Bird
Funding History
| Series C · 10/2020 | $3.0B |
|---|
About
Bird operates messaging infrastructure for developers and enterprises, offering APIs across SMS, voice, WhatsApp, and email rather than reselling capacity from other carriers.
- CEO
- Robert Vis
- Founded
- 2011
- Headquarters
- Amsterdam
- Employees
- ~165 (as of March 2026, down sharply from over 500 in 2024-2025 amid restructuring)
- Website
- bird.com
Overview
Bird (founded as MessageBird) is an Amsterdam-based cloud communications company that provides APIs for SMS, voice, WhatsApp, and email messaging, built on infrastructure it owns rather than licenses from telecom carriers. Founded in 2011, the company grew into one of the larger independent business-messaging platforms, raising a Series C round that valued it at $3.8 billion in 2021 and using part of that capital to acquire the email-intelligence platform SparkPost for $600 million. In February 2024 the company rebranded from MessageBird to Bird and sharply cut SMS pricing to compete more directly with Twilio, framing the move as an AI-driven efficiency push rather than a response to financial distress. That restructuring has come with real headcount reductions: roughly 90 roles were cut in 2024 around the rebrand, and about 120 more (close to a third of the workforce at the time) were cut in February 2025. The company remains privately held, with founder Robert Vis continuing as CEO.
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