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Allbirds says it's ditching footwear and pivoting to become an AI company

By
Mary Cunningham
Reporter, MoneyWatch
Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. She previously worked at "60 Minutes," CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.
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Mary Cunningham

/ CBS News

Allbirds is trading in sneakers for servers, selling its footwear brand as it races to reinvent itself as an AI company.

The eco-friendly shoe company Wednesday that it is transitioning into an AI business, which it plans to name "NewBird AI." Allbirds said it will focus on "AI compute infrastructure," with a long-term goal of offering a fully integrated cloud computing model. The company said it has reached a $50 million agreement with an institutional investor to make the change.

The move sent Allbirds' stock soaring 600% on Wednesday. By noon Thursday, shares were down around 30%, erasing some of the initial gains.

Allbirds, known for its minimalist wool sneakers, will sell its footwear assets to American Exchange Group, which owns more than 30 brands across fashion, jewelry, footwear and personal care. Investors cheered the move, with its outsized gains reminiscent of the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, when companies' stocks soared after they announced they were switching to an online model.

GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders said Allbirds is using the shell of the former business to generate capital and transform itself into a new AI-focused venture.

"That is not a bad thing as it could provide a new lease of life for investors and some employees," he told CBS News in an email. "There is demand for AI compute capacity, but quite what expertise the so-called NewBird AI has in the space and how it intends to capture market share remain unclear."

On Wednesday, the company's stock, which after its market debut in 2021 traded for more than $600, added $14.50, or 582%, on the day to close at $16.99.

The San Francisco-based company is entering the AI race at a time when the technology is delivering huge financial returns for investors. Many think the optimism is overstated, citing concerns that the market could be in an AI bubble.

Allbirds framed its pivot as a way to help fill a gap in the AI market. "The rise of AI development and adoption has created unprecedented structural demand for specialized, high-performance compute that the market is struggling to meet," the company said in its .

Edited by Aimee Picchi

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