- General
- May 30, 2018
- 4 minutes read
Bird – Poised to be The first Scooter Unicorn
image credit : Bird Electric Scooter vehicle sharing company Bird which was founded by a former Uber and Lyft executive…
image credit : Bird
Electric Scooter vehicle sharing company Bird which was founded by a former Uber and Lyft executive has now been reported to be raising $150 million in a new round of funding to expand its services and fend off competition, A new round which will value the company at a huge $1 Billion making it the first electric scooter unicorn if it gets to close this funding round before its major competitor Lime who is also raising additional funds after raising a previous $132 million in funding.
It should also be noted that Bird has raised a previous total $115 million in funding and is currently operating in some cities where its electric scooters have been deployed, The company recently ordered a huge number of scooters from several manufacturers although there have been complaints from pedestrians that its scooters have obstructed roads and caused inconveniences for them, Anyway we expect that this is a problem Bird will fix soon using the best form of logistics.
Bird’s main competitor Lime is even projecting to raise a round three times more than Bird’s with various reports suggesting the company is seeking to raise a huge $500 million, A round which we’re pretty sure will come along with a Unicorn status given its investment status and not a majority acquisition round.
Bird will now have to compete with Lime and other new players including Jump which Uber acquired for a reported $200 million.
The Electric scooter sharing niche is one that’s expected to grow heavily in soon time just like the current explosion of ride-hailing services we have seen which is why many VC firms are betting on these companies with huge funds which will give them great capital to hire skilled engineers, acquire other players and rapidly expand its network of electric scooters which would boost revenues heavily.
This $150 million round is being led by Sequioa Capital and was first reported by Bloomberg News citing people close to the company which gave the information anonymously due to it being private for now.
Bird currently offers rides in the cities they operate in starting from a price of $1 and going up from there.
