New York —
Shares of Allbirds — the 2010s pioneer of trendy sneakers and eco-conscious Millennial retail marketing — took flight in an almost comical fashion Wednesday morning after the company announced an extremely 2026 pivot: abandoning its environmental agenda and getting into the AI business.
The stock, which had largely been in the gutter since a November 2021 peak that valued the company at $4 billion, shot up more than 600% in early trading Wednesday. The catalyst came from Allbirds’ announcement that the company, after selling its footwear assets and branding to brand management company American Exchange