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Silicon Valley's favorite sneakers brand, Allbirds, is preparing to go public, according to a report

Mary Hanbury   

Silicon Valley's favorite sneakers brand, Allbirds, is preparing to go public, according to a report
Retail1 min read
  • Allbirds is reportedly interviewing banks as it prepares to go public on the New York stock Exchange.
  • The New York Times was first to report the news.
  • Allbirds - known for its low-key, comfy sneakers - has grown rapidly in the last five years.

Sustainable sneaker brand Allbirds is making plans to go public, according to a New York Times DealBook report early Wednesday.

The company, which is famous for its unbranded, comfy, sustainable shoes that have become a Silicon-Valley staple, has grown rapidly since it launched in 2016.

After raising $100 million in funding last September, the company was valued at more than $1 billion and rumors of an upcoming IPO started to circulate.

Earlier this month, Business of Fashion reported that the company was hiring a new employee to handle regulatory and financial filings, noting that this is a common step for a company if it's looking to go public.

Insider contacted a spokesperson from Allbirds for more details but did not immediately hear back.

Read more: How Allbirds' founders built their company from a Kickstarter campaign to $1.7 billion fashion icon

Allbirds achieved rapid success in just five years. The company was founded in 2016 by retired New Zealand pro-soccer player Tim Brown and entrepreneur Joey Zwillinger. The duo launched with a pair of $95 sugarcane and Merino wool sneakers that quickly became the uniform of the dressed-down Silicon Valley worker.

Allbirds now has 22 stores across the US, Europe, China, and Japan.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Zwillinger said that investors were attracted to the sustainability angle of Allbirds.

"We embody what a lot of investors think is the future of great brands," he told The Journal. "We've taken a methodical approach to growing the business that allows for time to scale it into something impactful and important," he said.

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