Datavault AI Inc. — Form 8-K Summary
Reporting context: The report is dated October 1, 2026, and was filed October 6, 2026. It reports board changes and director compensation arrangements, including actions taken October 2. The company had acquired NYIAX on August 19, 2026.
Key developments
- Robert Tobias resigned from the Board effective October 2 in connection with the NYIAX acquisition and to facilitate a NYIAX-designated director’s appointment. The filing says his resignation was not due to a disagreement with the company.
- Tobias had served on the Board for more than two years and will serve as an Advisor for one year. He is entitled to $72,000 in cash compensation, paid in monthly installments of $6,000, and a restricted stock award for 120,000 shares, subject to an effective Form S-8 registration statement. The award is scheduled to vest after one year.
- For qualifying resigning non-employee directors in Board-designated strategic, change-of-control or other transactions, outstanding unvested equity awards vest upon resignation. Directors with at least two years’ service also qualify for the one-year advisory contract, cash compensation and 120,000-share award. If the company terminates an Advisor without cause before the term ends, the remaining cash compensation is payable and the stock award vests immediately.
- Christopher Hardt, designated by NYIAX under the merger agreement, was appointed to the Board effective immediately after Tobias’s resignation. Hardt was also appointed to the Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. The Board determined that he is independent and an audit committee financial expert.
- Hardt is initially entitled to $60,000 per year for Board service and $2,500 for Audit Committee service. He was approved for a 125,000-share restricted stock award, subject to an effective Form S-8; vesting is scheduled in two equal portions on successive quarterly vesting dates, subject to continued service.
Financial performance and liquidity
This 8-K does not report revenue, profit, cash flow, margins, debt, liquidity, or other operating financial results. It provides no financial guidance.
Investor points to verify
- Whether and when the required Form S-8 registration statement becomes effective, allowing the stock awards to be granted.
- The eventual grant and vesting dates, and the share-count and compensation impact of the 120,000-share and 125,000-share awards.
- The full terms of the advisory contract in Exhibit 10.1, including the circumstances and costs of any early termination.
- Whether NYIAX exercises its merger-agreement right to designate a second Board member; the filing states it could designate up to two.