Back in the 1990s, companies could slap a ".com" on their names and watch their stocks fly — it's happening now, this time with AI and a stock with the ticker BIRD.
Why it matters: It's a sign of a frothy stock market: Small companies and investors are trying to cash in on the rise of AI and the exuberance of meme traders.
Where it stands: The stock price of the former hipster/techie sneaker company Allbirds closed at $10.91 on Thursday, up more than 300% since announcing it was getting into the AI business.
Myseum, a self-described "privacy-first social media and technology innovator," announced Wednesday afternoon that it was changing its name to Myseum.AI — its stock, valued at just a few dollars, also got a bump.
Catch up quick: Don't worry, you can still buy those wool Allbirds sneakers that used to be a thing.
The company, once valued at $4 billion, sold off all its assets — the sneakers, the brand name — in March for $39 million. The website is still there.
Between the lines: Typically, in that kind of situation, the remaining public company shell would delist and return whatever value was left to stockholders.
Allbirds is trying something else.
Zoom in: Now calling itself NewBird AI, the company says it expects to receive $50 million in financing from an unnamed investor that it will use to buy GPU compute capacity — and presumably sell that to other companies.
That is pennies in the AI infrastructure business where the barrier to entry startsin the billions of dollars. "A drop in the bucket," as William Blair analysts noted.
By the numbers: Still, investors were into it!
On Wednesday, after the pivot news broke, retail traders bought up $5.2 million worth of Allbirds stock, according to data from Vanda.
It's relatively a small amount, and observers note that trading is pretty thin. Still, it'sthe most action that stock has had since its debut, when retail bought about $5 million.
Vanda doesn't have data on automated trading or institutional dollars, but it's likely they piled in, too.
The latest: On Thursday, retail took profit — selling $950,000.
Zoom out: The stock jumped on "some combination of a very shallow float, automated momentum and unchecked hype," per William Blair's note. The firm said it was dropping its coverage.
Flashback: Back in the late 1990s, companies tried to signal that they were totally up on this new internet thing by slapping a ".com" or an "e-" or a "net" on their name. And if you already had it in your name, all the better.
Internet.com Corp, which went public in 1999, rode the dot-com wave and its shares surged from $14.
One paper from 2001, titled "A Rose.com by Any Other Name," found that the name changes did drive up stock prices. At least for a time.
The big picture: Allbirds is also likely hoping to attract some of the investor money sloshing around to to fund AI infrastructure, says Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial.
He notes that there was a similar rush by companies again during the dot-com era that were seeking to build the internet pipes needed for the nascent technology.
Some of them were existing public companies looking to pivot. These kinds of "reverse mergers," where a shell of a public company gets into a new business, "always existed on the fringe," he says.
There have been a few in recent years that got into bitcoin and blockchain, too.
The bottom line: AI is a real technology having a surreal moment.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected by removing a reference to Mecklermedia and to reflect that Internet.com Corp. went public in 1999.
I sent the following memo to Axios staff on April 17, 2026 ...
Our world — and Axios in particular — is evolving so fast and in so many ways. We are committed to communicating with as much clarity as possible, as often as possible. Today, I want to address some AI angst and bring some clarity to how we think about AI usage and employee expectations.
Why it matters: We hear your questions, and it's our responsibility to guide you through this epic AI epoch wisely and transparently.
A company co-founded by OpenAI's Sam Altman and known for its iris-scanning orbs announced new and expanded integrations on Friday with companies including Zoom, DocuSign, Tinder, Okta, Shopify and VanEck as it looks to grow its user base.
Why it matters:World, formerly known as Worldcoin, has struggled to convince everyday internet users to sign up for its identity verification system.
The blockage to energy supplies through the Persian Gulf appears to have ended. If it holds, it takes a massive weight off the world economy.
Why it matters: The possibility of a prolonged disruption to the supply of crude oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizer and other commodities looks to be off the table.
Oil prices dropped over 10% Friday after President Trump and Iran's foreign minister claimed the Strait of Hormuz — the world's most critical energy shipping lane — is open for transit.
Why it matters: The steep selloff signals traders see a real sign that the unprecedented throttling of oil and petroleum product flows could significantly ease.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is scheduled to walk into the West Wing on Friday for a meeting with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — a breakthrough in his effort to resolve the company's bitter AI fight with the Pentagon.
Why it matters: The Trump administration recognizes the power of Anthropic's new Claude model, Mythos, and its highly sophisticated — and potentially dangerous — ability to breach cybersecurity defenses.
The CEO of French oil giant TotalEnergies is defending a rare — and controversial — deal he struck last month with the Trump administration ending the company's federal offshore wind leases.
Why it matters: The comments offer a window into a deal structure other companies could pursue as President Trump moves to dismantle the nascent U.S. offshore wind sector.
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, 65, will not stand for re-election to the board when his current term expires in June, the company announced Thursday.
Why it matters: Under Hastings' tenure, Netflix grew to become one of the most powerful media companies in the world.
Ulta Beauty's fan-focused event in Orlando drew thousands of superfans — after millions tried to get tickets — as the retailer leans into turning beauty shopping into a live experience.
