April 7 Allbirds sent out a press release showing off its novel “canvas cruiser” collection and collaboration with color company Pantone. A week later, on April 15, Allbirds sent out a press release announcing that the brand would be “shifting its operations to AI computing infrastructure.” Artificial intelligence attacks you quickly.
It must be admitted that it was a month full of events for Allbirds. The startup’s collapse was long-lasting and well documentedbut here is the tiny version. While the comfortable yet good-looking footwear led to a valuation of $4 billion when it went public in 2021, its sales never lived up to the hype. After years of financial losses, he finally sold what was left of his intellectual property to American Exchange Group, a “brand management” company that also owns brands such as Aerosoles and Ed Hardy. Price: $39 million. It was March 30th.
And now? American Exchange Group will likely work to revive Allbirds’ clothing business, starting with these canvas cruisers. But Allbirds itself will focus its efforts on turning its $50 million cash infusion (or “convertible financial instrument”) into “high-performance GPU assets,” ultimately building a “fully integrated provider of GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions.” As befits a discovery of this scale, Allbirds will also receive a novel name, NewBird AI.
Allbirds isn’t the only company that’s betting on calculations. Boom Supersonic is trying to build the world’s fastest airliner, but it’s eager to do so sell its Superpower gas turbines to AI companies needing energy for data centers. Most bitcoin mining companies boarded the AI train a few months ago. Even Nvidia GPUs were originally the basis of gaming computers. However, Allbirds appears to be the first company to launch with minimalist sneakers made from responsibly sourced Merino wool.
It’s true that the demand for computing power – computational power for artificial intelligence – is almost insatiable. Someone has to put it out; it might as well be a shoe company. “Enterprises, AI developers and research organizations are unable to secure the computing resources needed to create, train and run AI at scale,” Allbirds said in a press release. “NewBird Intelligence is being built to help fill this gap.”
It’s unclear what exactly NewBird’s AI brings to the table beyond cash to buy a few GPUs. Maybe that’s all that’s needed these days. Everything is pending shareholder approval, but investors love the move; Allbirds shares surged 400 percent on the news.
AllBirds did not respond to a request for comment.
If nothing else, the spin perfectly captures this extended moment of AI madness. Startups were about creating things; now they buy processors. Warby Parker, you are vigilant.