SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — When the San Francisco-based company formerly known as the shoe brand Allbirds announced it was changing its name and focus, it garnered a lot of attention. The latest “Smart Bird” is part of the company’s transformation into an AI company.
more: SF footwear company Allbirds pivots from shoes to AI. Stock price is expected to soar more than 400%
ABC7 Mornings anchor Nancy Chen spoke with the company’s new CEO Nadia Carsten, who lives in London, about the new direction. Carsten, who received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, says his mission today is to bring more companies and organizations to AI.
Chen: “Smartbirds have been making a lot of headlines outside of tech lately, and the transition from Allbirds and wool sneakers to AI infrastructure has been described as one of the most unusual turning points in Silicon Valley history. Of course, this industry is full of tipping points. What do you think of that response?”
Karsten: “First of all, it’s great that people are paying attention, and I think it’s great to be able to lead a company that’s going through this transformation. The first thing to remember is that all of the history of Allbirds and the shoe business is gone. Now we’re in the AI We’re an infrastructure company. We have a great strategy and we think it’s going to make us very unique in the market. We’re very excited about the future of the company.
Chen: “Why did we move rather than start an AI infrastructure company from scratch?”
Karsten: “In many ways, this is like starting a company from scratch. But there are also advantages to acquiring an existing company, especially one that is already on the public market. This is very attractive for a number of reasons. We will be working with a number of partners who will be doing a lot of recruiting… so having access to public equity is very interesting and useful.”
Chen: “You come to this role with a deep background in AI and quantum computing. What does the market for AI computing look like now?”
Karsten: “It’s amazing. There’s nothing better than that.” Time in this industry. What’s interesting is that more computation will be needed to power the applications of AI that we are already familiar with. But more companies and organizations are getting into AI and doing new things. That means more people are getting excited about the need for AI. To use this infrastructure. then we too Build on the necessary infrastructure. ”
Chen: “But are there concerns about oversupply or the so-called AI bubble?”
Karsten: “I think it’s always good to think about why people are making what they’re making before you start saying, ‘Is there enough supply?'” So compared to the customer demand that we’re talking about. they I’m very interested in doing more with A.I. and these Customers, especially those without access to the cloud, are typically underserved by traditional services. We work with customers who want to enable sovereign AI and need computers and infrastructure to be located in specific regions. So There is currently not enough supply for these customers. And these are the customers we want to help ride this AI wave. ”
Chen: “And Nadia, as you all know, the Bay Area is the epicenter of the AI boom we’re seeing right now. What does the growth of smart birds mean for jobs and investment in the Bay Area?”
Karsten: “I think that’s a very good thing. AI is creating jobs in certain categories, and our infrastructure is certainly one of those categories. AI infrastructure is a broad umbrella. So, for example, we’re not only hiring people to do operations, we’re hiring people to do engineering, but we’re also hiring people on the network side, making sure all the processors are connected in the right way, and building custom systems for our customers.”
“So I think it’s a really exciting time to be in this space, but I also think it’s a really exciting time for people who are looking to change careers or just coming out of school. It’s a really exciting place to be.”
Chen: Given that Allbirds has been headquartered in San Francisco for over a decade, does a change in direction also mean a change in location?
Karsten: “That’s a possibility. We’ll still be a California company. But right now, we’re looking more broadly at areas like Palo Alto, San Jose and Silicon Valley.”
Chen: “You said eventually people might not even remember the shoes. How else do you mark success with Smartbird?”
Karsten: “I think it’s our mission to bring more companies and organizations to AI. So we I’m watching All Customers who want to participate in this great event technology That’s AI. Currently, AI is having to build its own infrastructure systems, dealing with multiple vendors, and trying to do it themselves. If we can provide these companies with a working system and accelerate the adoption of AI, It means great success for us. ”
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