The CEO of Allbirds’ new AI biz has a plan, but no employees

techcrunch.com Jun 19, 2026

The CEO of Allbirds’ new AI biz has a plan, but no employees

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Jun 19, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Allbirds has pivoted to AI, selling its shoe business for $43 million and raising $100 million from the stock market, rebranding as Smartbird. Nadia Carlsten, a former AWS executive, has been appointed as Smartbird's CEO, tasked with recruiting a new team and establishing an office. Smartbird aims to provide AI infrastructure, targeting customers who require direct control over servers and value data sovereignty. The company will focus on managed deployments, competing with internal company projects rather than hyperscalers or neoclouds. Carlsten expects to deploy compute clusters for several customers by the end of the year, with a focus on agility and control rather than large-scale operations.

💡 Why It Matters

· Smartbird's focus on data sovereignty sets it apart in a market dominated by public cloud services, addressing the needs of companies in regulated industries.
· Its unique approach may attract customers willing to pay a premium for customized AI infrastructure solutions.

AI Capsules Entrepreneurs

Read full article on techcrunch.com

Almost half of US singles feel negatively about AI in dating, Match…

Match Group, the parent company of popular dating apps like Tinder and Hinge, conducted a survey of 1,000 US singles aged 18 to 39 to gauge their views on AI in dating. The results showed that 47% of respondents have a negative view of AI's use in romantic contexts, with 40% saying they would refuse to date someone who uses an AI companion app. However, 64% of respondents believe AI can help them in their dating journey, but only in a supporting role, not as a replacement for human connection.

💡 The survey highlights a nuanced attitude towards AI in dating, where users are open to its assistance but not its replacement. This distinction suggests that dating app developers should focus on creating AI features that augment human interaction, rather than replacing it, to avoid alienating users who value genuine connections.

semiconductor-digest.com · Jun 19

AI’s Next Power Challenge Is Inside the Delivery Path

The semiconductor industry faces a critical challenge in power delivery to AI systems, with traditional lateral power architectures resulting in 15-20% power loss due to resistive losses. As device power levels climb and operating voltages drop, the industry is shifting towards vertical power delivery schemes to reduce losses and improve efficiency. Technologies like Saras Micro Devices' STILE platform embed passive functionality into system PCB and package structures, supporting voltage regulation demands and freeing board-level real estate. This shift is redefining packaging discussions, with packaging becoming part of the power architecture. The industry must evaluate energy efficiency through the lens of power delivery path efficiency, not just processor performance and thermal management, to optimize compute capabilities.

💡 Every watt lost in the power delivery path is a watt unavailable for compute, directly impacting AI system performance. Vertical power delivery schemes can significantly reduce energy waste and infrastructure strain.

newswire.co.kr · Jun 19

Moody’s Launches Decision-Grade AI Skills for Major AI Platforms

Moody's Corporation has launched its first set of AI skills, which are purpose-built instruction kits that connect AI agents to its decision-grade intelligence. The skills are available on Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork and will expand to other compatible AI platforms. These skills enable customers to execute complex analytical workflows through a single natural-language request, with outputs grounded in Moody's proprietary ratings, research, and risk intelligence. The initial wave of skills covers high-priority financial workflows, including earnings call summaries and peer analysis. This launch embeds Moody's expertise at the center of financial analysis execution across the industry, with skills emerging as the standard for AI agent execution.

💡 Moody's move sets a new standard for financial data providers, encoding expertise into executable AI skills that can be used across platforms. By doing so, it positions itself at the forefront of AI-driven financial decision-making.

nextplatform.com · Jun 19

Everpure’s AI Strategy Is Almost Purely Based On Nvidia

Everpure's chief technology officer Rob Lee announced that the company's AI strategy is largely based on Nvidia, citing the vendor's effectiveness in delivering solutions and getting customers to results. At the Accelerate Conference, Everpure outlined its "data primacy" strategy, including Everpure Data Intelligence, which discovers, classifies, and contextualizes enterprise information. The company also rolled out updates to its Enterprise Data Cloud platform and introduced new features such as Evergreen//One Overdrive and Fusion compliance. Everpure is working with other GPU providers, but its AI solutions are primarily oriented towards Nvidia. The company's reliance on Nvidia comes amid component shortages and price rises. Key updates include universal discovery and AI-ready context.

💡 Nvidia's dominance in the AI space is driving Everpure's strategy, as customers prioritize achieving return on investment over having multiple options. The partnership between Everpure and Nvidia is mutually beneficial, enabling customers to make meaningful use of data and achieve results.

artificialintelligence-news.com · Jun 19

SAP and Google Cloud deploy agentic commerce architecture

SAP and Google Cloud are deploying agentic commerce architecture to automate marketing and retail operations. SAP research indicates 78 percent of businesses consider AI essential for retaining customers in 2026, but few companies share customer data across platforms. The partnership aims to build an agentic customer experience architecture, connecting data, AI, engagement, and commerce operations. The deployment relies on restructuring how AI interacts with backend commercial platforms and adopting the Universal Commerce Protocol to standardise data exchange. This framework allows software to independently execute the full retail sequence, lowering integration costs and accelerating onboarding into AI-driven channels, with SAP planning to collaborate with Google to surface merchant products across the Gemini application and Google Search.

💡 By unifying the entire retail sequence, the architecture corrects systemic customer experience failures, such as out-of-stock notices and fulfilment delays. The integration ensures the system recognises the user and their context instantly across all digital properties, enabling efficient issue resolution and personalised interactions.

vir.com.vn · Jun 19

AI network growth creates 500M test opportunity

The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is creating significant opportunities for test and measurement providers, with AI network infrastructure growing over 20% annually. Organisations are investing in solutions to validate performance, security, and compliance across complex AI-enabled environments. The study identifies growth opportunities worth up to $500 million over five years, driven by the need to benchmark and secure AI networks. North America leads the market, while Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region, with demand for sustainable testing solutions and AI-driven testing on the rise. Key sectors include healthcare and defence.

💡 AI networks' complexity demands new testing approaches, making advanced solutions crucial for organisations to validate security and optimise data-intensive workloads. Innovative commercial models like testing-as-a-service will help reduce capital expenditure and accelerate deployment of testing capabilities.