Bird
Bird (formerly MessageBird) is an Amsterdam-based cloud communications platform providing a unified API for Email, SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, and other messaging channels to developers and enterprises across 170+ countries, serving 15,000+ customers and processing 40% of the world's commercial messages.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Bird does
Bird is a cloud communications platform (CPaaS) founded in 2011 as MessageBird and rebranded in 2024, headquartered in Amsterdam and operating across 170+ countries. The company provides a unified API for sending and receiving messages across nine core channels — Email, SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, Verifications, Lookup, RCS, Push, and Realtime — all built on shared primitives (auth, idempotency, webhooks, pagination, rate limits, suppressions) and shipped with SDKs in nine runtimes plus an MCP server for AI coding agents. Bird claims its network carries 40% of the world's commercial messages by volume, supported by 270+ direct carrier connections, 5 trillion+ annual interactions, and certifications including ISO/IEC 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type I and II, GDPR, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
Bird operates a dual-product architecture: the Bird Connectivity Platform serves developer and enterprise customers with usage-based messaging fees and subscription platform services, while Bird CRM (Bird Box) offers an all-in-one 'Business in a Box' application spanning Marketing, Data, Developer, and Finance suites including Inbox, Contacts, Flows, Sales, Customer Support, Payments, and Expenses. The go-to-market combines a self-serve developer funnel (free test API keys, instant signup) with enterprise field sales, a three-tier Partner Program, and 70+ native integrations across CRM, eCommerce, AI, and data warehouse categories. Bird reported $900M in 2024 revenue (per third-party aggregator), serves 15,000+ customers globally, and has raised over $800M in cumulative venture funding at a $3.8B 2021 valuation.
In late 2025 Bird launched an unsolicited €165.8M all-cash takeover of Dutch peer CM.com to consolidate European CPaaS market share, and in early 2026 introduced AI Assistants for Customer Support and an MCP server positioning the platform as communications infrastructure for AI agents. Customers include Ralali, Aramex, and Glovo, with AI Assistants delivering documented outcomes including 40% NPS lift and 2.7x agent productivity gains.
Bird firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bird
- Legal name
- Bird B.V.
- Website
- https://bird.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Bird (formerly MessageBird) is an Amsterdam-based cloud communications platform providing a unified API for Email, SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, and other messaging channels to developers and enterprises across 170+ countries, serving 15,000+ customers and processing 40% of the world's commercial messages.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bird industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cloud Communications Platform (CPaaS)
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Integration & Messaging Platforms (API Gateway, Queues, Event Bus) (HDABAAAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Serverless & Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS) (HDABAAAC), Cloud-Native Development (Containers, Kubernetes, Microservices) (BPAEACAD), Model Hosting, Serving & Inference Platforms (HDAAACAB), Fleet, Asset Tracking & Telematics Location Platforms (BPAMANAF)
Keywords
Where Bird is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Amsterdam
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Bird business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Usage-based messaging fees: Transactional services billed on a usage basis with Overage Fees deducted from Prepaid Balance or invoiced; segment-accurate pricing returned in API responses. Fees updated from time to time as listed on bird.com/pricing.
- Subscription platform fees: Subscription-based Services Fees specified per Order Form with auto-renewal terms and a 5% annual cost-of-living fee adjustment applied at renewal where list prices are not updated. Prepaid Balance credits lapse after one year of non-use.
- Communications Surcharges and Taxes pass-through: Pass-through charges for applicable government, regulatory, and communications service provider fees/surcharges, billed as separate line items where required by law.
- Add-on feature fees: Some features and services are offered as add-ons; if a fee applies, it is deducted from Prepaid Balance or billed each cycle for as long as the add-on is active.
