VC Firm Greycroft Bets on Bird to Win the Scooter Wars
*By Jacqueline Corba*
Venture Capital firm Greycroft is betting on Bird to win the scooter wars.
"I think we've never seen something grow so quickly with such high engagement," Greycroft Founding Partner Dana Settle told Cheddar Friday. "We really believe this team has what it takes to become the global leader in this space."
This week Bird raised $300 million in funding, putting its total financing at $418 million. Its valuation is rumored to now be at $2 Billion, making it the fastest start-up to become a unicorn, [according to Quartz.] (https://qz.com/1317292/electric-scooter-startup-bird-confirms-it-raised-300-million-the-fastest-company-to-become-a-unicorn/) Greycroft participated in Bird's Series C funding round.
"With this funding, we can grow to meet this consumer demandーproviding an alternative to the short car rides that are clogging our city streets and communities," Bird Founder and CEO Travis VanderZanden said in a statement.
But this rise to stardom has not been without bumps along the way.
Earlier this month, [San Francisco pulled all the electric scooter start-up off its streets.] (https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-electric-scooter-craze) Bird as well as its competitors Lime and Spin were required to submit applications for permits in order to re-enter the market. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency told Cheddar it is trying to finalize its review of the applications in the next few weeks.
"They are figuring it out in the short term, and we respect that," said Greycroft Investor Teddy Citrin. "It's a completely new behavior."
While Bird is leading the pack in funding, others are trying to catch up.
Spin is raising a $125 million security token offering, [Axios reported Friday.] (https://www.axios.com/scooter-startup-spin-1530269856-4cc06fb9-f47f-451d-8675-cb5a4723d068.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=1100) This would provide a boost for the San Francisco based start-up which has only disclosed $8 million in funding.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-greycroft-says-bird-will-win-the-scooter-wars)
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