1 of 2 | Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street in 2025 in New York City. Stocks for the former shoe company Allbirds soared Wednesday as the company announced a switch to artifical intelligence technology. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
April 15 (UPI) -- Once known for its sustainable shoes made from natural materials, Allbirds made a surprise announcement on Wednesday -- it's switching from footwear to artificial intelligence computing.
The company's stock leapt more than 700% on the announcement, jumping from less than $3 to more than $17.
The company, which is changing its name to NewBird AI, said in a press release that it has a $50 million deal with an unnamed investor, with which it will obtain "high-performance GPU assets." The release said the new company will make these assets available to companies in need of access through long-term lease agreements.
"The rise of AI development and adoption has created unprecedented structural demand for specialized, high-performance compute that the market isstruggling to meet," the release said. "Global enterprise spending on AI services and data center investment are on the rise."
