Allbirds abandons sneakers in pivot to AI computing, shares surge 300%

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Allbirds abandons sneakers in pivot to AI computing, shares surge 300% The footwear brand plans reinvention as Newbird AI with a $50 million convertible in a sign of the broader market shift into GPU infrastructure. By James Van Straten , AI Boost | Edited by Sheldon Reback Apr 15, 2026, 1:53 p.m. Make preferred on What to know : Allbirds is abandoning its core footwear business and pivoting to AI compute infrastructure, backed by a $50 million convertible financing facility more than double its prior market value. The move reflects a trend in which surging demand for AI-related services is driving even small-cap companies to reposition toward gpu infrastructure Allbird shares surged 300%. Allbirds (BIRD) surged around 300% after saying it will pivot from sneakers into AI computation services, underscoring one of the market’s dominant themes: the race to secure scarce AI infrastructure. The company said it agreed to sell its footwear brand to American Exchange Group and reinvent itself as NewBird AI, backed by a $50 million convertible financing facility to acquire processing units and build AI infrastructure. The $50 million convertible loan is roughly double the company's $22 million pre-announcement market cap. Demand for the computing power required to support AI is surging and supply remains constrained, a scarcity that has already seen bitcoin miners pivoting into AI and high-performance computing. Now, even small-cap companies are attempting to position themselves to capture the opportunity. Convertible financing means the investor initially provides capital to the company as debt, and can later convert it into equity, often at a discount, which can lead to significant dilution for existing shareholders. Artificial Intelligence AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards . For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy . More For You TeraWulf stock declines on $900 million share sale to fund AI data center expansion By James Van Straten , Helene Braun | Edited by Stephen Alpher 19 minutes ago The shares had been on a big run higher, rising more than 50% since late March. What to know : TeraWulf (WULF) is lower on Wednesday morning after a $900 million share sale to fund its Kentucky data center buildout. Preliminary first-quarter results show modest revenue of $30 million to $35 million, with an improving shift toward stable HPC hosting income streams. Compass Point analyst Michael Donovan said the results... Read full story Latest Crypto News TeraWulf stock declines on $900 million share sale to fund AI data center expansion 19 minutes ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: AAVE rises 4.3% as trades flat 27 minutes ago Pakistan lifts seven-year ban, allowing banks to service crypto providers 52 minutes ago Prediction market volumes to hit $1 trillion by 2030 with Robinhood, Coinbase as key players, Bernstein says 58 minutes ago Trump-backed WLFI moves to unlock 62 billion tokens after $75 million loan controversy 1 hour ago Income ETFs could be bitcoin’s volatility kill switch 2 hours ago Top Stories A new class of crypto treasury companies is forming around Strategy’s high-yield stock 4 hours ago Bitcoin developers are trying to build quantum defenses. Your coins could pay the price. 7 hours ago Why this ex-Solana exec is using a Wall Street trick to level the playing field in DeFi 4 hours ago Bitcoin pulls back as $75,000 remains 'both the milestone and the ceiling' 2 hours ago The 100% debt trap: Why the IMF’s latest warning is a massive long-term signal for bitcoin 3 hours ago EToro to acquire crypto wallet Zengo in $70 million deal 4 hours ago