- Reported 2024 revenue $900M ARR: Third-party reporting indicates Bird reported $900 million revenue in 2024 across 15,000+ customers in 170+ countries (per getlatka profile).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free test API key with simulated delivery states; production unlocks on payment method + sender verification |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Usage-based transactional messaging billed per send / segment with Overage Fees |
| Subscription | Annual | Subscription Services via Order Form with auto-renewal and 5% annual COLA cap |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Multi-year contracts available per Order Form |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Partner Program pricing: '65% less than local market leader Sinch' |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Bird product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bird operates a unified communications-infrastructure API platform that enables developers and enterprises to send and receive Email, SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, RCS, Push, and Realtime messages through a single contract. The platform is built on shared primitives (auth, idempotency, errors, webhooks, pagination, rate limits, suppressions) with SDKs in Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, PHP, Go, Rust, Ruby, and Elixir, plus a hosted MCP server for AI agents. On top of this connectivity platform sits Bird CRM (Business in a Box), an all-in-one application layer combining Marketing, Sales, Customer Support, Finance, and workflow automation modules.
Product overview
Bird operates a dual-product architecture: (1) the Bird Connectivity Platform — a unified communications-infrastructure API for developers with nine core products (Email, SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, Verifications, Lookup, RCS, Push, Realtime) all built on the same shared primitives (auth, idempotency, errors, webhooks, pagination, rate limits, suppressions) and shipped with SDKs in Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, PHP, Go, Rust, Ruby, and Elixir, plus a hosted MCP server for AI agents; and (2) Bird CRM (Business in a Box / Bird Box) — an all-in-one business platform composed of four suites (Marketing, Data, Developer, Finance) that bundles Inbox, Contacts, Flows, Connectors, Sales, Marketing, Customer Support, Payments, Expenses, Workflows, Video, Omnichannel Widget, and Conversation Channels (Google Business Messages, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Line, Twitter, Viber, WeChat). The Connectivity Platform powers Bird CRM's channels; Bird CRM adds the business application layer on top.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bird Email: Transactional email service, formerly SparkPost, acquired and rebranded under the Bird platform.
- Bird CRM (Bird Box)
Products and services
- Bird Email Transactional and marketing email delivery API with direct sending IPs, managed warm-up, ISP-aware routing, and SPF/DKIM/DMARC handled. HTML and plain-text templates with React Email rendering coming soon. Originally the SparkPost email platform acquired by Bird.
- Bird SMS Global A2P SMS API via Tier-1 carriers across 190+ countries, with A2P 10DLC, alpha sender IDs, DLT entity registration, smart routing per destination, voice OTP fallback, and segment-accurate pricing.
- Bird Voice Programmable voice API on PSTN and SIP for outbound and inbound calls, with declarative flow JSON for IVR, recording and live transcription, and streaming TTS in 30+ languages with sub-250 ms first-byte audio. BYOC supported.
- Bird WhatsApp Official WhatsApp Cloud API access for templates, session messaging, interactive buttons and lists, with delivery and read receipts on every message.
- Bird Verifications Phone-number verification and one-time-passcode (OTP) flows across SMS and voice channels, leveraging Bird's global routing and voice fallback to ensure code delivery.
- Bird Lookup Number lookup (HLR) service for validating phone numbers, identifying carriers, and supporting compliance and routing decisions before sending.
- Bird RCS Rich Communication Services messaging channel integrated into the same typed API as Email, SMS, and WhatsApp.
- Bird Push Mobile push notification delivery for app engagement and stage-based notifications, built on the Pusher Beams & Channels acquisition.
- Bird Realtime Realtime in-app messaging channel (WebSocket-based) for live chat and conversational experiences inside customer applications.
- Bird CRM (Business in a Box / Bird Box) All-in-one business platform unifying Marketing, Data, Developer, and Finance suites. Includes Inbox, Contacts, Flows, Connectors, Sales, Customer Support, Payments, Expenses, Workflows, Video, Omnichannel Widget, and Conversation Channels (Google Business Messages, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Line, Twitter, Viber, WeChat).
- Bird Numbers Virtual numbers provisioned for use with Bird Voice and SMS services, supporting short codes, keywords, and SIP trunking.
