Footwear company Allbirds (BIRD) has announced a dramatic pivot to become an AI infrastructure developer, rebranding as NewBird AI. This strategic shift, revealed in a company announcement, follows the sale of its core assets and a severe stock decline since its 2021 IPO. The news triggered a stock surge of over 200%, with shares jumping from under $3 to above $13 after the company secured $50 million in funding for its new AI compute venture.
Allbirds stock skyrocketed by over 200% following its announcement to transform from a footwear company into an AI developer. The strategic pivot was detailed in a press release on Wednesday.
The San Francisco-based wool shoe maker was once valued at more than $4 billion. Its stock has since slumped by more than 99% since its 2021 Nasdaq flotation.
The company recently sold its intellectual property and other assets for $39 million. It had also closed all of its U.S. full-priced stores in February amid financial struggles.
Now operating as NewBird AI, the firm aims to capitalize on the artificial intelligence industry. It announced a deal to raise approximately $50 million in funding, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
“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 company stated. It has positioned itself as a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions provider.
The announcement boosted Allbirds (BIRD) shares by more than 400% at one point. Shares that were under $3 jumped above $13 before settling just above $12.
