Datavault AI Shares Plunge 40% After Restatement Warning

Datavault AI shares fell nearly 40% after the company warned investors not to rely on financial results dating back to Q3 2025. In a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, management and the audit committee said they reached the nonreliance conclusion on Oct. 20. The conclusion covers four sets of financial statements for quarterly periods ended Sept. 30, 2025; March 31, 2026; and June 30, 2026, plus the 2025 annual report. It also extends to associated earnings announcements, press statements and investor presentations. The issue centers on a $150 million equity agreement Datavault signed with Scilex Holding in September 2025. Scilex agreed to buy 15 million Datavault shares and a prefunded warrant covering more than 263.9 million shares, paying in bitcoin. Scilex used an offchain transfer to credit 1,309.04 bitcoin to Datavault's account at Biconomy Pte. Ltd. Datavault sold 491.431 bitcoin back to Scilex for about $40.5 million in cash between September 2025 and January 2026. Datavault sought to withdraw bitcoin from the Biconomy account to an external wallet in June 2026. The withdrawal was still incomplete when Datavault filed the Form 8-K. Its review concluded the bitcoin never qualified for recognition as Datavault's own digital asset. Datavault will instead recognize the holdings as a subscription receivable due from Scilex, reducing stockholders' equity. Restatements are projected to cut total assets by $8.1 million at Sept. 30, 2025; $92.2 million at Dec. 31, 2025; $57.1 million at March 31, 2026; and $49.0 million at June 30, 2026. Datavault will reverse previously recognized cryptocurrency gains and losses. Management is reconsidering going-concern assessments for 2025 and Q1 2026. The prior assessments treated the bitcoin as available liquidity. The reassessment reflects the bitcoin leaving the balance sheet and uncertainty over collection from Scilex. Datavault has not set a timetable for filing the restatements. It said the review is preliminary and unaudited and warned additional errors could emerge. Management has not completed its assessment of whether the issues point to a material weakness in internal controls. The filing cites a possible delay in the Q3 2026 report and Nasdaq listing compliance as a risk. Benzinga Pro data showed Datavault shares at 8 cents, down 38.10%, at publication on Tuesday.