The once-popular sustainable shoe brand is officially leaving the retail world behind to join the race for computing power. On Wednesday, Allbirds (BIRD) shocked the market by announcing it will shift its entire business into artificial intelligence infrastructure. Following the news, BIRD stock jumped more than 660% in a single session, climbing from a previous close of $2.49 to over $18.93.
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Allbirds’ Massive Shift to AI Chips Triggers 660% Stock Surge
The company has decided to stop fighting for shelf space in shoe stores and instead focus on the high-demand world of AI chips. This radical shift caused a massive reaction from investors who are eager to find new ways to bet on the technology boom.
The company plans to rename itself “NewBird AI” and focus on providing GPU-as-a-Service.
To fund this move, the firm has signed a deal for $50 million in financing with an institutional investor. The new entity will use this cash to buy high-performance chips and rent them out to companies that are currently struggling to find enough computing power from major providers.
American Exchange Group Takes Over the Shoes
The Allbirds name will still exist on footwear, but the same company will no longer manage it. The firm recently finalized a $39 million deal to sell its brand and footwear assets to American Exchange Group. This sale ensures the shoe business is completely separated from the new AI venture.
Stockholders are scheduled to vote on this asset sale and the new financing plan at a special meeting on May 18, 2026. If approved, the company expects to pay out a special dividend to current investors in the third quarter of the year. Those who keep their shares will then be invested in a neocloud platform rather than a lifestyle brand.
Digital Infrastructure Replaces Retail Logistics
The company is moving from a world of wool and rubber to a world of low-latency hardware and cloud solutions. This transition marks one of the more unusual shifts in recent market history.
The new business model focuses on meeting the needs of customers that regular markets and big cloud providers cannot always help. The company is going after AI developers who need their own access to powerful machines. While the brand was once worth over $4 billion for making shoes, it is now betting that its future is in the hardware that runs the AI world.
The market seems to agree that the move into servers is far more valuable than staying in the sneaker business.
Is BIRD Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Currently, BIRD stock is rated a Hold based on 2 analysts, according to TipRanks data. These ratings could change following the company’s massive announcement that it’s pivoting its core business from footwear to AI.
