MessageBird Rebrands to Bird, Introduces New Pricing and Products

MessageBird, a pioneer in the tech telecoms sector, has rebranded itself as Bird and is introducing a new pricing model and a range of products. The changes aim to offer more value to consumers at a much lower cost.

An Emphasis on Fair Pricing

The tech company’s new approach is a response to non-transparent pricing models in the market where companies charge high markups, passing the cost on to consumers. Bird asserts that this is not fair, and they are stepping in to rectify this issue. The company has always invested heavily in its infrastructure and efficiency to deliver messages at the lowest possible cost. With the new product launch, Bird plans to go a step further.

Cost-Effective Messaging APIs

Bird’s new messaging APIs will now enable the company to charge SMS at a 90% discount, eliminating hidden fees and markups. This significant reduction in cost implies that if a customer spends $100k on SMS with a company like Twilio, they would only spend $10k with Bird.

Introducing Bird CRM

Bird is also stepping into the realms of marketing, sales, and payments with the launch of Bird CRM. The company is also reducing costs in this domain, promising a 40% saving on Email and a 90% saving on SMS when compared to services from companies like Klaviyo or Attentive.

The Bird CRM aims to streamline business communications over various channels such as calling, texting, WhatsApp, or iMessage. The ultimate goal is to simplify the process and integrate all customer interactions, whether for sales or support, into one tool.

MessageBird’s Journey

Founded in 2011 as a deep tech telecoms company, MessageBird has come a long way. It started as a wholesaler, expanding quickly to developers and businesses, building a strong and large international network for faster and cheaper deliverability. In 2016, after five years of bootstrapping, the company joined Y-Combinator, which marked a significant turning point for the company.

MessageBird has since received multiple acquisition offers, ranging from $200m to $2B, but has remained independent in the pursuit of their vision: to enable communication with businesses as easily as communication amongst friends.

A Shift in Strategy

Today, Bird is changing the game by moving away from the aggregation business on top of global carrier networks. The company is now focusing on democratising access and reducing margins to zero. This shift aligns with what Jeff Bezos famously said in 1999, “Your margins are my opportunity”.

The next decade, according to Bird, will not be about the abstraction layer of APIs. Instead, it will focus on what can be done with the channel versus merely having access to the channel, enabled by advancements in AI.

The Vision for Bird CRM

Bird CRM is designed to simplify business communications and customer relationship management. It aims to integrate all customer interactions and data into one tool, regardless of the communication channel used. The goal is to make talking to a business as easy as talking to friends, enhancing the customer experience and making operations more efficient for businesses.