Allbirds was founded with a focus on environmental conservation. Its pivot to AI is leaving that behind. (www.businessinsider.com)

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Allbirds isn't only pivoting to AI — it's pivoting away from its core environmental principles.

Once dubbed the favorite shoemaker of Silicon Valley, Allbirds announced Wednesday it was transitioning from footwear to AI compute infrastructure and becoming NewBird AI.

The company said it planned to buy GPUs, or powerful chips, and become a GPU-as-a-service company. It's also selling off its footwear assets and its original name, meaning Allbirds-branded shoes could continue to be made, under new ownership.

The company partially answered questions about what that might mean for Allbirds' status as a company committed to ESG — environmental, social, and governance principles — in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing said stockholders would vote next month on proposed changes to the company, including removing environmental commitments written into its charter and revoking its status as a public benefit corporation. PBCs are for-profit corporations intended to produce a public benefit and operate responsibly and sustainably.

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