Allbirds shoes are made in South Korea, China, and Vietnam, with most footwear hand assembled at a factory in Busan, South Korea.
The brand itself changed owners entirely in 2026, when its original public company sold the Allbirds name and footwear business outright.
American Exchange Group now owns the Allbirds brand after acquiring it for 39 million dollars in a deal that closed in 2026.
The original publicly traded company that built Allbirds has since renamed itself and shifted its business entirely away from footwear.
This article covers who owns Allbirds today, where its shoes are actually manufactured, what happened during the 2026 sale, and its founding history.
So let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Who Owns Allbirds?
Allbirds is owned by American Exchange Group, which acquired the brand, product line, and Allbirds name in a deal that closed in 2026. Current products remain available on Allbirds’ official website.
American Exchange Group is known for acquiring and reviving dormant or struggling consumer brands.
The company has said it intends to continue building on Allbirds’ existing product lines and sustainability focused positioning rather than relaunching the brand from scratch.
This marks a complete break from Allbirds’ original ownership structure, since the shoe business is no longer connected to the publicly traded company that built the brand and took it public in 2021.
What Happened to Allbirds in 2026?
In March 2026, Allbirds Inc, the original publicly traded company behind the shoe brand, announced it had agreed to sell its entire footwear and apparel business to American Exchange Group for 39 million dollars.
Rather than winding down, the original public company pivoted its remaining shell into an entirely different business, announcing plans to rename itself and shift into leasing AI computing infrastructure and graphics processing units.
The stock surged roughly 600 percent in a single trading session following the announcement.
Shareholders of the original company were set to receive a special dividend tied to the sale, while anyone who chose to keep their shares would instead hold stock in the newly repositioned AI infrastructure company rather than any part of the shoe business.
Where Are Allbirds Shoes Made?
Allbirds footwear is manufactured in South Korea, China, and Vietnam. Most shoes are hand assembled at a factory in Busan, South Korea, a city with a long manufacturing history in footwear.
Allbirds apparel is produced across a wider network that includes Peru, Indonesia, China, and Vietnam, while the brand’s socks are manufactured domestically in North Carolina.
Allbirds publishes a list of its Tier 1 finished goods manufacturers and updates it periodically.
The brand’s proprietary merino wool fabric is woven at a textile mill outside Milan, Italy before being shipped to South Korea for final assembly into shoes.
When Was Allbirds Founded?
Allbirds was founded in 2015 by Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger, launching with an initial fundraising campaign on Kickstarter that raised roughly 119,000 dollars. More on the brand’s history is documented on Wikipedia.
The company built its identity around sustainable materials, including its debut merino wool sneaker, and grew quickly among early tech industry customers before expanding into a broader lifestyle and apparel brand with dozens of stores worldwide.
Allbirds went public in 2021, but its revenue declined sharply in the years that followed, falling from roughly 298 million dollars in 2022 to about 152 million dollars by 2025, setting the stage for the company’s dramatic pivot away from footwear.
Are Allbirds Good Quality?
Allbirds consistently earns high marks for comfort. Good Housekeeping’s Textiles Lab surveyed dozens of testers and found 91 percent rated the shoes a perfect score for comfort, and the original Wool Runner was once named the world’s most comfortable shoe by Time magazine.
Durability is the more common complaint. Reviewers on Trustpilot and PissedConsumer frequently describe holes forming at the big toe after several months to a year of regular wear, along with wool styles that stain easily and run warm in hot weather.
Allbirds addressed some of these concerns with the Wool Runner 2, which added reinforced heel seams and structural changes aimed at improving longevity.
Sizing runs narrow for some customers, and the brand does not offer the same level of arch support as dedicated athletic shoe brands, making Allbirds better suited to casual everyday wear than high mileage running or hiking.
Overall, most reviewers consider the shoes a strong choice for comfort and sustainability, with durability being the main tradeoff.
Frequently Asked Questions About Who Makes Allbirds
Are Allbirds shoes made in the USA?
No, Allbirds shoes are not made in the USA. Footwear is manufactured in South Korea, China, and Vietnam, though the brand’s socks are produced domestically in North Carolina.
Is Allbirds still a public company?
The Allbirds brand itself is now privately held by American Exchange Group. The original public company that built Allbirds still trades publicly, but it has shifted its business entirely away from footwear and into AI computing infrastructure.
Why did Allbirds sell its shoe business?
Allbirds sold its shoe business after years of declining sales and mounting losses as a public company. Leadership determined that selling the brand to American Exchange Group and pivoting the remaining company into AI infrastructure offered a better path forward for shareholders.
Who founded Allbirds?
Allbirds was founded in 2015 by Tim Brown, a former professional soccer player, and Joey Zwillinger, an engineer with a background in renewable materials.
I am Jack Neel, a mechanical engineer, researcher, and writer. I created this website to share my knowledge about different brands and products with you. I research the manufacturers behind the brands and provide you with the information you need to make smart buying decisions.