Allbirds Shifts Focus to AI Infrastructure, Plans Name Change and Sees 400% Stock Surge
The American company Allbirds, known for its wool footwear production, announced its intention to change direction and focus on artificial intelligence infrastructure. As part of the business transformation, the company also plans to change its name to NewBird AI.
What is known
The decision is to be approved by shareholders during a vote scheduled for May 18. If approved, Allbirds will raise $50 million from an unnamed investor. The funding is planned to be used for purchasing graphics processors, developing computing systems, and launching services in the GPU-as-a-Service format and cloud-based AI solutions.
Allbirds, the shoe brand, now says it's an AI compute company. pic.twitter.com/MRAG2LXyY9
— Tracy Alloway (@tracyalloway) April 15, 2026
In addition, the company will propose changes to the charter for voting, which include removing references to the ecological focus of activities. Previously, Allbirds was positioned as a brand focused on sustainable development and the use of eco-friendly materials.
Following the announcement of the strategy change, the company's shares rose by more than 400%. According to the Financial Times, this figure was recorded immediately after the information was published.
In 2021, the company was valued at approximately $4 billion. In April 2026, Allbirds sold its footwear business and brand to an investment firm for $39 million.
Similar steps are being taken by other companies from various industries, which are redirecting their activities towards computing power for artificial intelligence amid the growing demand for this infrastructure.
Source: Allbirds
