Bird Acquires Micromobility Leader, Circ, Bolstering Middle East Business
Bird, the leader in micromobility, and Berlin based Circ, the leader in European and Middle East micromobility, announced Bird acquired Circ. The combined company will result in Bird adding more than 300 employees to its European and Middle East operations to provide streamlined, sustainable, and safe operations for cities looking to reduce carbon emissions and congestion. Bird today also announced a $75 million extension to its Series D funding round, bringing the size of the round to $350 million.
Leading European and Middle East Company Joins Bird
Circ is a leading shared e-scooter company in Europe and the Middle East. With operations spanning across 43 cities in 12 countries, Circ has brought world-class city-centric solutions and customer service to millions of riders. Circ was the first licensed micromobility operator to launch in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi in July 2019 and has completed over 500,000 km of rides in the region since then. Together, Bird and Circ will make it easier for cities to manage micromobility programs while continuing to scale and increase the reliability of its service to the tens of millions of people who have embraced shared e-scooters as a new form of sustainable and efficient transportation. Investors joining Bird’s existing investors as part of the combined company include Target Global, Team Europe, Idinvest Partners, and Signals Venture Capital.
“I founded Bird nearly three years ago because we need to change the status quo and take a transformative stance to combat the traffic and pollution that affect our cities and endanger people globally,” said Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Bird. “To further advance our mission, we’re excited to acquire Circ which is the clear European and Middle East leader. We like their laser focus on treating cities as their number 1 customer and their mindset of prioritizing profitability over growth.”
Jaideep Dhanoa, Co-Founder and CEO, Circ MENA added “We are thrilled to join a global leader in Bird that shares our vision and mission to create more livable and sustainable cities. We look forward to servicing our cities in more ways with continued investments in the Middle East region, leveraging the increased resources and experience of our combined companies. Together we remain committed to delivering a service localized for the needs of the Middle East market.”
Bird Increases Series D to Meet Investor Demand
Just three months after announcing an initial $275 million Series D investment led by CDPQ and Sequoia Capital, Bird is increasing the round to $350 million. Due to demand, the series remained open providing investors the opportunity to become part of Bird’s global micro-mobility mission. Capital from the investment will be used to make rapid progress on the company’s path to profitability, to increase its vehicle development and research initiatives, and to support European expansion plans.
“Investors today are looking for financially disciplined companies with a clear path to profitability,” said Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Bird. “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.”