- Bird MCP Server Hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) server plus a bird CLI that exposes typed channel tools to AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, Copilot) with scoped keys and full audit.
Quantifiable outcome
- 40% NPS increase for Ralali after deploying Bird AI assistants
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Bird
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Bird technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration80 records
AI capability12 records
Feature10 records
Bird partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- CM.comflagshipBird, led by founder/CEO Robert Vis, initiated an unsolicited €165.8 million all-cash takeover bid at €5.16 per share for CM.com in November 2025. CM.com issued new shares at €4.90 per share, which Bird's CEO questioned publicly while reiterating the offer and seeking non-hostile dialogue. By 2025-11-07, Bird had increased its stake to 5.39% after CM.com rejected the bid as too low. The merger is intended to create an AI-based customer engagement platform with increased European footprint.
- SalesforcecoreSalesforce and Salesforce Custom Object integrations listed in Bird's public integrations directory, enabling CRM data sync for marketing and sales teams using Bird.
- HubSpotcoreHubSpot and HubSpot Data Source integrations available in Bird's integrations directory; categorized under CRM, supporting inbound and outbound marketing workflows.
- ShopifycoreShopify integration under eCommerce category; referenced in Bird's AI assistant guide as part of automated FAQ generation and abandoned-cart / onboarding use cases.
- StripecoreStripe is a listed Payments integration in Bird's directory; also referenced in Bird's privacy statement as a payment service provider processing payments for Bird customers.
- OpenAIcoreOpenAI integration listed under AI category in Bird's integrations directory; per Bird's AI assistant customization article, Bird's AI platform integrates with both OpenAI and Gemini.
- Google Vertex AIcoreGoogle Vertex AI integration listed under AI category; Bird's AI platform also integrates with Gemini per Bird's published guide.
- AnthropiccoreAnthropic integration listed under AI category in Bird's integrations directory; Bird's MCP server also exposes tools to Anthropic-powered Claude Code agents.
- Microsoft Azure OpenAIcoreAzure OpenAI integration listed under AI category; combined with Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Vertex AI, DeepSeek, Groq, and Fal.ai as Bird's AI ecosystem partners.
- Zendesk (Sell and Support)coreZendesk Sell and Zendesk Support integrations listed in Bird's directory under CRM and Customer Support categories.
- SlackcoreSlack App integration listed in Bird's directory for productivity and notifications use cases.
- AirwallexcoreAirwallex listed under Payments category in Bird's integrations directory; also referenced in Bird's privacy policy as a payment service provider.
- Google BigQuerycoreGoogle BigQuery integration listed in Bird's integrations directory for analytics warehouse use cases.
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)coreBird leverages Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for cloud infrastructure, with fully isolated dev/staging/prod environments and data residency options in US, EU, and APAC.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreBird leverages AWS for cloud infrastructure and payments/expenses data processing (sub-processor); hosts email and other Bird services.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Bird competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Twilio: Twilio is the largest US-headquartered CPaaS provider offering programmable SMS, Voice, Email, and WhatsApp APIs plus Segment (CDP). It is named alongside Bird in every CPaaS market round-up and is the most directly comparable unified-communications API peer.
- Sinch: Sinch is a Stockholm-based CPaaS leader with comparable SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, and Email APIs (and MessageMedia for text messaging). Bird explicitly cites Sinch as the 'local market leader' it undercuts by 65%, making it the closest direct competitor in messaging economics.
- Infobip: Infobip is a Croatia-based global CPaaS providing SMS, Voice, Email, WhatsApp, RCS, and conversational AI tools. It competes head-on with Bird in regulated enterprise messaging and is featured in the same FeaturedCustomers Business Text Messaging Market Leader report as Bird.
- Vonage (Ericsson): Vonage, owned by Ericsson, provides CPaaS APIs for SMS, Voice, Video, and Number Insight. It is a direct peer in programmable messaging/voice APIs and is named in CPaaS provider lists alongside Bird, Twilio, and Sinch.
