Byrd, a Vienna-based e-commerce logistics company, hauled in $56m in series C funding from investors including financial services company Raiffeisen Bank International, another in a growing list of startups challenging Amazon’s next-day fulfilment network.
The round comes on the heels of e-commerce platform Shopify’s $2.1bn cash and stock acquisition of logistics services provider Deliverr, which is also meant to close the gap between Shopify and Amazon.
Founded in 2016, Byrd helps online sellers provide next-day delivery for customers, with a platform that co-ordinates orders with the inventory management in 30 warehouses across Europe. It already provides fulfilment for Amazon shoppers, but the company hopes to siphon off more sellers from Amazon’s own logistics network, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
The company said it would use the new capital to what it calls the largest connected and independent fulfilment network in Europe, with launches planned in Sweden, Poland and Denmark later this year. Its footprint already extends throughout France, the UK, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
Byrd also plans to add new features to its platform, invest in shop systems and management software and launch support for Amazon’s Seller Fulfilled Prime programme, which will give it access to merchants looking for alternatives to FBA.
Cambridge Capital led the round, which also included Speedinvest, Mouro Capital and unnamed existing investors. Raiffeisen Bank participated through its corporate venturing unit Elevator Ventures.
“E-commerce retailers are under ever more pressure from consumers to deliver as fast as possible, without charging for shipping. At the same time, the global supply chain crunch is putting increasing pressure on margins and creating significant delivery issues,” said Byrd co-founder and chief executive Alexander Leichter.
“This means retailers must look for scalable fulfilment services that cover their core markets globally. When we were approached by Cambridge Capital, we decided that it was the right time to combine our significant momentum in the last year with their expertise in tech-enabled logistics investments to speed up our growth plans.”
Mouro Capital led a $19m series B round in July last year with backing from Speedinvest, Verve Ventures, VentureFriends and Rider Global. Since the series B, Byrd claims it has doubled its customer base and tripled its warehouse capacity across Europe.
Rider Global previously led a $5.7m series A round a year earlier with participation from VentureFriends, FJ Labs and unnamed others. Speedinvest and Reflex Capital provided an undisclosed seven-figure seed round in late 2018.
Photo courtesy of Byrd
