Bird Global
Bird Global, Inc., is a micromobility company based in Miami, Florida. Founded in September 2017, Bird has distributed electric scooters designed for short-term rental to over 350 cities. In April 2024, it was acquired by Third Lane Mobility to avoid bankruptcy.
 | This article needs to be updated. (January 2026) |
 | |
 Bird Global scooter and bicycle at riverfront, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. May 30, 2025 | |
| Company type | Private (2017-2021; 2024-present) Public (2021-2024) |
|---|---|
| OTC Pink: BRDSQ (2023-2024) NYSE: BRDS (2021-2023) | |
| Industry | Dockless electric scooter sharing |
| Founded | September 1, 2017 in Santa Monica, California, United States |
| Founder | Travis VanderZanden |
| Headquarters | 392 NE 191st Street #20388 Miami, FL 33179, U.S. (25.950170, -80.193167) |
Area served |
|
| Revenue |  US$205 million (2021) |
 US$−220 million (2021) | |
| US$−196 million (2021) | |
| Total assets | US$597 million (2021) |
| Total equity | US$321 million (2021) |
Number of employees | 302 (December 2022) |
| Parent | Third Lane Mobility Inc. |
| Subsidiaries | Scoot |
| Website | bird.co |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Bird Global, Inc., is a micromobility company based in Miami, Florida.[1]: 43 Founded in September 2017, Bird has distributed electric scooters designed for short-term rental to over 350 cities.[1]: 9 [2] In April 2024, it was acquired by Third Lane Mobility to avoid bankruptcy.[3]
History
[edit]Bird was founded in September 2017 by Travis VanderZanden, formerly an executive at Lyft and at Uber. It had its Series A round of funding in February 2018, raising $15 million led by Craft Ventures; this was followed by a Series B round in March for $100 million, led by Index Ventures and Valor Equity Partners, and a venture round in May for $150 million from Sequoia Capital,[4] becoming the fastest company to ever reach the $1 billion "unicorn" valuation.[5] In June 2018, Bird raised an additional $300 million, valuing the company at $2 billion.[6]
In September 2018, Bird claimed 10 million rides.[7]
In October 2018, Bird announced its Bird Zero vehicle. The Bird Zero was designed for ride sharing with "more battery life for longer range, better lighting for increased visibility, and enhanced durability for a longer life-span."[8]
In November 2018, Bird released the Bird Platform, a program based on the company's mobile app and Bird Zero vehicles that allowed independent operators to use Bird's infrastructure to run their own fleet of shared, branded electric scooters.[9]
In January 2019 Axios reported that Bird was raising $300 million in new funding led by Fidelity as an extension of its C funding round.[10]
On June 12, 2019, Scoot Networks was acquired for an undisclosed value as a wholly owned subsidiary of Bird.[11][12][13] The deal was expected to be valued at around $25 million in a combination of cash and stock. The acquisition was to allow Bird to operate shared electric scooters in San Francisco.
In November 2019, Bird launched the "Helmet Selfie" safety feature to incentivize riders into wearing helmets when using Bird vehicles.[14] Users can submit a self-portrait photo of themselves wearing a helmet through the app, and receive future ride credits.[15][16]
Bird initially responded to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic by increasing cleaning and sanitizing efforts in March 2020.[17] Later that month, Bird scaled down operations (reportedly even suspending them within all markets), and terminated around 40% of its then about 1060 employees in a group Zoom meeting.[18] The company halted operations in six US cities (San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Portland, Miami, and Coral Gables), as well as European markets, including Annecy, Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Krakow, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Munich, Paris, Rimini, Sevilla, Stockholm, Torino, Verona, and Vienna.[19]
In September 2023, Bird acquired San Francisco-based competitor Spin from TIER for $19 million.[20] Bird was also forced to delist from the New York Stock Exchange during this month due to its low stock price, having a total market capitalization of only $7 million.[21]
In December 2023, Bird filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. Its Canadian and European activities are not part of the bankruptcy. The company has plans to restructure and sell some of its assets to some of its existing lenders.[22]
In 2024, Bird avoided the bankruptcy and restructured under a new parent company, Third Lane Mobility. The company is adopting a more sustainable approach by focusing on regulator-friendly operations and limiting its fleet size to avoid past expansion issues.[3]
User collaborations
[edit]Chargers
[edit]Bird scooters are charged by gig workers, private contractors who sign up to become Chargers. The company sends approved Chargers charging equipment and pays them to charge scooters overnight then place them at designated "nests" throughout the company's service area in the morning. Charging can become competitive, with Chargers in some markets using vans and other creative means to pick up scooters all over the city.[23]
Controversies
[edit]
Putting franchisees into debt
[edit]When Bird began marketing its franchise opportunities to operations staff and fleet managers, it ended up putting some workers $40,000 in debt. The franchisees do not own the scooters they obtain from Bird and are liable for repayments even when scooters are lost or stolen.[citation needed]
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
[edit]Scooters were initially banned in Milwaukee when Bird Rides Inc. started their scooter business without government permission. Wisconsin's Governor Tony Evers signed a bill on July 11, 2019, regulating scooters.[24] The Milwaukee Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett banned Bird Scooters from operating in the city and passed an ordinance giving law enforcement permission to impound scooters. They also sued the scooter company.[25]
In May 2019 Bird reached a settlement with the city of Milwaukee regarding the lawsuit.[26] The following August, Milwaukee's Department of Public Works announced it would allow Bird to operate in the city again.[27]
San Francisco, California
[edit]In September 2019, the city of San Francisco announced the four permit holders that would be able to operate. Operators were able to submit an application and the city down-selected based on several criteria, including safety. Bird, was one of the selected operators through its subsidiary Scoot.[28]
Seattle, Washington
[edit] | This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Seattle allowed scooters at some point since 2018. (December 2022) |
Seattle, Washington, has banned scooter shares, and city law currently bars the use of motorized foot scooters on sidewalks and bicycle lanes.[29] Mayor Jenny Durkan announced in May 2019 that her administration would soon begin crafting a pilot program for scooter sharing.[30]
Accidents and deaths
[edit]Bird electric scooters have been involved in some accidents and deaths.[31]
Overstating revenue
[edit]In November 2022, the company admitted to overstating the revenue it received from its shared electric scooters for more than two years. In an audit of financial statements, Bird found that it was recognizing unpaid customer rides from their preloaded "wallet" balances as revenue. The company pledged to correct its financial reports "as soon as practicable", and agreed that a broader review of its disclosure practices would be required.[32]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Bird Global, Inc. 2021 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". SEC.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 15, 2022.
