Bird, a US-based e-scooter rental service backed by real estate developer Simon Property Group, is raising an additional $300m to expand its series C round to $600m, Axios reported yesterday.
The extension is being led by financial services and investment group Fidelity and will maintain Bird’s current valuation of $2bn.
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital led the round’s $300m second close in June 2018, investing with Accel, B Capital, CRV, Sound Ventures, Greycroft, Craft Ventures, Index Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Goldcrest Capital, Tusk Ventures and Upfront Ventures.
Founded in 2017, Bird runs a service that enables users to book an electric scooter through an app that can be left their destination once they finished, without returning the bike to a station.
The service was present in roughly 100 cities as of September 2018, when it exceeded 10 million rides. Bird’s chief rival is Lime, which was reportedly valued at $1.1bn as of a $335m round in July 2018 that included Fidelity as well as internet and technology group Alphabet and ride hailing platform Uber.
Bird had raised $100m in a March 2018 series B round co-led by Valor Equity Partners and Index Ventures, after securing $15m in a series A round led by Craft Ventures and backed by Valor, Tusk Ventures, Lead Edge Capital and Goldcrest the month before.
Simon’s retail-focused corporate venturing unit, Simon Ventures, lists Bird in its portfolio but has not been mentioned as a participant in any specific rounds.
