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The familiar strategy behind the Allbirds AI pivot

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom
Published April 17, 2026 at 10:56 AM CDT
An exterior view of an Allbirds store, a maker of sustainable shoes, in lower Manhattan on Aug. 31, 2021 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
An exterior view of an Allbirds store, a maker of sustainable shoes, in lower Manhattan on Aug. 31, 2021 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Shares of the shoe brand Allbirds soared this week after the company announced a surprising pivot to artificial intelligence.

Full Disclosure podcast host Roben Farzad joins Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd to try to explain their business strategy and why this moment is reminiscent of the dot-com boom.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR
Here & Now Newsroom