Electric scooter startup Bird reportedly raises $150 million, making it the first $1 billion scooter startup

Bird

• Electric scooter startup Bird could be the newest unicorn startup.
• The company is raising $150 million led by Sequoia Capital, which values the startup at $1 billion, reports Bloomberg.

Electric scooter startup Bird is raising $150 million in a series C funding round led by Sequoia Capital, which will value the company at $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

A spokesperson for Bird declined to comment.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

The valuation will make Bird the first electric scooter unicorn, the term given to startups that are worth more than $1 billion. The company, which has aggressively put its scooters in cities around the country in recent months, has already raised $115 million - indeed, its most recent funding round was just announced in March.

Bird works by allowing users to reserve a nearby scooter via a smartphone app, ride around on it for a small fee, and, at the end of the journey, leave the scooter anywhere to be claimed by the next rider.

These so-called dockless scooter services have exploded in popularity, with a number of companies - including Lyft - looking to start their own scooter services. But Bird's aggressive expansion has been met with skepticism from city officials in San Francisco, Santa Monica, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina, who have sent the company cease and desist letters for launching the service with little-to-no notice.