Bird Global Inc. reported a swing to first-quarter profits from a loss in the year-earlier period as the e-scooter company boosted its revenue by 48%.
Bird (NYSE: BRDS) posted net income of $10.4 million in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $76.2 million in the first quarter last year. Revenue rose to $38 million from $25.7 million a year ago, exceeding company expectations.
“The results were driven by continued demand recovery into the end of the period and a strong foundation of leading technology and Fleet Manager operating model efficiencies,” Bird founder and CEO Travis VanderZanden said in a statement.
However, VanderZanden added that the company would continue to grow profits by streamlining and consolidating its resources, including the slowing of vehicle sales.
“Looking forward, we are taking action to accelerate our path to profitability and positive cash flow generation while maintaining market leadership through a plan to streamline our operations,” VanderZanden said. “Included in this plan are decisions to slow the expansion of our Product Sales portfolio offering and to realign our resources to prioritize Sharing operations within our existing regions.”
Bird said it expects to grow revenue by about 50% to between $275 million and $325 million for 2022.
In other L.A.-area tech news:
- Greater Good Health, a health care company centered around nurse practitioners, has secured $10 million in a funding round led by LRVHealth, with participation from Martin Ventures, Health Velocity Capital, returning investor Optum Ventures and additional angel investors and healthcare experts. The round adds to $3 million raised in previously undisclosed seed funding, for a total of $13 million raised since its inception last year. TYhr Manhattan Beach-based startup connects nurse practitioners with training, technology tools, clinical resources and professional development. The digital platform also helps improve scheduling and access to clinical resources.
- Travel insurance startup Faye has raised $8 million in seed funding, led by Viola Ventures and F2 Venture Capital, with participation from Portage Ventures, Global Founders Capital and former NBA player Omri Casspi. The raise comes on the heels of the company exiting stealth mode last month. Faye says its users can insure travelers' trips, health, belongings, and even pets via an app that sends real-time alerts, enables users to file claims and pay for approved claims with electronic transfers.
- Social shopping platform Prismpop has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Female Founders Fund. Also participating were Foundation Capital, Revolution Capital, Plum Ventures, Mucker Capital and Uphonest Capital. Pasadena-based Prismpop was incubated by Mucker Capital and headed by founder and CEO Peggie Li, a Bytedance alum.
- Wavemaker Labs, a business and product development incubator that launched Miso Robotics, has launched Wing Zone Labs in collaboration with fast-casual restaurant brand Wing Zone. Wing Zone Labs is a new franchisee that will focus on helping Wing Zone restaurants develop technology, including end-to-end automation. Wing Zone Labs has exclusive rights to the Southern California region covering Los Angeles and has signed a development agreement to open 20 Wing Zone stores in the region. The company is aiming to raise up to $10 million in seed capital via equity crowdfunding site WAX.
- Digital healthcare platform GoodRX (Nasdaq: GDRX) has named former Uber executive Raj Beri as the company’s first chief operating officer. Beri has more than 20 years of experience in business operations and was Uber’s vice president of grocery and new verticals, overseeing the company’s non-restaurant and last-mile delivery businesses. In addition, Mark Hulll, a former senior product executive at Meta and LinkedIn, has been named to the new role of chief product officer. The company also named Vina Leite as chief people officer and Scott Paul as senior vice president of healthcare and consumer innovation. Andrew Slutsky will transition to a new role as senior vice president of strategy and marketing innovation.
