Zcash miner Fortitude Mining Holdings is merging with medical technology company HeartSciences, which will allow Fortitude to go public without a traditional initial public offering.
The all-stock transaction announced Tuesday will see Fortitude’s management assume control of the combined company, which will operate under the Fortitude name and trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TUDE, subject to regulatory approval. HeartScience’s existing shareholders will retain minority ownership rights.
Heart Sciences CEO Andrew Simpson hinted at the rationale behind the deal, saying it would free the company from a “constant cycle of raising capital” while providing a path that it believes is best for shareholders.
Although the merger brings together two unrelated businesses, Fortitude, which mines digital assets, and Heart Sciences, which develops AI-powered cardiac diagnostics, the deal is essentially a reverse merger, giving Fortitude access to the public markets through its existing Nasdaq-listed company. For Heart Sciences, which faces ongoing capital needs, the transaction provides shareholders with continued exposure to a publicly traded business while allowing the company’s healthcare division to continue operating under Simpson’s leadership.
This structure is similar to other crypto companies that have entered the public market through mergers rather than traditional IPOs. For example, Bitcoin miner Core Scientific went public through a SPAC merger in 2022, and Cipher Mining also went public through a SPAC transaction.
Shares of Heart Sciences, which continues to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker HSCS until the deal closes, rose as much as 91% on Tuesday, according to Google Finance data.
Heart Science Co., Ltd. Source: Google Finance
Heart Sciences was still in the red before the merger agreement.
HeartSciences has yet to achieve significant commercial revenue and has reported net losses for several consecutive years. According to MarketScreener, the company generated minimal revenue in fiscal 2025, while its net loss widened to $8.77 million from $6.61 million a year earlier.
Despite financial challenges, HeartSciences has moved forward with its 2025 product roadmap and launched the MyoVista Insights software platform, designed to modernize existing ECG management systems.
As a privately held company, Fortitude discloses little about its financial situation. However, the company said it has expanded its annual production to 157,000 Zcash ($ZEC)As of May 31st. $ZEC At the time of publication, the last traded price was around $413 per piece, according to CoinMarketCap data. This brought the token’s market capitalization to $6.92 billion.
Related: Crypto Biz: Is AI an exit strategy for miners?
