Shares of shoemaker Allbirds, which recently shut down operations, skyrocketed 582% on Wednesday after it announced it is rebranding as an AI infrastructure company.
The strategic shift sent Allbirds’ stock soaring from below $3 to approximately $17 yesterday, pushing its valuation to $116 million.
Allbirds had a dramatic fall from its $4 billion valuation and sold its IP and assets to American Exchange Group for just $39 million this year. It closed all its US full-priced stores in February.
The new venture would be called NewBird AI. It would acquire graphics processing units (GPUs) and offer cloud computing capacity. To fund this transition, it is raising $50 million by the second quarter of 2026.
Analysts remain skeptical about what the former shoe manufacturer would contribute to the tech sector. They note that the strategy mirrors historical trends, in which struggling firms have often rebranded to chase high-growth tech bubbles like crypto.