From shoe company to AI: Allbirds' stock surge loses steam

The stock market surge of the former shoe company Allbirds, following its surprising pivot to the artificial intelligence (AI) business, is losing steam. The stock fell by more than 35 percent on Thursday after its price had previously increased approximately sevenfold.

Allbirds was once a popular shoe brand, particularly in tech circles, which originally started in New Zealand. Following its stock market debut in 2021, Allbirds was temporarily valued at around four billion US dollars. A few weeks ago, however, the business was valued at less than 40 million dollars and was on the brink of collapse.

New start as an AI specialist?

The company then suddenly announced a new start as a provider of artificial intelligence infrastructure under the name NewBird AI. A previously unnamed investor announced plans to invest up to 50 million dollars in the company. The share price subsequently jumped from around 3 dollars to approximately 21 dollars. On Thursday, it fell back to the 10-dollar mark.

Analysts attributed the rise, in part, to investors' tendency to jump on anything related to AI. The development is reminiscent of the situation a few years ago when simply announcing something related to digital currencies like Bitcoin was enough to trigger stock price increases. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management told the financial service Bloomberg that even if the Allbirds announcement lacks substance, enthusiasm and potential are enough for investors. He added that the plans also have a “healthy dose of absurdity”.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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