E-scooter startups Lime, Bird raise millions in new funding

Bloomberg

Two electric scooter startups, fresh off raising hundreds of millions of dollars last year, are now raising hundreds of millions more, according to multiple people familiar with the details. But the latest hard-fought deal terms for Lime and Bird Rides Inc. both peg the companies’ worth at far less than the lofty valuations the startups once sought.
New funding rounds for Lime and Bird value the California-based companies at about $2 billion, said the people, all of whom asked not to be identified because the details are private. That’s down from the roughly $3 billion-or-higher valuations the companies were said to be chasing as recently as a few months ago.
Founded in 2017, Lime and Bird became two of the youngest startups ever to reach unicorn status, after interest in electric vehicles exploded last year. But as the new valuations attest, winter has finally come for scooter companies.
In recent months, as the weather has turned colder, wet and rainy conditions have deterred riders, forc-ing companies to reshuffle scooters to warmer climates. Cities have been limiting the number of scooters allowed on their streets. And competitors have flooded many markets — prompting investors to begin to question the companies’ ambitious financial targets.
Startups in the industry will also now increasingly find themselves up against Uber Technologies Inc, which is exploring introducing an electric moped pilot later this year, according to people familiar with the plans. The ride-hailing giant would follow startups like Scoot Networks, Scoobi LLC and Spain’s Sharing Muving, which already offer the vehicles in some cities. The advantages to the moped format over the scooter is that it’s faster and more useful for longer distances, but it also usually requires a license, and may feel riskier for some than the lighter-weight scooter.