Allbirds made a surprising announcement Wednesday that it is pivoting from shoes to artificial intelligence.
Shares of the company exploded more than 300% higher. In early trading, Allbirds' market cap was around $20M.
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.
Last month, Allbirds announced a deal with American Exchange Group to sell its intellectual property and other assets for $39 million.
American Exchange Group is a brand management company focused on the accessory space. It's expected to continue to sell products under the Allbirds brand.
