Allbirds rebrands as Smartbird in AI pivot, hires former AWS executive as CEO

Reuters

Wed, June 17, 2026 astatine 8:09 AM CDT 1 min read

June 17 (Reuters) - Allbirds changed its sanction to Smartbird connected Wednesday and appointed erstwhile Amazon Web Services enforcement ‌Nadia Carlsten arsenic president and CEO, cementing the erstwhile ‌footwear maker's pivot to an AI infrastructure firm.

The institution had said successful April ​it was shifting its absorption to connection unreality computing capableness and AI services, starring to a much than five-fold surge successful its shares.

Here are immoderate details:

• Carlsten brings AI and quantum computing acquisition from DCAI, ‌Alphabet spinoff SandboxAQ, and ⁠Amazon Web Services, and has advised the World Economic Forum connected computing and AI.

• She volition ⁠take implicit from Joe Vernachio, who is resigning from the company. Annie Mitchell volition proceed to service arsenic the main fiscal officer, ​and Lily ​Yan Hughes has been appointed ​board chair.

• Smartbird said ‌it provides AI infrastructure arsenic a managed work to prevention upfront instrumentality costs for clients. It is successful progressive discussions with imaginable customers and is designing its archetypal clump deployments.

• "With a differentiated strategy, important capital, and the accidental to physique an exceptional ‌team, we are uniquely positioned to ​capitalize connected 1 of the astir important ​infrastructure opportunities of the ​next decade," Carlsten said.

• The institution besides said ‌it had expanded its convertible ​financing statement to $100 ​million from $50 cardinal and had antecedently indicated it would usage the proceeds to get graphics processors.

• Allbirds unopen astir ​of its brick-and-mortar ‌stores and sold its marque and footwear assets to American Exchange ​Group for $39 cardinal successful March.

(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai successful ​Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)