Smartbird launches as AI infrastructure startup with $100M raise and no employees

Smartbird, the newly rebranded AI venture spun out of Allbirds, has raised $100 million and appointed Nadia Carlsten—formerly of AWS and European compute firm DCAI—as its CEO. The company’s formation followed Allbirds’ April pivot away from its shoe business, which included selling the unit for $43 million and rebranding as Smartbird. Carlsten told TechCrunch that her immediate priorities include assembling a leadership team and recruiting roles such as infrastructure operations, with plans to open an office in Amsterdam.

Smartbird describes itself as an AI infrastructure provider targeting customers who require direct control over the servers running their models, often for reasons related to data sovereignty or bespoke workflows. Carlsten emphasized that the company does not aim to compete directly with hyperscalers or neoclouds on scale or price, but instead seeks to offer more carefully managed, single-tenant deployments. Potential customers include pharmaceutical, energy, financial, and public sector organizations that prioritize control over scalability, she said.

The CEO acknowledged that the market for such AI infrastructure is nascent, as many companies are still piloting AI tools. She estimated that Smartbird’s target customers typically need deployments ranging from hundreds to thousands of chips, focusing on agility and infrastructure control rather than large-scale GPU clusters. Carlsten expects the company to deploy compute clusters for several customers by the end of 2026.

Carlsten argued that Smartbird’s niche is distinct from competitors like Hewlett Packard and Equinix, which also offer single-tenant managed AI compute services. She suggested that while hyperscalers optimize chip usage around the clock to offer low-cost compute, Smartbird’s approach may appeal to companies with specialized workflows that can operate more efficiently on dedicated hardware.

The company’s formation and funding round occurred alongside Allbirds’ decision to abandon its public benefit corporation status, which had previously underscored sustainability commitments. Carlsten stated that Smartbird’s board has made a long-term commitment to the AI strategy, framing the pivot as a deliberate effort to build a sustainable business rather than a short-term reaction to AI trends.