Shoe company Allbirds (NASDAQ: BIRD) stunned everyone on Wednesday, April 15, announcing a dramatic strategic shift away from footwear and into artificial intelligence (AI).
In a statement posted on its investor relations page, the company specifically said that it would transition its business toward AI compute infrastructure, with the rebranded entity expected to operate under the name NewBird AI.
As part of the transformation, the company revealed plans to raise up to $50 million in funding, with the deal anticipated to close in the second quarter of 2026.
“NewBird AI’s long-term vision is to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions provider. Over time, the Company intends to grow its neocloud platform by expanding its compute and service offerings, deepening partnerships with operators and customers, and evaluating strategic M&A opportunities,” the announcement read.
The market reaction was nothing short of extreme, with BIRD shares surging more than 370%, trading at $11.90 at press time.
The future of Allbirds
The shift to AI follows last month’s move to offload Allbird’s core business, as the company had agreed to sell its intellectual property and other assets to American Exchange Group for $39 million.
“The Company will initially seek to acquire high-performance, low-latency AI compute hardware and provide access under long-term lease arrangements, meeting customer demand that spot markets and hyperscalers are unable to reliably service,” the management wrote.
American Exchange Group, a brand management firm focused on accessories, is thus expected to continue selling products under the Allbirds name.
Still pending asset sale approval, the San Francisco apparel brand expects to issue a special dividend in the third quarter of 2026 to shareholders of record as of May 20.
Under the proposed structure, the Allbirds brand will operate under American Exchange Group, while existing shareholders who maintain their positions will retain exposure to the newly formed AI infrastructure business.
Featured image via Shutterstock
