An Allbirds store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York.Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images · Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Allbirds, the maker of minimalist wool sneakers beloved by Silicon Valley, announced on Wednesday that it is leaving shoes behind and pivoting to artificial intelligence. The new focus and rebrand as “NewBird AI” sent the company’s stock up 582% as of mid-day during a flurry of trading. The surging stock price and new direction is a bizarre, rapid turnaround for a company that had ...