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Startups & Venture·October 29, 2026·1 min read

Smartbird's CEO talks about converting a shoe company into an AI player

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A consumer brand pivoting from sneakers to AI infrastructure is a reminder that balance sheets and brand equity can be recycled into compute-era businesses. If you run a non-tech incumbent with underutilized capital or distribution, the question is no longer “should we do AI?” but “what non-obvious assets could underwrite an AI-native line of business?”