BIRD Stock To Finally Take Flight? Allbirds Rebrands To Smartbird To Double Down On AI Pivot, Ignites Retail Optimism

The company changed its name, appointed a new CEO, and expanded its capital pool.

• On Wednesday, Allbirds said it has rebranded as Smartbird, Inc., completing its shift toward AI infrastructure. 
• Smartbird named former Amazon executive Nadia Carlsten as CEO.
• The company exited most of its retail operations after closing most stores and completing a $39 million asset sale in March. 

Allbirds (BIRD) grabbed investor attention on Wednesday after the company disclosed a corporate shift that completes its transformation from a footwear company to an artificial intelligence infrastructure provider, helping propel the stock to a one-month high and reflecting growing investor appetite for AI-related businesses.

BIRD Makes Corporate Identity Reset

In an SEC filing on Wednesday, Allbirds said it will now operate as Smartbird, Inc. and unveiled leadership changes, governance updates and expanded financing aimed at supporting a move into AI infrastructure.

The changes became effective after the company filed amendments in Delaware on Monday, including the name change and the removal of its public benefit corporation designation. 

By eliminating references to its public benefit status and adopting the Smartbird name, the company signaled a stronger emphasis on commercial growth opportunities tied to advanced computing and AI-related services.

For years, Allbirds was known for environmentally focused sneakers and apparel. That chapter has now effectively ended. By transferring its core consumer assets to American Exchange Group and WSG Brands, the company exited a retail category that had struggled with declining sales and profitability challenges.

In April, the company said it is pivoting to build AI computing infrastructure after securing a $50 million financing deal. It aims to provide customers with reliable, high-performance hardware that is currently in short supply.  

Allbirds closed most of its physical stores and sold its brand and shoe-related assets to American Exchange Group for $39 million in March. 

Allbirds stock traded more than 2% lower overnight ahead of Thursday, following a broader market selloff on worries about a possible Federal Reserve rate hike to stem inflation. 

Leadership And Funding The AI Strategy

The company appointed AI industry and Amazon (AMZN) executive Nadia Carlsten as CEO and President. To support the transition, Smartbird expanded its senior secured convertible note facility, increasing available funding to $100 million. The company plans to use that capital to pursue opportunities in GPU cloud services and private AI computing clusters designed for corporate customers.

What BIRD Retail Traders Are Saying

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bearish’ the previous day, with a 22,600% spike in message volume in 24 hours. 

A user said, “$BIRD it’s opening over $20 tomorrow.”

Another user said, “Hopefully this shift plays out. Scooping up an Amazon Exec could help this stock boom.”

BIRD stock has gained over 33% year-to-date.

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