Bird, the $2B startup that foot-pushed its way to the front of the scooter-corn stampede, announced yesterday that it’s now designing its own 2-wheeler, the Bird Zero.
CEO Travis VanderZanden hopes new wheels will keep Bird up in the air despite its regulatory roller coaster…
But, Uber’s hot on its tail
Just last month, Uber rolled out its JUMP scooters in Santa Monica (Bird’s hometown).
Uber has another huge advantage over smaller, scooter-first companies: As VC Sunil Paul reminded us all in his rant earlier this year, Uber already dominates demand with a network of 41m+ riders.
But this is just the semis
Lime, Bird, and Spin all launched with the same scooter supplier, Ninebot. But now Bird’s trying to take control of supply to gain an edge (the Bird Zero holds 60% more battery than old models).
But all of Bird’s competitors had the same idea: Lime partnered with Segway to produce scooters, and Spin also has DIY plans. Meanwhile, Lyft and Uber are working to get their massive user bases out on 2 wheels.
While scooter startups (Bird, Lime, Spin) struggle for supply superiority, ride-share giants (Lyft, Uber) duke it out for demand dominance — and the winners will have to go head-to-head in the final scooter showdown.