Not the Allbirds effect: Japan's top bidet maker Toto has been quietly making chip supplies for decades, and the stock market finally noticed | Fortune

Japan’s bidet maker Toto is increasing investment in AI chips. Toto’s move follows a market trend where companies gain valuation by associating with AI. Allbirds, a shoe company, rebranded as NewBird AI and raised funds to buy GPUs, claiming a GPU-as-a-Service model, after which its stock surged sharply. Toto’s approach differs because it has already been producing components for the AI supply chain for years. Toto’s advanced ceramics division manufactures electrostatic chucks, precision parts that hold silicon wafers in place during memory chip fabrication. Toto also reported record annual earnings, with operating profit and net sales reaching all-time highs.

"Now Japan's largest bidet maker, Toto, is doubling down on AI chips. The announcement followed Allbirds' pivot to become a chipmaker. But unlike the one-time shoe company's switch from comfort to compute, Toto didn't just flush its old business to make chips: it's been making the same components to power the world's AI infrastructure for years."

"Last month, Allbirds, the sustainable shoe company that IPO'd in 2021 at $4.1 billion, watched sales halve, lost 99% of its stock value, and sold its brand for $39 million -then rebranded as NewBird AI. It raised $50 million to buy GPUs, declared itself a "fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service provider," asked shareholders to strip out its founding environmental mission, and surged 582% in a single session."

"There wasn't a technical team or any cloud experience-it was simply a shoe company with a Nasdaq listing, and it surged $100 million in market cap after adding two magic letters in a press release. That's the Allbirds Effect: in this market, anything that says "AI" gets a bid. But the Allbirds Effect has a legitimate cousin, and it makes toilets."

"Toto also has an advanced ceramics division that manufactures electrostatic chucks, which are precision components that hold silicon wafers in place during memory chip fabrication. That division delivered ¥28.9 billion ($181 million"

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