If you know the name Allbirds, it’s probably for the company’s longstanding stated commitment to “sustainable shoes and apparel.” Going forward, though, the corporate entity wants to be known for its “long-term vision to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions provider.”
In a news release Wednesday morning, Allbirds announced that it has secured a $50 million convertible finance facility to help power this unexpected “pivot … to AI compute infrastructure.” If all goes to plan, the company will soon be known as NewBird AI, by which point it will presumably change the image of a spandex-clad hiker that still sits atop its News Release page.
Just weeks ago, Allbirds announced the $39 million sale of the “Allbirds brand and footwear assets” to American Exchange Group, owner of Aerosoles, Ecko Unlimited, and other fashion brands. Today’s AI pivot announcement certainly casts that sale in a new light. But Allbirds also announced a new line of colorful Canvas Cruiser shoes just last week, so it’s unclear how much long-term planning went into this new AI-related direction.
In an SEC filing accompanying the announcement, Allbirds notes that it is still “investigating potential opportunities in the computing infrastructure market, including the acquisition and monetization of graphics processing units, related high-performance computing infrastructure capable to support high workloads… and other related assets.” That kind of “we’re looking into it” phrasing certainly suggests a panicked move into the hot investment sector of the moment more than a carefully considered plan to really differentiate itself in that market.