MIAMI — Bird, the electric scooter rental company once valued at $2.5 billion, said Wednesday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida federal court.
The Miami-based company announced it has entered into an agreement that sets a floor on the value of the company with its existing lenders, and that it will use the bankruptcy proceedings to sell off assets. The company said it will operate as normal during the bankruptcy proceedings.
Bird launched in 2017 as electric scooters exploded in popularity, billed as convenient and environmentally friendly alternative to driving or using public transportation in cities. The concept attracted about $500 million in investments from prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners before becoming a publicly traded company in 2021. It was one of the fastest startups to become a so-called "unicorn" and reach a billion-dollar valuation.
But ridership plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic and never recovered, and the company has been financially troubled since. Bird went public in 2021 through a merger with a shell corporation, but its share price fell; the company warned investors of a cashflow shortage the same year. The New York Stock Exchange delisted the company in September.
Bird operates scooters in more than 350 cities. Bird Canada and Bird Europe will continue to operate as normal, according to a company press release.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
