Struggling shoe retailer Allbirds makes bizarre pivot from shoes to AI, stock explodes more than 400%

In this articleAllbirds made a surprising announcement Wednesday that it is pivoting from shoes to artificial intelligence. The move boosted shares of the miniscule market cap company by more than 400%. The shares, which were under $3 a day ago, jumped to above $13.The company announced that it's pivoting its business to AI compute infrastructure on Wednesday in a release posted to its investor relations page.The new company, which expects to be called NewBird AI, announced a deal to raise up to $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 said in the announcement.Allbirds announced a deal with American Exchange Group to sell its intellectual property and other assets for $39 million last month.

American Exchange Group is a brand management company focused on the accessory space. According to the release, it will continue to sell products under the Allbirds brand. Allbirds closed all of its U.S. full-priced stores in February.The company is the latest firm looking to cash in on the AI boom that's ignited a fever on Wall Street since OpenAI launched its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022. AI infrastructure is a notoriously expensive and complex business, but it can be lucrative. Nvidia, which dominates the market for graphics processing units, has ballooned into the most valuable company in the world with a market cap that's approaching $5 trillion.There's a history in the stock market of troubled companies pivoting to the hot industry of the moment in order to garner interest. During the Bitcoin boom, several companies would announce a blockchain tie-in or convert outright to a cryptocurrency company to reignite interest in the stock.Once a Wall Street darling valued north of $4 billion, Allbirds was founded in 2015 by former professional soccer player Tim Brown and renewable resources expert Joey Zwillinger. The idea was to create a new category of shoes that didn't rely on plastics and other petroleum products but instead, natural materials. In 2016, they introduced their debut shoe – the Wool Runner – made with merino wool and became an instant success, particularly among "tech bros" that were drawn to the brand's comfort and sustainability.It embarked on an ambitious store opening plan and went public in 2021, but soon saw its business begin to slow as trends changed, competitors moved in and customer acquisition costs rose.Between 2022 and 2025, sales plummeted nearly 50% – falling from $298 million to $152 million.CNBC's Ashley Capoot contributed to this report.Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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