Shoe company Allbirds pivots to AI compute in sign of a totally normal and healthy economy
Engadget • • business
Key Points:
- Allbirds, known for its eco-friendly wool trainers, plans to pivot entirely to AI compute infrastructure and rebrand as NewBird AI, aiming to become a GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions provider.
- The pivot requires shareholder approval in a vote scheduled for May 18, after which the company will raise $50 million from an unnamed investor to acquire high-performance computing assets.
- The company will remove its eco-friendly branding and amend its charter to eliminate references to environmental conservation, reflecting its shift away from sustainability-focused business.
- Despite the drastic and unexpected shift from footwear to AI, Allbirds' stock surged over 400 percent following the announcement, though financial experts warn this spike may be short-lived.
- The move follows Allbirds' recent sale of its shoe business and branding for just $39 million, a steep decline from its $4 billion valuation in 2021, signaling a major strategic overhaul.
