Allbirds' former CEO, Joey Zwillinger, has sold the company's shoe business for $43 million and renamed it Smartbird. The new entity will focus on AI infrastructure, providing computing power to train and run deep learning models. Former AWS executive Nadia Carlsten took over as CEO of Smartbird yesterday, tasked with building a team and establishing an office.
Smartbird aims to cater to companies that require direct control over their servers and prioritize data sovereignty over scalability. Carlsten estimates the market for this type of service is nascent but has potential. The company will compete with established players like Hewlett Packard and Equinix, which offer similar managed AI compute services.
Carlsten plans to deploy compute clusters for several customers by the end of the year. She notes that Smartbird's target market requires agility and control over infrastructure, rather than large-scale deployments. This approach allows the company to differentiate itself from cloud providers and focus on efficiency and customization.
Smartbird has secured $100 million in funding from investors, with Carlsten set to receive a $700,000 annual salary and stock worth around $9 million. The company's shift to AI infrastructure marks a new direction for Allbirds' assets, which previously focused on sustainable footwear.