Why it matters: Retailers and brands are increasingly channeling the live event business — blending shopping with fandom and entertainment to drive engagement and sales.
OpenAI announced a new series of AI models built to help life sciences researchers work faster.
Why it matters:Biology research is increasingly computational, but scientists are drowning in data across fields like genomics, protein analysis and biochemistry.
The chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission vowed Thursday to investigate insider trading in prediction markets and bristled at the suggestion that he would impose regulations favoring the Trump family.
Why it matters: Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are facing growing pressure to prevent insiders from profiting from their knowledge on issues like politics, sports and war.
Workers whose jobsare most vulnerable to automation — data-entry keyers, bookkeepers and more — are already using AI for three times as many of their relevant tasks as workers in less-exposed jobs, according to a new study by OpenAI.
Why it matters:The research, first seen by Axios, shows that those workers are using AI for only a fraction of what it could theoretically do.
The researchers posit a less doom-and-gloom outcome: Workers might not automatically be on the frontlines of a jobs bust, even as AI use expands.
Paradoxically, it could ultimately expand demand for certain types of work.
By the numbers: OpenAI sorts the 900+ occupations that cover nearly all of U.S. employment into four buckets.
18% face the highest near-term automation risk, relative to other groups (think data-entry, bookkeeping, customer service)
24% of roles could see employment shrink, even as those jobs are still human-led (HR specialists)
12% of jobs could see employment expand because of AI (software developers, for one)
46% face the least threat of immediate change (teachers, home-health aides)
The intrigue: Signs of disruption aren't evident in unemployment data yet.
Workers in the highest-automation-risk jobs have seen a smaller rise in unemployment than have workers in the "less immediate change" category, OpenAI finds.
The paper cautions: "These categories are not job loss forecasts. They are a map for understanding where near-term labor market pressure may emerge first."
Zoom in: Workers in the most vulnerable categories are using AI more than those in any other bucket for the tasks most central to their work. Yet they've barely closed the gap between current usage and what AI could hypothetically do in their jobs.
AI could theoretically handle 90% of tasks in the highest-risk occupations. But those workers are currently using it for less than a quarter of that, according to OpenAI usage data.
Yes, but: Whether AI ultimately destroys or creates jobs hinges on a critical tension — when AI makes a task easier to perform, people may simply consume more of it.
"When coding tools first came out, people assumed maybe we would always write a fixed amount of code," OpenAI chief economist Ronnie Chatterji tells Axios.
"Now I'm writing code, you're writing code — you produce more of something, and more people might demand it and pay for it."
"Now I am awake in the middle of the night and pissed, and thinking that I have underestimated the power of words and narratives," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a blog post over the weekend, following an arson attack on his home.
Why it matters: The narrative around artificial intelligence — and those who are viewed as controlling it — has reached a crescendo.
Early signs are emerging that the energy shock could aid the global spread of renewable power, batteries, electric cars and other climate-friendly tech.
Why it matters: The throttling of oil and gas transit — together with higher prices — has short- and long-term consequences for use and economics of different fuels.
Big banks are sending basically the same message on private credit risk this earnings season: It's totally fine, nothing to see here. Over $1 trillion in risk is peanuts, actually, in the grand scheme of things.
Why it matters: There's a lot of nervousness in this corner of the lending market. Retail investors are looking for the exits. The shares of investment firms with private credit funds are slumping and at least some regulators appear concerned.
BNY, America's oldest bank, has early access to OpenAI's and Anthropic's advanced cyber capability models, according to CEO Robin Vince, making the bank one of few vetted enterprises with early access.
Why it matters: Wall Street is working overtime to win the AI security race.
Walmart is making a play to own what it calls the "last mile" of the GLP-1 boom, telling Axios exclusively it's launching a platform that goes beyond prescriptions to combine virtual care and nutrition.
Why it matters: Weight-loss treatments like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound are exploding, but the real friction is everything around them. The retail giant is betting it can simplify that fragmented system.
As part of a surge in patriotic programming to commemorate America's 250th birthday, Bank of America announced a $5 million gift to the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, which opens July 4 in the Badlands of North Dakota.
The inaugural exhibitions include a show by legendary photographer David Hume Kennerly, who has documented 13 consecutive presidents and was chief White House photographer during the Ford administration.
America, we have a problem: Young adults are scared and unprepared for the AI revolution upending their early career choices and prospects.
They tell pollsters they're frightened, even angry, about AI's fast arrival. They're rightly unnerved by a tough job market for college grads. And most aren't remotely equipped by schools to be AI-savvy.
Why it matters: This is a growing problem for just about everyone — kids, educators, employers and politicians.
New polling shows an uptick in religious fervor among young men, even as overall U.S. levels remain near historic lows.
Why it matters: Gen Z still has the highest share of religiously unaffiliated adults in modern history. But small hints of a religious rebound have spawned speculation about how that could reshape politics, culture wars and church strategy for years to come.
The Iran war is hurting countries far from the Middle East that have no direct involvement in the conflict — and while the U.S. has largely escaped the worst economic impacts, experts warn this could soon change.
Why it matters: As American and Iranian negotiators inch toward a peac deal, the conflict is hurting countries the U.S. relies on for key imports.
