Allbirds to become NewBird AI after $50M financing

Allbirds has agreed to sell its footwear brand and related assets to American Exchange Group for $39 million, executed a definitive agreement for a $50 million convertible financing facility with an institutional investor and plans to change its corporate name to NewBird AI as it shifts to GPU-as-a-Service.

The financing is structured as convertible debt and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, the company’s filing shows. Initial proceeds are planned for purchasing high-performance GPUs to provide dedicated AI compute capacity under long-term lease arrangements for customers that require predictable access beyond spot markets and hyperscalers.

The sale to American Exchange Group, a brand management firm focused on accessories, is part of the transaction. Allbirds has set a special meeting of stockholders for May 18 for holders of record as of April 13. The company also expects to issue a special dividend in the third quarter of 2026 to stockholders of record as of May 20.

Chardan served as placement agent on the convertible financing and structured the deal to provide immediate liquidity while offering investors conversion upside, according to the filing.

Shares of BIRD rose sharply after the announcement, climbing more than 400% to an intraday peak of $12.72 and trading around $10.97 at the time of the filing, roughly 340% above the prior close of $2.49. The company’s market capitalization had recently been near $21 million.

Regulatory filings show Allbirds reported negative free cash flow of $58.23 million over the last 12 months. The company noted it does not have an existing computing base and will need to acquire hardware, build low-latency networks and establish data-center operations. Executives did not provide a detailed timeline for hardware purchases, customer onboarding or projected revenue from the new business line.

The filing references past corporate rebrandings that drew investor interest and later regulatory scrutiny. It notes the business transformation and sale but does not address potential regulatory risks tied to the change of business.

Shareholder approval of the sale and the proposed name change is required to complete the transaction and begin operations as NewBird AI, the filing states.