After sale of its shoe business, Allbirds pivots to AI
After sale of its shoe business, Allbirds pivots to AI
After selling its shoe brand and assets last month for $39 million, Allbirds is pivoting to AI. Of course, the company is also changing its name, since the footwear brand “Allbirds” was part of the sale. Introducing: NewBird AI, a “fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions provider,” the company announced via its investor relations site on Wednesday.
The rebranded AI company also announced a $50 million investment from an undisclosed institutional investor in the form of a convertible financing facility.
It’s objectively pretty funny that Allbirds is becoming an AI company — not because it’s unusual for companies to pivot, but because of how extreme this pivot is. The maker of the shoes once craved by the Silicon Valley tech set is now going to be a provider of GPUs. It’s somewhat absurd — and risky — but you can see how the business came to this decision. After the asset and brand sale, Allbirds can keep the public company’s shell (it’s been traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “BIRD”) and then reuse it to invest in the hot AI sector.
This recalls the time in 2017 when the Long Island Iced Tea company pivoted to the blockchain, prompting the stock to jump some 275% after the rebranding. That pivot didn’t pan out, as the NASDAQ stock exchange delisted the stock the following year after Bitcoin fever died down.
Allbirds-turned-NewBird is likely hoping for a different outcome.
The company says that the financing and the asset sale are still subject to stockholder approval, with a meeting planned to take place on May 18. If the sale goes through, stockholders will receive a dividend during the third quarter. The new owner of the Allbirds brand and assets, American Exchange Group, will continue to make products for Allbirds customers.
Meanwhile, NewBird AI plans to use the new financing to acquire GPU assets, which it will offer to customers seeking AI compute capacity. Over time, the company hopes to grow its service offerings through partnerships and even strategic mergers and acquisitions — if the opportunity arises.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026
Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by emailing sarahp@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal.
Most Popular
Patrocinados
Patrocinados
Patrocinados
Patrocinados
Publicaciones
Categorías
Read More
Canada's New Democratic Party choose Avi Lewis as new leaderNadine YousifSenior Canada reporterCourtesy Avi Lewis campaignCanada's left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) has chosen former journalist and activist Avi Lewis as their new leader, after suffering major losses in the last federal election. Lewis received 56% of the vote in a first ballot victory, defeating member of parliament...
Lebanon and Israel hold first direct talks in decades, as Israeli invasion digs in Lebanon and Israel hold first direct talks in decades, as Israeli invasion digs in Audio will be available later today. Israel and Lebanon are holding historic talks in Washington, D.C.
Unemployment: India's young are more educated than ever. So why are so many jobless?Soutik BiswasIndia correspondentHindustan Times via Getty ImagesA young man participates in an opposition protest against joblessness in the Indian capital, Delhi, in 2019India's youth story is a study in contradictions - of abundance and scarcity, promise and drift.As the British economist Joan Robinson once...
PlayStation Prices Increasing Next Week: Prepare for $900 for a PS5 Pro Welcome to the world of the $650 PS5, $900 PS5 Pro and $250 Portal. Scott Stein Editor at Large I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles,...
AI can hit taxpayers with scams or in courtArticle contentOne of the more recent cases involved a taxpayer who applied for, and received, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) from March 15, 2020, to Sept. 26, 2020. As a reminder, the CERB was offered for any four-week period during that time if an applicant could demonstrate they stopped working “for reasons related to COVID-19,” and...
