Release date •updated
According to the company’s announcement, Allbirds is making a decisive move away from its origins as a sustainable footwear company, exiting consumer products entirely and repositioning itself as a provider of AI computing infrastructure.
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The company’s stock price rose more than 550% in the first hours of New York trading on Wednesday.
The move comes as the company seeks to capitalize on strong demand for specialized computing resources and redirect capital away from traditional businesses and into high-growth opportunities in AI.
Allbirds has already entered into a definitive agreement to sell its brand and all footwear assets to American Exchange Group. The purchaser intends to maintain Allbirds’ traditional business and continue to supply products to customers.
Subject to shareholder approval, the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
Upon completion and subject to approval, the Company intends to issue a special dividend to Eligible Shareholders on May 20, 2026, in the third quarter. This step effectively separates the footwear business from the listed entities, allowing the latter to pursue new directions without being dragged down by previous activities.
NewBird AI targets AI computing infrastructure
To fund the transition, Allbirds has entered into a definitive agreement with an institutional investor for a $50 million (€42.4 million) convertible loan facility.
Investment bank Chardan is acting as the broker for the transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026 and is subject to shareholder approval at a special general meeting scheduled for May 18.
Proceeds from this facility will initially be used to purchase high-performance GPU assets. According to the announcement, these will be based on the provision of dedicated AI computing power provided to customers under long-term lease agreements.
Alongside the pivot, the company plans to change its name to NewBird AI. The rebranded business aims to evolve into a fully integrated provider of GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions.
Plans include growing the Neocloud platform through expanding our computing offerings, strengthening our partnerships with customers and organizations, and evaluating strategic merger and acquisition opportunities.
The announcement highlights unprecedented structural demand for AI computing, driven by increased global corporate spending on AI services and data center investments.
At the same time, procurement lead times for advanced hardware are lengthening, data center vacancy rates in North America are at historic lows, and available computing capacity is already fully committed through mid-2026.
The company notes that this situation has left businesses, developers, and research organizations struggling to secure the resources needed to train and run AI models at scale.
However, this type of move also raises questions about the risks of excessive speculation and the possibility of the formation of an AI investment bubble in certain market segments.
