Allbirds stock takes flight after announcing new CEO and name change
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Allbirds is clipping its wings — again.The San Francisco company announced Wednesday it will be changing its name to Smartbird and naming a new chief executive to lead its pivot from an eco-friendly shoe company to an AI startup.The company named Nadia Carlsten as its new CEO, replacing Joe Vernachio who was named CEO in 2024.
Carlsten was previously the CEO of AI company DCAI, where she forged a partnership with chip maker giant Nvidia to launch an AI supercomputer.It’s the second name change since April for the company, which was once a fixture of Silicon Valley (It was previously named Newbird).“Smartbird is entering the market at a pivotal moment in the evolution of AI infrastructure,” said Carlsten in a statement.
“ With a differentiated strategy, significant capital, and the opportunity to build an exceptional team, we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on one of the most significant infrastructure opportunities of the next decade.” Business Allbirds became a Silicon Valley favorite when it launched in 2021, known best for its eco-friendly wool sneakers.The company just sold for a fraction of what it was once worth.In April, Allbirds sold its shoe business and physical assets for $39 million to the American Exchange Group to change its focus to AI.
It announced it would be changing its business model to buy, sell and maintain servers equipped with AI to be rented out to other tech companies.When Allbirds went public in 2021, it was valued at $4 billion and attracted many investors, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio, with its shoe model made from wool and eucalyptus.
In the years following it struggled to continue the hype.Allbirds was started in 2007 by former pro football player Tim Brown in 2007 as a direct-to-consumer brand before changing to sell product in retail stores and expanding from sneakers to other clothing items like flip flops and leggings...