- ^ Yakowicz, Will (December 10, 2018). "14 Months, 120 Cities, $2 Billion: There's Never Been a Company Like Bird. Is the World Ready?". Inc.com. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Blum, Sam (April 30, 2024). "Bird Flies Again From Bankruptcy With a New, Regulator-Friendly Strategy". Inc. Magazine.
- ^ Zaleski, Olivia (May 29, 2018). "Bird Races to Become the First Scooter Unicorn". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
- ^ "Bird is the fastest startup ever to reach a $1 billion valuation". Quartz. June 14, 2018.
- ^ "Scooter Startup Bird Doubles Valuation to $2 Billion in 4 Months". Inc.
- ^ "Bird Marks One Year Anniversary with 10 Millionth Environmentally-friendly Ride". Bird. September 20, 2018. Archived from the original on May 19, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ "Bird Unveils Bird Zero: Custom-Designed e-Scooter for Ridesharing 2.0". Bird. October 4, 2018. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ "14 Months, 120 Cities, $2 Billion: There's Never Been a Company Like Bird. Is the World Ready?". Inc. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ^ "Scoop: Bird raising $300 million in Fidelity-led round". Axios. January 9, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- ^ "Bird Acquires Scoot - Scoot to Operate as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Bird". Scoot. June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ^ Bhuiyan, Sam Dean, Johana (June 12, 2019). "Bird buys Scoot — and a back door into San Francisco's rental scooter market". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Bird Buys Competitor Scoot, Further Consolidating the Crowded Scooter-Rental Market". Fortune. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (November 19, 2019). "Bird will give you free scooter rides if you take a selfie while wearing a helmet". The Verge. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Small, Andrew (November 22, 2019). "Scooter Riders Hate Wearing Helmets. Maybe This Will Help". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ "This week in L.A. startup news: Bird wants to see your helmet selfies — and your kids on scooters". bizjournals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ "A Message To Our Riders". Bird · Enjoy the ride. March 12, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ "'It Felt Like a Black Mirror Episode' The Inside Account of How Bird Laid off 406 People in Two Minutes via a Zoom Webinar". dot.LA. April 2, 2020. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (March 20, 2020). "Electric scooter-sharing grinds to a halt in response to the COVID-19 pandemic". The Verge. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ Kokalitcheva, Kia (September 19, 2023). "Scooter consolidation continues with Bird's acquisition of Spin". Axios.
- ^ Griffith, Erin (December 7, 2023). "From Unicorns to Zombies: Tech Start-Ups Run Out of Time and Money". New York Times. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- ^ "Bird Electric Scooter Company Files for Bankruptcy After 2021 SPAC". The Wall Street Journal. December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ Heffernan, Erin (November 6, 2018). "Inside the scooter side hustle: Charging for Lime and Bird is a new cutthroat gig in St. Louis". Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ "Tony Evers signs bill regulating electric scooters". Capital Newspapers Inc. Associated Press, State Journal. July 11, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ Janzen, Clara. "City passes ordinance for Milwaukee to impound Bird motorized scooters - but will they?". bizjournals. American City Business Journals. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ "City of Milwaukee reaches settlement with scooter company Bird Rides". bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ "Bird scooters officially coming back to Milwaukee". bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- ^ "SF to allow 10,000 e-scooters citywide, raising fears of 'scooter-geddon part two'". The San Francisco Examiner. September 25, 2019.
- ^ "Seattle embraced dockless bike shares, but bans scooter ones. How come?". The Seattle Times. September 30, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ "Electric scooters are coming to Seattle, Mayor Jenny Durkan says". The Seattle Times. May 9, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ "List Of Electric Scooter Accidents And Deaths". Ranker. July 12, 2019.
- ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (November 14, 2022). "Bird overstated shared electric scooter revenue for two years". The Verge.