Fortitude Mining Holdings and HeartSciences announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction.
Fortitude is a vertically integrated digital asset mining platform anchored in Zcash. HeartSciences is an AI-powered medical technology company trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol HSCS.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by HeartSciences shareholders.
After closing, the combined company is expected to operate under the Fortitude brand and trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol TUDE, subject to Nasdaq approval.
The combined company is expected to be led by Fortitude’s management team, including Fortitude CEO Andrea Childs. Current HeartSciences CEO Andrew Simpson is expected to continue leading the healthcare business unit after closing.
Fortitude is currently wholly owned by Digital Currency Group. Upon completion of the deal, DCG is expected to own about 95% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.
Fortitude said it believes the transaction would make it the first publicly traded venture mining platform with a track record of identifying high-conviction, early-stage Proof-of-Work opportunities.
The company’s primary focus is Zcash, a privacy-preserving Proof-of-Work digital asset launched in 2016 from Bitcoin’s codebase. Zcash shares Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million coin supply while adding privacy technology through its shielded transaction pool.
Fortitude began mining ZEC, the native token of the Zcash network, in 2019. As of May 31, 2026, the company had scaled annualized production to 157,000 ZEC, or about 366 ZEC per day.
Fortitude’s platform is focused on three areas: a vertically integrated Zcash strategy, venture mining, and a power portfolio.
The company said its Zcash strategy includes hardware procurement, infrastructure deployment, and research and development to support low-cost Zcash production and operating leverage to potential price appreciation.
Its venture mining strategy focuses on early-stage Proof-of-Work protocols where Fortitude has high conviction, using its mining experience, capital, and operational expertise.
Fortitude also owns and operates a diversified portfolio of data center capacity backed by competitive long-term power contracts. The company said it is focused on disciplined acquisitions and greenfield developments that lower costs and create accretive growth opportunities.
HeartSciences said the combination gives its shareholders continued ownership in a scaled business while enabling the company to keep advancing MyoVista Insights and its AI-enabled ECG technology with greater focus.
Canaccord Genuity and Ducera Partners are acting as financial advisors to Fortitude. Ropes & Gray is serving as legal counsel to Fortitude. Foley Shechter Ablovatskiy is serving as legal counsel to HeartSciences, and Houlihan Capital acted as special financial advisor to HeartSciences.
KEY QUOTES:
“Fortitude’s business model is designed to allow us to move quickly when we see promising opportunities. We own and operate a diversified power portfolio with competitive long-term contracts, control our infrastructure buildout, and deploy capital selectively. As a public company, we anticipate having the flexibility and access to capital to accelerate our core venture mining platform and continue pursuing high-return opportunities in the Proof-of-Work ecosystem, including our long-standing position in Zcash. I would like to thank the entire HeartSciences team for their continued collaboration as we work towards our combined future.”
Andrea Childs, CEO of Fortitude
“We believe Zcash represents one of the most compelling opportunities in digital assets. It combines Bitcoin’s scarcity and Proof-of-Work discipline with privacy and security properties that we expect will matter more as financial systems become increasingly digital. Zcash is a clear example of Fortitude’s venture mining model in action: early conviction in an important protocol, paired with the infrastructure required to support and scale it.”
Barry Silbert, Founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group
“During 2025, we were introduced to a number of potential transactions, and Fortitude stood out as the right one for our shareholders. This combination gives our shareholders continued ownership in a business operating at scale, while allowing us to keep advancing MyoVista Insights and our AI-enabled ECG technology with greater focus, free of the constant cycle of raising capital. We believe it represents a strong path forward for our shareholders and the company overall.”
Andrew Simpson, CEO of HeartSciences
