Generation of electric current is observed when GaAs nanowires with wurtzite crystal structure are bent by the probe of an atomic force microscope. The current originates from a piezo active phase in the nanowires due to the piezoelectric effect. Increasing of the piezo-potential in bent nanowires enhances tunneling through the probe–nanowire Schottky barrier due to the thermionic field emission. Laser illumination amplifies short-circuit current pulses by two orders of magnitude from 9 pA to 1 nA due to the piezo-phototronic effect. Utilization of such piezo-phototronic effect in GaAs nanowires is a solution to accelerate the efficiency of hybrid energy sources “piezoelectric nanogenerator − solar cell” comprised of III–V nanowires.