Allbirds Rebrands to Smartbird and Appoints New CEO Amid Full AI Infrastructure Pivot

Two months after its unexpected shift toward artificial intelligence, Allbirds has officially rebranded as Smartbird and appointed a new chief executive, marking a decisive step in its transformation from a footwear company into an AI infrastructure player.

The company announced on Wednesday the appointment of Nadia Carlsten as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member, replacing incumbent CEO Joe Vernachio as the organization accelerates its strategic realignment.

Carlsten brings extensive experience in advanced technology and infrastructure. She previously led the quantum computing center at Amazon Web Services, served at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and most recently held the position of CEO at DCAI, an AI infrastructure firm collaborating with Nvidia and operating the Gefion supercomputer.

Following the announcement, shares of the company under the ticker BIRD surged 39%, reflecting strong market reaction to the leadership change and ongoing strategic pivot.

In April, Allbirds surprised investors by announcing its transition away from footwear into AI compute infrastructure and hardware, rebranding temporarily as NewBird AI, a move that reportedly multiplied its market capitalization sevenfold.

Earlier, the company completed the divestment of its footwear business to American Exchange Group for $39 million, and had already shut down its full-priced U.S. retail stores in February as part of its restructuring plan.

The shift reflects a broader trend among public companies repositioning themselves to benefit from the accelerating demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, a wave largely driven by the rise of generative AI technologies following ChatGPT’s launch in 2022.

Similar strategic pivots have been observed across the market, including firms transitioning from crypto-related operations into AI infrastructure, such as CoreWeave, which has since become a notable player in the sector.