series B co-led by Valor and Index Ventures shortly afterwards.
Sequoia Capital led a $300m series C round for Bird in June 2018 that featured Valor Equity Partners, Craft Ventures, Tusk Ventures, Index Ventures, Goldcrest Capital, B Capital, Accel, Greycroft, E.ventures, CRV, Upfront Ventures and Sound Ventures at a reported $2bn valuation.
