Allbirds pivots from footwear to AI data centers with $50 million funding, stock surges 580%

Struggling apparel brand Allbirds announced a radical pivot to artificial intelligence infrastructure, selling its core shoe and apparel business while securing $50 million in financing to transform into an AI data center provider. The company's stock price skyrocketed 580 percent following the announcement. Allbirds said it reached a definitive agreement with an institutional investor for a $50 million convertible financing facility expected to close during the second quarter of 2026. The funding will support its transition to becoming a GPU-as-a-service and AI cloud solutions provider under the new name NewBird AI. The company plans to use initial capital to acquire high-performance GPU assets for customers requiring dedicated access to AI compute capacity. NewBird AI aims to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-service and AI-native cloud solutions provider, expanding its compute and service offerings over time. Allbirds cited historic lows in U.S. data center vacancies and fully committed compute capacity through the first half of the year as creating market opportunities. The company intends to deliver computing power that the spot market and hyperscalers are currently unable to meet. The pivot comes after Allbirds closed all its full-price stores in the United States and experienced a 50 percent sales decline over the past three years. The company's stock price rose from an average trading price around $2.50 to more than $23 before settling around $18 following the announcement.