The Vienna-based logistics startup byrd receives a six-figure investment from the Austrian VC fund Pioneers Ventures, KK Incube and Hermann Hauser Investment. The investors of this first funding round brought in €370,000 in total.
At the same time the byrd iOS app is now available for download in the App Store. The app aims to make shipping easier than ever.
Markus Lang, managing director of Pioneer Ventures stated: “In recent years logistics has developed more and more from a hygiene factor into a real asset. Speed, convenience and low prices are becoming increasingly important for individuals and businesses. This massively growing market in combination with a highly motivated, experienced and complementary founding team has completely convinced us.”
byrd was founded in 2016 and was part of the I²C TUW i²nkubator. The byrd app enables its private and business customers to ship items with one click. byrd sends a courier to pick up the items, then brings them to the warehouse for packaging and ships them at the best available rate. Customers don’t have to worry about standing in line at the post office and can ship items directly from their couch.
Co-founder and CEO Alexander Leichter, said: “I am very happy that we were able to convince these three top investors. They not only give us the financial resources for the launch in Vienna and the expansion into Germany, but also provide access to an incredible network. With their help we can profit from years of experience in logistics and venture capital.”
On the product side, byrd is also showing good progress. A few weeks after the start of the test phase for businesses the TUW i²nkubator startup is shipping a four-digit number of parcels per month.
Now the iOS app for private customers is available for download from the app store. In the initial launch phase the service is available in the inner districts of Vienna (1-9, 20), however the city-wide expansion and the expansion into other cities is already in progress.
Customers use the app to take a picture of the item they want to ship. For €4.90 per pickup, a byrd courier will come by their place, pick the item up and bring it to the warehouse where it will be packaged and shipped at the lowest available price.
The idea behind byrd was born when co-founder and CEO Alexander Leichter was trying to send a chandelier from Vienna to Hamburg.
“I had no idea how to package it and ship it. I did some research online but I couldn’t find a solution for the ‘first mile’ – the process of how an unpackaged item gets into the logistics cycle.” says Leichter.
This is where byrd comes into play: “With technology we want to bring the 250-year old process of shipping into 21st century, making it convenient so that our customers can focus on the important things in life.” concludes Leichter.
