Applied Digital Splits Cloud Arm, Forms New AI Compute Company With Ekso

Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EKSO) stock rose Tuesday after the company disclosed a non-binding term sheet with Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) for a proposed business combination on Monday.

As per the deal, Applied Digital will merge its cloud computing unit with Ekso to form ChronoScale Corporation, an accelerated compute platform designed for AI workloads.

With enterprise and AI demand for GPU-accelerated cloud infrastructure growing rapidly, the transaction aims to establish a dedicated platform to deliver high-performance compute at scale in a capacity-constrained market.

Business Separation Rationale

The Proposed Transaction separates the accelerated compute platform from Applied Digital’s data center ownership and development business, enabling each to scale independently, pursue distinct growth strategies, and gain greater strategic and capital flexibility.

ChronoScale is being built for customers seeking predictable performance, infrastructure control, and rapid deployment without the limitations of generic cloud services.

The platform is expected to leverage Applied Digital Cloud’s established operations to quickly deploy and scale GPU-based compute infrastructure optimized for advanced AI training and inference workloads.

Ownership And Operations

Post closure, Applied Digital would hold around 97% of ChronoScale.

Both Applied Digital Cloud and Ekso businesses will continue operations, while Ekso intends to explore strategic options for a potential sale of all or substantially all of its existing business.

ChronoScale is expected to leverage Applied Digital’s growing portfolio of AI factory campuses, gaining faster access to infrastructure, accelerating deployment, and reducing execution risks as GPU demand rises.

Applied Digital Cloud was among the first platforms to deploy NVIDIA’s H100 GPUs at scale in 2023, demonstrating its ability to source, integrate, and operate next-generation GPU infrastructure ahead of broader market adoption.

The business generated approximately $75.2 million in twelve-month revenue as of August 31, 2025, reflecting strong and growing demand from enterprise and AI-native customers for dedicated, accelerated compute delivered through cloud-based platforms.

Deal Timeline

The Proposed Transaction is anticipated to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals, and satisfaction of closing conditions.

Price Action: Ekso Bionics Holdings shares were up 54.03% at $8.41 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Applied Digital shares were up 1.81%.

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