Overview
- Allbirds said it will rename itself NewBird AI and move from footwear to GPU-as-a-Service, buying high-end servers with specialized chips and renting that computing power to customers.
- The company previously agreed to sell most assets, including the Allbirds brand, to American Exchange Group for $39 million, and the buyer plans to keep making products for existing customers.
- NewBird AI reported $50 million in convertible debt to fund the build-out, and both the financing and the asset sale require shareholder approval at a meeting set for May 18.
- Shares jumped sharply after the pivot was announced, with reports ranging from about a 148% to a 707% surge, highlighting how volatile the trading was.
- Analysts warn the plan starts at a major scale disadvantage because rivals such as CoreWeave and Nebius are budgeting tens of billions for AI infrastructure and GPUs are hard to secure, after years of falling Allbirds revenue and no annual profits.