GoKawiilSAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following its prior announcement that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Allbirds brand and footwear assets to American Exchange Group, which intends to continue to build on Allbirds’ legacy and deliver compelling products to Allbirds’ customers (the “Asset Sale”), Allbirds, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIRD) (the "Company") today announced the execution of a definitive agreement with an institutional investor for a $50 million convertible financing facility (the “Facility”). The Facility, which is expected to close during the second quarter of 2026, will enable the Company to pivot its business to AI compute infrastructure, with a long-term vision to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions provider. In connection with this pivot, the Company anticipates changing its name to “NewBird AI.”
As described in the Company’s proxy materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, conversion of the Facility is subject to stockholder approval at the upcoming Special Meeting of Stockholders, anticipated to take place on May 18, 2026, for stockholders of record as of April 13, 2026. Additionally, subject to stockholder approval of the Asset Sale, Allbirds, Inc. anticipates issuing a special dividend during the third quarter of 2026 to stockholders of record as of the anticipated dividend record date of May 20, 2026.
As a result of these transactions, the Allbirds brand and legacy will continue under the ownership of American Exchange Group for the benefit of all of its customers, investors as of the dividend record date will receive a special dividend, and investors who elect to continue to hold NewBird AI stock will be invested in a growing AI compute infrastructure business supported by the Facility.
Chardan is serving as placement agent on the Facility and Holland & Hart LLP is acting as legal counsel to Allbirds.
The AI Compute Infrastructure Strategy & Long-Term Opportunity
NewBird AI expects to use initial capital from the Facility to acquire high-performance GPU assets, which will be deployed to serve customers requiring dedicated access to AI compute capacity. NewBird AI’s long-term vision is to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions provider. Over time, the Company intends to grow its neocloud platform by expanding its compute and service offerings, deepening partnerships with operators and customers, and evaluating strategic M&A opportunities.
The rise of AI development and adoption has created unprecedented structural demand for specialized, high-performance compute that the market is struggling to meet. Global enterprise spending on AI services and data center investment are on the rise. At the same time, GPU procurement lead times are increasing for high-end hardware, North American data center vacancy rates have reached historic lows, and market-wide compute capacity coming online through mid-2026 is already fully committed. The result is a market where enterprises, AI developers, and research organizations are unable to secure the compute resources they need to build, train and run AI at scale.
NewBird AI is being built to help close that gap. The Company will initially seek to acquire high-performance, low-latency AI compute hardware and provide access under long-term lease arrangements, meeting customer demand that spot markets and hyperscalers are unable to reliably service.
Participants in the Solicitation
Allbirds and its directors and executive officers may be deemed “participants” in any solicitation of proxies from Allbirds’ stockholders with respect to the Asset Sale and Facility. Information regarding the identity of Allbirds’ directors and executive officers, and their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, in the Company’s securities is contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. Information regarding subsequent changes to the holdings of Allbirds’ securities by Allbirds’ directors and executive officers can be found in filings on Forms 3, 4, and 5, which are available through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the proxy statement relating to the Asset Sale and Facility if, and when, it is filed with the SEC. The proxy statement, if and when filed, as well as Allbirds’ other public filings with the SEC, may be obtained without charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on the investor relations section of our website at ir.allbirds.com.
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