Bird Global Inc., the company that put electric scooters onto the sidewalks of major cities, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Southern Florida, Bloomberg News reported. The Miami, Fla.-based company listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million in a court filing. The filing protects the company from creditors while it seeks court approval of a plan to try to repay them. A former Uber Technologies Inc. executive, Travis VanderZanden, founded Bird in 2017. It let customers remotely unlock the scooters and rent them using an app. The model was widely copied and turned Bird into one of the fastest startups to reach a $1 billion valuation at one point. Bird shares plunged this year as scooter enthusiasm faded and in September the NYSE began delisting proceedings against the company after its average global market capitalization over a consecutive 30 trading day period fell below at least $15 million.
