Investors welcomed the latest phase of the company’s transformation. Shares of BIRD jumped 39% following the announcement.
The company’s shift toward AI began with a broader restructuring that included the sale of its footwear assets and the closure of its remaining U.S. full-priced retail stores. After unveiling plans to focus on AI compute infrastructure and hardware, the company adopted the NewBird AI name before now settling on Smartbird as its permanent identity.
Carlsten told TechCrunch that the footwear business has now been fully wound down and that Smartbird is beginning to build its AI organization from the ground up. “We’re going to be recruiting a brand new team for the AI business, and we’re going to be getting an office,” she said. “The shoe business has officially closed as of yesterday, so that’s all done.”
The company is targeting a segment of the AI infrastructure market that prioritizes dedicated deployments and direct control over computing resources. According to Carlsten, Smartbird intends to serve organizations that want greater ownership of their AI infrastructure and place a premium on data sovereignty rather than relying entirely on public cloud platforms.
Drawing on experience from her time at DCAI, Carlsten pointed to customers operating in industries including pharmaceuticals, energy, finance, and the public sector. She said Smartbird’s opportunity lies in helping organizations manage specialized AI workloads on infrastructure they directly control.
Rather than competing head-to-head with large cloud providers, Carlsten said the company sees its primary competition as internal technology initiatives undertaken by enterprises themselves. She expects Smartbird to have compute clusters deployed for multiple customers by the end of the year.
The strategy places Smartbird among a growing group of companies seeking to capitalize on demand for AI infrastructure, a market that has attracted significant investor attention. The company’s transformation has drawn comparisons to other public firms that have reinvented themselves around emerging technologies, as well as AI infrastructure providers such as CoreWeave, which previously operated in crypto mining before shifting its focus.
Carlsten rejected the notion that the company’s move was driven solely by enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence. “It wasn’t, ‘Let’s just do AI, because it’s AI, and it’s hot,’” she told TechCrunch. “It was really about, do we have a chance to build a business over time that is going to find this niche in the market and be able to grow over time?”
Founded in 2015 by Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds became known for shoes made from natural materials and developed into a widely recognized consumer brand. The company went public in 2021 and initially saw strong investor demand before facing mounting competitive pressures and slowing momentum in its core business.
The transition to Smartbird marks a complete departure from that original strategy. With the footwear operation now closed, the company’s future depends on whether it can establish a sustainable position in a competitive AI infrastructure market and convert investor enthusiasm into a functioning business.
This analysis is based on reporting from TechCrunch and CNBC.
Image courtesy of Smartbird.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
