Allbirds Inc. is putting footwear in the rearview mirror as tech founders take a long-term view of the technology landscape.
The sneaker brand is still selling its intellectual property and footwear assets to brand management company American Exchange Group for $39 million. But the company known as Allbirds Inc. is changing direction in its new life.
Allbirds announced Wednesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement for a $50 million convertible loan facility with an undisclosed institutional investor to enable the company to pivot its business to AI computing infrastructure. Our long-term goal is to become a cloud-based service provider that integrates GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions. Allbirds also plans to change its name to NewBird AI.
Allbirds’ stock price rose to $19.45 in intraday trading on the news. Tuesday’s closing price was $2.49.
Allbirds said the renamed New Bird AI will also use funds from the convertible loan facility to acquire high-performance GPU assets and will evaluate strategic M&A opportunities as the neocloud platform grows.
According to proxy materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the conversion of the conversion facility will require stockholder approval at an upcoming virtual special meeting scheduled for May 18, 2026. The meeting will also serve as the forum for stockholder approval of the sale of intellectual property assets to American Exchange, which represents all of Allbirds’ assets under Delaware law. If the asset sale is approved, a special dividend will be issued in the third quarter of 2026 to shareholders of record as of May 20, 2026.
The document also stated that shareholders who continue to own Class A common stock of the renamed NewBird AI will continue to own Nasdaq-listed stock. Shareholders will also be required to approve a plan of dissolution if NewBird AI’s board of directors determines that the continuation of the business is “unviable” within 12 months of the special meeting. [not] in the best interests of our stockholders,” the proxy statement states.
Allbird’s ownership structure allows fashion technology executives to hold a two-tier stock structure, essentially giving them control of the company and voting rights to steer the company into the next big technology space.
The company’s founders, former New Zealand professional soccer player Tim Brown and biotech engineer Joey Zwillinger, captured market attention with the Wool Runner, a shoe made from merino wool and recycled plastic laces, and a proprietary sugarcane-based SweetFoam midsole that gives the shoe a lightweight, bouncy feel. However, some missteps and lackluster returns ultimately led to the brand being sold to American Exchange. With “serious doubts” surrounding the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, it was left with few options and was ultimately sold to a brand management company.
Allbirds announced Wednesday that its brand and legacy will continue under the ownership of American Exchange. As the brand management company, American Exchange is expected to license its intellectual property to licensees that produce the products and name them with the Allbirds name. Whether these products continue to resonate with consumers will depend on who the licensees are and how well American Exchange manages the brand repositioning process.
American Exchange did not respond to a request for comment.
