SkyAI’s board remains in place after shareholders withheld more votes than they cast in favor of each of the company’s five director nominees at its September 18 annual meeting. The vote followed opposition from Bastion Trading and other shareholders over governance practices, related-party transactions and the company’s proposed equity incentive plan.
SkyAI Board Keeps Seats Despite Withheld Vote Majority
SkyAI’s five directors were elected despite receiving between 18.36 million and 20.67 million withheld votes each, compared with 6.89 million to 9.20 million votes in favor. Under the company’s plurality voting system, withheld votes did not count as votes against the nominees, allowing all five directors to retain their positions.
Bastion Trading and affiliated investors had disclosed plans to withhold support for all five directors. The group beneficially owns about 9.99% of SkyAI and said it was concerned about corporate governance changes, related-party arrangements and the board’s adoption of a rights plan.
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SkyAI’s filings show it recorded $5 million in related-party consulting fees during the first half of 2026. Over the same period, the company reported $5.46 million in net staking revenue, meaning the consulting expense was roughly 92% of that revenue. The figures provide the financial context behind Bastion’s concerns about the company’s spending structure.
The consultant, Sol Edge Limited, is wholly owned and controlled by James Zhang, the brother of SkyAI Chief Investment Officer and director Alice Zhang, according to an SEC filing. The company’s filings also disclose a strategic advisory relationship with Sol Markets, which is likewise controlled by James Zhang. These relationships are disclosed by the company as related-party arrangements rather than independently established wrongdoing.
Rejected Equity Plan Signals Pushback on Potential Dilution
Shareholders separately rejected SkyAI’s 2026 Equity Incentive Plan by 22.46 million votes against and just over 5.05 million in favor. The proposal would have made up to 5.145 million additional shares available for equity awards, according to the company’s proxy materials.
The result leaves the board unchanged but blocks the proposed expansion of the equity award pool. That distinction matters because shareholders expressed opposition to one major compensation proposal even though the director election itself produced no board turnover. The outcome therefore leaves the company’s existing leadership responsible for addressing the governance concerns raised during the shareholder campaign.
SkyAI Stock Gains After Vote as Solana Strategy Continues
The company shares closed at $1.83 on September 29, up 3.39% that session, according to historical market data. The stock closed at $1.70 on September 18, the date of the annual meeting, meaning it was about 7.6% higher by September 29. However, the shares remained down 73.5% over the previous year, highlighting the broader performance gap facing the company.
The board has continued to emphasize its Solana treasury strategy, holding more than two million SOL with nearly all of it staked through institutional validators.
The company reported more than $12 million in staking revenue from the strategy through June 30, 2026, while an independent committee had previously rejected Forward Industries’ acquisition proposal. The board now faces the task of executing that strategy while responding to shareholder concerns and the failed equity plan.
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