Extreme Business Manoeuvre: Allbirds Shoe Brand Pivots to Become an AI Company

KOMPAS.com - An unusual business manoeuvre has been undertaken by the American footwear company Allbirds. The shoe brand, once popular among “tech bros” or workers at Silicon Valley technology firms, is pivoting to become an AI company. This shift in focus comes amid the company’s dire financial straits. Allbirds, founded in 2015, is known as a producer of environmentally friendly sneakers primarily made from Merino wool and eucalyptus fibres. However, after its IPO, its popularity plummeted sharply, leading to the closure of all its physical stores. On 30 March, Allbirds announced that the company was being sold to American Exchange Group for $39 million (approximately Rp669 billion). This figure is far below the valuation it once achieved. In the future, after becoming an AI company, Allbirds will be reborn with a new identity named Newbird AI. Nevertheless, this name still requires approval from shareholders at a meeting scheduled for mid-May, as compiled from Gizmo China. The company has agreed to a convertible funding facility worth $50 million (approximately Rp858 billion) with institutional investors, in the form of debt that can later be converted into shares. GPUaaS is a burgeoning type of AI business aimed at fulfilling the surge in demand due to the global GPU shortage, allowing AI startups to rent computing power to run their models. “The company will start by acquiring high-performance, low-latency AI computing devices, then provide access through long-term rental schemes to meet customer demand that cannot be reliably served by the spot market or hyperscalers,” Allbirds stated in its official release. Allbirds’ business manoeuvre has attracted attention. Besides being quite extreme, the new business entity is also immediately jumping on the “booming AI” trend. This has reignited debates about the potential AI bubble. History shows that new technologies are always attractive, and the corporate world repeatedly demonstrates that nothing appeals more to businesspeople than riding the hype trend. In the late 1990s, the trend was the internet, with many companies racing to add “.com” to their names. This trend then triggered the “dot-com” bubble, which some experts say was even larger than the current AI bubble. Entering the mid-2020s, the sexiest word to add to a company name to attract investors is AI. The surge in Allbirds’ share price following the announcement was eye-opening. According to a Gizmo China report, by 11 a.m. during Wednesday’s trading session (15/4/2026), its shares had jumped more than 420 percent.