- CM.com: CM.com is a Netherlands-based CPaaS and customer engagement platform offering SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, Email, and AI assistants. It is the direct subject of Bird's €165.8M hostile takeover bid and overlaps materially in product, geography, and customer segments.
- Plivo: Plivo is a US-headquartered CPaaS offering SMS, Voice, and WhatsApp APIs aimed at developers and enterprises. It is grouped with Bird in third-party 'Twilio alternatives' lists and competes for the same API-first developer customer segment.
- Telnyx: Telnyx provides global private IP backbone-based SMS, Voice, and connectivity APIs for developers and enterprises. It is a direct CPaaS peer with comparable programmable voice/messaging APIs and is regularly listed alongside Bird as a Twilio alternative.
- Bandwidth: Bandwidth is a US CPaaS providing messaging, voice, and 911 APIs, with a strong enterprise and contact-center footprint. It competes with Bird in regulated enterprise messaging and is named alongside Bird in CPaaS provider lists.
Emerging players
- Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Brevo is a France-based email/SMS marketing and CRM platform rated alongside Bird as a FeaturedCustomers Market Leader in transactional email. It overlaps on email and SMS APIs for SMB/mid-market but is less deep in Voice/WhatsApp/RCS enterprise messaging.
- Klaviyo: Klaviyo is a US-based marketing automation platform with deep email and SMS capabilities, integrated into Shopify and other ecommerce stacks. It overlaps with Bird's marketing automation suite and SMS product for retail/DTC customers but is narrower than Bird's full multi-channel stack.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bird social profiles
Digital presenceBird compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance7 records
Bird financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bird leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Bird subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Bird funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors17 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bird M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A8 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bird
What does Bird do?
Bird operates a unified communications-infrastructure API platform that enables developers and enterprises to send and receive Email, SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, RCS, Push, and Realtime messages through a single contract. The platform is built on shared primitives (auth, idempotency, errors, webhooks, pagination, rate limits, suppressions) with SDKs in Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, PHP, Go, Rust, Ruby, and Elixir, plus a hosted MCP server for AI agents. On top of this connectivity platform sits Bird CRM (Business in a Box), an all-in-one application layer combining Marketing, Sales, Customer Support, Finance, and workflow automation modules.
Is Bird a public or private company?
Bird is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Bird founded?
Bird was founded in 2011. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Bird based?
Bird is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Bird make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Usage-based messaging fees are the primary driver. The others are subscription platform fees, communications Surcharges and Taxes pass-through, add-on feature fees and reported 2024 revenue $900M ARR.
Who are Bird's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Twilio, Sinch, Infobip, Vonage (Ericsson), CM.com, Plivo, Telnyx and Bandwidth. Emerging players are Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) and Klaviyo.
Does Bird have an API?
Yes. Bird offers a public REST API plus official SDKs for sending and receiving email, SMS, voice, WhatsApp, push, RCS, verifications, lookup, and realtime messages through a single unified layer. Auth uses a single Bird API key (scoped send/manage and read/write with prefix and fingerprint); every POST/PATCH/DELETE supports Idempotency-Key; rate limits are exposed via IETF RateLimit headers; pagination is cursor-based; errors return a single envelope with a closed type union; webhooks follow the Standard Webhooks spec (HMAC-SHA256, per-endpoint secrets, 5-minute replay window, 24-hour dual-signing overlap). Test mode simulates delivered/bounced/complained/queued states without real sends. An MCP server (hosted or via the bird CLI) exposes typed tools across every channel to AI agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, and Copilot. SDKs are published in Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, PHP, Go, Rust, Ruby, and Elixir, with SMTP coming soon. Developer documentation is at bird.com/en-us/docs.
What industry is Bird in?
Bird's product category is Cloud Communications Platform (CPaaS). Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAAAG, Integration & Messaging Platforms (API Gateway, Queues, Event Bus), with a secondary code of HDABAAAC, Serverless & Functions-as-a-Service (FaaS). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7373.