AAPL

TSLA

AMZN

META

AMD

NVDA

PEP

COST

ADBE

GOOG

AMGN

HON

INTC

INTU

NFLX

ADP

SBUX

MRNA

Markets

BIRD

2 Things to Know About the Allbirds Pivot Into AI

April 18, 2026 — 06:37 pm EDT

Written by

Catie Hogan for

The Motley Fool->

Key Points

- Allbirds stock initially rose 500% on news of its pivot into AI.

- The company's stock has lost nearly 98% of its value since its IPO in late 2021.

- 10 stocks we like better than Allbirds ›

It'll be one of the most bizarre headlines you'll read in 2026. Allbirds (NASDAQ: BIRD), the eco-friendly sneaker brand once valued at more than $4 billion, announced it is leaving the shoe business entirely and making a full pivot into artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Allbirds will sell its remaining intellectual property and shoe assets to American Exchange Group and rebrand as NewBird AI. It's not exactly a natural or expected move into AI, but the stock still shot up more than 500% on the news.

Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »

Investors really need to know two things about this skyrocketing jump.

1. Change of business plan

The new Allbirds company will operate as a GPU-as-a-service and AI solutions cloud provider going forward. An unnamed institutional investor backs the new company and plans to grow its neocloud platform, expand partnerships, and use M&A tactics to achieve its goals. The institutional investor made a definitive agreement with Allbirds for a $50 million convertible financing facility. This money will fully enable the jump into AI.

Image source: Getty Images.

2. Reasons for skepticism

More than being surprised, investors should exercise caution. This pivot isn't just surprising; it feels a lot like a play to attract meme stock attention. The company could definitely succeed, but given its late and unusual start in the AI race, it may face more challenges than opportunities ahead. Competition in this space is fierce and incredibly well-funded.

Still, Allbirds isn't the first company to pivot into a completely new line of business; from dot-com rebranding to sudden crypto-mining interests, it's been done before with varying levels of success. Allbirds investors will be anxious to see how this move from comfort to compute plays out.

Should you buy stock in Allbirds right now?

Before you buy stock in Allbirds, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Allbirds wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $524,786!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,236,406!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 199% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 18, 2026.

Catie Hogan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.