Allbirds
Footwear/DTCUSA
New to Unitard
π€ Acquired
PeakΒ $2.1 BillionToday
~-98%
from peak
- π¦Became a unicorn2018
- πPeak valuation$2.1 Billion β21
- πBecame a Unitard2022
- πΈLast valuation~$42M
Current status
IP/assets to American Exchange Group $39M (Mar 2026); winding down
The rise & fall
8 moments Β· 2016β2026The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.
2016
2016
Founded in San Francisco
Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger bet that a merino-wool sneaker can be a lifestyle brand.
Wikipedia
2018
2018
Joins the unicorn club
A T. Rowe Price-led round values the wool-sneaker maker around $1.4B.
CNBC
Nov 2021
Nov 2021
The peak: a $2.1B IPO$2.1B
The DTC darling lists on the Nasdaq at a valuation around $2.1B β the high-water mark for the wool-sneaker story.
Yahoo Finance
2022
2022
Slips out of the club
Growth slows, losses persist, and the stock sheds its sneaker premium within a year of listing.
Yahoo Finance
2023
2023
Growth goes into reverse
Sales decline and a turnaround plan lands; the store expansion turns into closures.
CNBC
2022β25
From the inside Β· Glassdoor reviews, 2022β25
Reviews from the retail floor charted the descent: employees described a mission-driven culture fading after the IPO, a too-fast store expansion that ended in waves of closures, and a churn of new products that drifted from the wool sneakers loyal customers actually wanted.
Mar 2026
Mar 2026
Sold for parts: ~$39M to American Exchange Group$39M
IP and assets go for roughly $39M β about 98% below the IPO peak β as the brand winds down.
Yahoo Finance
π¬ entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor β; dated facts carry their source.
How it happened
Allbirds was a direct-to-consumer footwear brand known for wool sneakers that reached a private valuation of about $1.7B before its 2021 IPO valued it around $2.1B. Slowing growth and persistent losses crushed the stock after listing. By 2026 the company was winding down, selling its IP and assets to American Exchange Group for roughly $39M β about 98% below peak.
Source: MyTotalRetail/Yahoo Finance
Founders
Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-08-19. See our methodology.
