Executive Stock Disposal for Tax Payment… U.S. AI Infrastructure Companies Pursue Cloud Spin-off and AI Data Center Funding

Applied Digital Corp. (APLD) entered into a contribution and share-exchange agreement with Ekso Bionics Holdings on February 14–15 to transfer its subsidiary Applied Digital Cloud by way of in-kind contribution and stock swap, in exchange for more than 100 million newly issued Ekso shares. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions—including approval by APLD’s shareholders, Nasdaq listing approval, a concurrent PIPE investment, and amendments to its charter and internal regulations—and is structured to satisfy U.S. tax-deferral requirements.

On March 12, APLD President Jason Gechen Zhang settled approximately US$2.56 million (roughly KRW 3.4 billion) in tax liabilities arising from the vesting of previously granted restricted stock units (RSUs) through a share-withholding arrangement. The company’s disclosure clarified that this was not an open-market sale. After the withholding, Zhang still directly holds over 1.8 million shares and retains a substantial RSU incentive award that vests over time.

In early March, APLD’s subsidiary APLD ComputeCo 2 finalized terms for a private senior secured note due 2031, raising US$2.15 billion (approximately KRW 2.8 trillion). The issuance closed on March 11, and the proceeds will fund the expansion of AI and high-performance computing data centers, including the Polaris Forge 2 campus in North Dakota.

Applied Digital is a North American infrastructure company providing data-center and cloud services for AI and high-performance computing workloads. Originally focused on cryptocurrency-mining hosting, the company has transitioned to GPU-based AI infrastructure. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Applied Digital is expanding its AI data-center footprint through large-scale campuses such as Polaris Forge and Delta Forge, and by securing long-term capacity agreements with customers like CoreWeave.