Dot-com vibes? Allbirds rallies more than 300% after pivoting from trendy shoes to AI compute

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Allbirds (BIRD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BIRD]) skyrocketed more than 340% on Wednesday after announcing a shocking pivot from being a trendy shoe seller to an AI compute infrastructure name.

The updated version of Allbirds, which will be called NewBird AI, announced a deal to raise up to $50M in funding. "The company will initially seek to acquire high-performance, low-latency AI compute hardware and provide access under long-term lease arrangements, meeting customer demand that spot markets and hyperscalers are unable to reliably service, read a company statement.

Allbirds traces its roots back to New Zealand in 2007 and was later developed by former NFL star Tim Brown into a wool-based shoe concept. Brown partnered with biotech engineer Joey Zwillinger in 2015, and the company launched its Wool Runner in 2016 with a direct-to-consumer model focused on simplicity and sustainability. The brand grew quickly by tapping into Silicon Valley’s appetite for minimalist, eco-friendly products, expanding into retail and new materials like eucalyptus fiber. Allbirds (BIRD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BIRD]) went public in November 2021, but its share price declined over the last four years after posting a long streak of unprofitable quarters.

Shares of Allbirds (BIRD [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BIRD]) were up more than 345% in early trading amid a high level of short interest outstanding on the stock.

MORE ON ALLBIRDS

* Allbirds jumps after securing $50M to expand into AI compute infrastructure [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4575163-allbirds-secures-50m-financing-facility-to-expand-to-ai-compute-infrastructure]
* Allbirds jumps 30% on $39M acquisition deal by American Exchange Group [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4570495-american-exchange-group-to-acquire-allbirds-assets-in-39m-transaction]
* Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Allbirds [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BIRD/ratings/quant-ratings]
* Historical earnings data for Allbirds [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BIRD/earnings]
* Financial information for Allbirds [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BIRD/income-statement]