Byrd pecks away at European expansion with $56M series C

E-commerce fulfillment solution Byrd announced Tuesday it raised $56 million in a series C fundraising round led by supply chain investment firm Cambridge Capital with participation from Speedinvest, Mouro Capital, Elevator Ventures and previous shareholders to continue expanding its European footprint.

“E-commerce retailers are under ever more pressure from consumers to deliver as fast as possible, without charging for shipping. At the same time, the global supply chain crunch is putting increasing pressure on margins and creating significant delivery issues. This means retailers must look for scalable fulfillment services that cover their core markets globally,” said Byrd CEO and co-founder Alexander Leichter.

“When we were approached by Cambridge Capital, we decided that it was the right time to combine our significant momentum in the last year with their expertise in tech-enabled logistics investments to speed up our growth plans,” Leichter said.

The Vienna-based company offers its merchants a next-day delivery network and over 4,800 square feet of warehouse space, backed by its proprietary software that integrates into popular e-commerce selling platforms like Shopify, Amazon, Billbee, Plentymarkets, Shopware and Woocommerce.

Byrd currently services the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, and with its new capital, the company plans to expand its delivery network and warehouse capabilities to Sweden, Denmark and Poland by the end of the year with an expected headcount of 400.

The company also plans to launch its Amazon’s Seller Fulfilled Prime program, giving Amazon sellers an alternative to using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) services, as it recently announced an added 5% fuel and inflation surcharge to offset rising costs.

Funding details	Byrd
Funding amount	$56 million
Funding round	Series C
Lead investor	Cambridge Capital
Secondary investors	Speedinvest, Mouro Capital, Elevator Ventures and previous shareholders
Business goals for the round	Expand delivery network, warehousing capabilities and local teams in Sweden, Denmark and Poland.
Total funding	$85.2 million*

*According to Pitchbook

“At Cambridge Capital, we look for outstanding supply chain companies that are establishing clear leadership in markets with tailwinds. We think Alex has built a terrific team. And e-commerce fulfillment is a market with tremendous tailwinds,” Ben Gordon, managing partner at Cambridge Capital, told FreightWaves at its The Future of Supply Chain conference in Rogers, Arkansas, on Tuesday.

“In the U.S., we’ve seen five fulfillment unicorns, including Deliverr, ShipBob, ShipMonk, Flexe and Stord. In Europe, nobody has emerged as the big winner yet. We think Byrd has the potential to become that leader,” Gordon continued.

As part of the series C raise, Matt Smalley, a principal at Cambridge Capital, will be joining Byrd’s board of directors as the company accelerates its growth across Europe.

“Byrd is one of the fastest-growing companies we have seen, at what we think are the strongest unit economics in the industry. We were convinced by their tech-driven approach and proprietary warehouse management software, which enables Byrd to run an asset-light fulfillment network. Byrd’s broad coverage of the European market, excellent customer momentum and strong satisfaction with both retailers and warehouse partners appealed to us right away,” said Smalley.