Smartbird Appoints AWS Veteran CEO, Doubles $100M Convertible Facility for AI Clusters
BIRD•Smartbird, formerly Allbirds, appointed former AWS executive Nadia Carlsten as CEO, replacing Joe Vernachio, with Annie Mitchell CFO and Lily Yan Hughes as board chair. The company doubled its convertible financing facility to $100 million for GPU purchases, has started designing managed-service AI clusters and is in talks with clients.
1. Rebrand and Leadership
The company completed its transformation from Allbirds to Smartbird, naming former Amazon Web Services executive Nadia Carlsten as CEO. Joe Vernachio resigned, while Annie Mitchell continues as CFO and Lily Yan Hughes steps in as board chair.
2. Financing and AI Infrastructure Pivot
Smartbird offers AI infrastructure as a managed service and has begun designing its first cluster deployments. It expanded its convertible financing facility from $50 million to $100 million, earmarking the funds for graphics processor acquisitions.
3. Footwear Divestiture
In March the company sold its footwear brand and intellectual property to American Exchange Group for $39 million and closed most retail locations. Annual revenues fell from $298 million in 2022 to $152 million in 2025.
4. Stock Performance
Shares of BIRD surged over 600% from under $3 per share following the pivot announcement and financing increase, reflecting investor enthusiasm for the AI infrastructure strategy.
