The Allbirds Crash

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Happy April Fool’s Day, Future Party. Feels like as good a day as any to announce that we’ve got some exciting guest writers lined up this month. Tomorrow, Mark Zuckerberg will be subbing in to explain why dainty little chains are trending (on him). Next Tuesday, Sam Altman takes over the Quick Hits section to share all the exciting new projects OpenAI will kick off this month (and wrap up the next). And two Fridays from now, Elon Musk will step in to trim this whole newsletter down to a single X post (that will be immediately Community Noted). Plenty to look forward to! 😉

Deep Voodoo, the AI firm founded by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, is positioning itself as Hollywood’s go-to ethical vendor for deepfakes, de-aging, and next-gen performance capture.

The Big Picture: Hollywood is grappling with the inevitable reality that AI will disrupt how movies and shows are made, and is searching for creator-friendly approaches to the technology. Instead of outsourcing to pure tech firms, many are backing artist-led ventures — including Parker and Stone’s Deep Voodoo, Ben Affleck’s InterPositive, and Natasha Lyonne’s Asteria.

Behind The Scenes: Deep Voodoo is aiming to upgrade movie magic, per THR.

Final Render: Deep Voodoo was born out of necessity rather than some grand vision. Ever irreverent, Parker and Stone wanted to create a satire of President Trump during his first term using deepfake tech — but couldn’t find a VFX house that could pull it off. So, they recruited some “AI whizkids” from around the world and built the company themselves. Years (and tens of millions in funding) later, Deep Voodoo is as much a focus for Parker and Stone as their day job: making more episodes of South Park.

Next Production: It’s possible that Parker and Stone’s secretive Paramount comedy starring Kendrick Lamar could be the biggest showcase of the tech — and a turning point for AI as a creative tool in Hollywood.

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Allbirds, the once-DTC sneaker darling of Silicon Valley, is being sold to American Exchange Group for $39 million — a fraction of its valuation just five years ago.

Why It Hurts: Ten years ago, DTC brands like Allbirds, Glossier, Bonobos, and Casper were the high-flying renegades of retail, blending social media marketing savvy with a sharp understanding of cultural trends. Despite the hype, very few found a sustainable business model that could last once the millennial-driven moment passed.

Behind The Sale: Allbirds has crashed.

Final Deal Points: Ultimately, Allbirds was a one-hit wonder. Its flagship wool shoe, marketed heavily on sustainability, struck a chord with Silicon Valley tech heads and suburban soccer moms alike. But the company failed to build on that initial success and never quite nailed down who its ideal customer was.

So, Allbirds rushed to do what many DTC startups were guilty of — trying too many things at once. That included a doomed wool legging (it turned out to be see-through), more technical running shoes (which runners didn’t embrace), and an apparel line that failed to connect. Eventually, the software engineers and soccer moms moved on to HOKAs and Ons.

Last year, Allbirds’ sales cratered by 20%, and the brand was forced to close its brick-and-mortar stores. In other words, it was time to box up the company.

The Future: Between the failures of sustainability-focused sneaker brands like Allbirds and TOMS, socially conscious fashion startups may have a harder time securing that sweet VC money.

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53% of you voted Yes, a few times in yesterday’s poll: Have you ever played flag football?

“Only once. Even though I was 16, a husky 6'3", and felt invincible, those 13-year-old girls played so rough that I never played against them again.”

“In middle and high school, mostly at parties. The guys thought us girls played too rough at tackle football.”

“The risk of serious injury has always kept me away from football, but if you remove the tackling, it looks pretty fun!”

“Speed is the key — and trick plays — to winning.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🏂 Shaun White’s winter sports competition, The Snow League, is taking over the Sundance Film Festival’s formal scheduling spot in Park City, Utah.

🍿 Film distributor Black Bear is teaming up with Letterboxd to bring the viral “Four Favorites” format to cinemas nationwide.

🎮 Xbox is putting QR codes on Fanta cans that let gamers unlock new missions in popular titles or enter sweepstakes to win hardware.

🚀 Virgin Galactic is relaunching its space tourism flights later this year… but it’ll cost you $750,000 a ticket.

⌚ Whoop, a wearable tech startup backed by star athletes like LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo, has notched $575 million in new funding.

👓 Meta announced two new Ray-Ban smart glasses that will work for all vision prescriptions.

💰 The Department of Labor has opened a two-month public comment period on a proposed rule that would allow 401(k)s to include private equity funds and crypto assets.

🚚 Rivian’s alternative micromobility startup has partnered with DoorDash to develop autonomous delivery vehicles.

👟 GOAT Group has debuted a discounted sneaker site aptly named Sneakers.com.