Allbirds shares jump over 400% on plans to pivot to AI from sneakers

April 15 (Reuters) - Shares of Allbirds (BIRD) surged much than five-fold connected Wednesday aft the footwear shaper said it was raising superior and ‌pivoting towards AI computing infrastructure.

The San Francisco, California-based institution said that ‌it would execute a $50 cardinal convertible financing statement with an organization capitalist and plans to ​use the proceeds to get graphics processing units (GPUs).

Allbirds besides plans to rebrand itself arsenic "NewBird AI" and, implicit time, displacement absorption to offering unreality computing capableness and AI services, though it did not supply further details connected its caller strategy.

The ‌overhaul comes amid robust capitalist ⁠enthusiasm for AI-related stocks and the data-centre infrastructure that supports it, hoping to payment from the hundreds of billions ⁠of firm concern pouring into the technology.

"It looks similar an effort to capitalize connected the AI movement. I don't spot however Allbirds brings thing to the array ​beyond sanction ​recognition," said Bruce Winder, an autarkic ​retail consultant.

Allbirds has been shutting astir ‌of its brick-and-mortar stores implicit the past fewer months owing to muted request and power to online partnerships. Last month, Allbirds said it had sold its marque and footwear assets to American Exchange Group for $39 million.

The banal was past up 435% astatine $13.33, valuing the institution astatine $116 million, according to LSEG ‌data. Allbirds was besides among the astir ​active orders connected Fidelity's trading level connected Wednesday, ​signalling involvement from retail traders.

The ​move echoes past efforts by tiny U.S. firms that ‌reshaped their concern models to pat capitalist ​enthusiasm. In 2017, ​beverage shaper Long Island Iced Tea Corp pivoted to blockchain exertion nether the sanction Long Blockchain

Allbirds made its Nasdaq debut successful 2021 astatine ​a valuation of $3 billion, ‌but shed astir 99% of its marketplace worth arsenic of its ​last closing price.

(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal successful Bengaluru; further reporting by ​Savyata Mishra; Editing by Diti Pujara)