Allbirds pivots from sustainable shoes to AI compute, shares surge 200% pre-market.

Allbirds announced a major business shift from making sustainable shoes to focusing on artificial intelligence compute infrastructure. The company sold its intellectual property and other assets to American Exchange Group for $39 million, which will continue selling Allbirds products. The new venture, expected to be named NewBird AI, plans to raise up to $50 million in funding by Q2 2026 to acquire AI compute hardware for long-term leasing. This pivot reflects a strategic move into the growing AI market, causing Allbirds' shares to jump as much as 200% in pre-market trading.