Allbirds, the sustainable footwear company, completes its move away from making shoes by selling its sneaker business and rebranding as Smartbird. Multiple outlets report that the company is now positioning itself as an AI infrastructure provider, part of a broader pivot that was first announced earlier in the year. Smartbird also appoints a new chief executive to lead the change. Business reporting identifies the incoming CEO as a former AWS executive and links the hire to prior AI infrastructure experience, including leadership from a Danish AI infrastructure group.
Several sources note a sharp market reaction following the announcements, with shares surging by more than 50% early in the day before later pulling back. Other coverage describes the rebrand as effectively ending the Allbirds shoe brand and moving the company’s focus toward AI compute and related services. One outlet also characterizes the pivot as an attempt to shift the company’s identity and future growth strategy from consumer footwear toward data-center and AI infrastructure offerings.
Overall, the coverage agrees on the main developments: divestment of sneaker assets, the name change to Smartbird, an AI-focused corporate pivot, and a new AI-infrastructure chief executive.
