Struggling shoe brand makes AI pivot and sees stock rise 300%

TechnologyBusiness & Finance
15 Apr 2026 • 10:45 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Struggling shoe brand makes AI pivot and sees stock rise 300%

  • Allbirds announced a pivot from shoe manufacturing to artificial intelligence, causing its shares to surge over 300%.
  • The company's stock price jumped from under $3 to over $10 following the surprising announcement.
  • The Allbirds brand and legacy will continue under the ownership of American Exchange Group but continue under the name NewBird AI, the company said in a press release on Wednesday. Allbirds closed all of its U.S. stores in February.
  • “The Company will initially seek to acquire high-performance, low-latency AI compute hardware and provide access under long-term lease arrangements, meeting customer demand that spot markets and hyperscalers are unable to reliably service,” the company said.
  • Allbirds was founded in 2015 by former professional soccer player Tim Brown and renewable energy expert Joey Zwillinger.