More than 20,000 electric scooters belonging to Superpedestrian will be auctioned off later this month, along with other equipment from the startup’s U.S. operations, after closing its doors December 31.
Two “global online auction” listings have appeared on the website of Silicon Valley Disposition, an online market for “surplus assets,” which will feature scooters and other paraphernalia from cities Superpedestrian operated in, like Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City.
The first auction opens January 23, and will run for three days.
A successive auction is set to run from January 29-January 31.
Though it raised $125 million less than two years ago, the company struggled financially in 2023 as it operated its shared scooter fleets in dozens of cities around the globe.
Bird has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, capping off a turbulent year for the electric scooter company.
This decline led the NYSE to issue a warning that Bird’s share price was too low.
Separately, Bird also announced a round of layoffs shortly after buying rival Spin for $19 million.
Chapter 11A Chapter 11 bankruptcy will enable Bird to restructure its financials without disrupting day-to-day operations, with Apollo Global Management division MidCap Financial among existing lenders providing $25 million in financing through the bankruptcy proceedings.
And in Europe, dockless scooter startup Tier recently laid off 22% of its workforce, which followed Dutch e-bike startup VanMoof’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Superpedestrian, the e-scooter startup known for its self-diagnostic software, is shutting down its U.S.-based shared scooter operation and exploring a sale of its European business, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.
The company’s director of US operations, Alexander Berg, confirmed the news to his team Friday afternoon on a Zoom call.
Superpedestrian itself has gone through a series of layoffs, including one just months after closing its Series C round.
Superpedestrian used technology, and specifically diagnostic and safety software, to differentiate it from rivals like Bird and Tier.
Superpedestrian had planned to build and roll out new scooters equipped with its branded Pedestrian Defense to 25 cities across the United States and Europe in 2022.
At CES 2023 in Las Vegas, hidden among the thousands of dazzling displays and exhibits was the upgraded 2023 Bugatti electric scooter. It was the kind of thing that could…
