Bird scooters roll into Paris, Tel Aviv

Head of France of US electric scooter-sharing service Bird Kenneth Schlenker (R) speaks with French Junior Minister for the Digital Sector Mounir Mahjoubi (L) during a presentation of the company's electric scooters in Paris on July 31, 2018. Bird will launch its sharing service in Paris on August 1, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / ERIC PIERMONT

SAN FRANCISCO: Scooter rental company Bird rolled into Europe on July 31, a month after the two-wheeled electric vehicle startup was valued at US$2bil (RM8.12bil) in its latest funding round.

Bird announced its foray into Paris, followed by a launch in Tel Aviv in the coming weeks, suggesting the company is dipping into its venture capital funding to stake out a global footprint. The company said it will start with small pilot programs of 50 to 100 scooters, with plans to add more.