Innventure: The Latest Iteration Of A Decades-Long Grift Propped Up By A Fake 300MW Data Center Deal - Morpheus Research

Dell, Supermicro, and Schneider Electric all deny being partners with Accelsius's marquee customer.

Accelsius's supposed flagship customer for a 300MW Canadian AI data center lists a Mississauga trucking company as its data center address, and that trucking company says it has never heard of DarkNX. The customer itself was incorporated just twelve months before signing the deal, registered to a Toronto suburban house that Ontario property records indicate belongs to the family of DarkNX's CEO. Morpheus Research, which holds a short position in Innventure, alleges the DarkNX agreement is not a legitimate commercial transaction and that Innventure management has spent decades running the same playbook: blue-chip technology narratives, imminent revenue claims, heavy insider compensation, and shareholder dilution, followed by disappointment.

Ticker: INV (Innventure, Inc.)
Research Firm: Morpheus Research
Report URL: https://www.morpheus-research.com/innventure/?ref=shortreport.fyi
Position Disclosure: Morpheus Research holds a short position in Innventure and stands to profit if the share price declines.

Thesis

Morpheus Research argues that Innventure's approximately $540 million valuation rests almost entirely on Accelsius, one analyst estimates the stake at roughly 77% of Innventure's value, and that Accelsius's commercial story is built on a deal that does not appear to be real.

• DarkNX Address Fraud: DarkNX's Google Maps profile listed a Mississauga address as its data center; the building is occupied by trucking company Day & Ross, which told the researchers it had never heard of DarkNX and did not share the space. A January 2026 photo added to DarkNX's Google page was, according to the report, a stock image with DarkNX's logo photoshopped into the background.
• Shell Company Registration: Ontario corporate records show DarkNX was incorporated on November 22, 2024, approximately twelve months before the deal announcement, with founder Akif (Isaac) Islam as its only director as of April 28, 2026. Its registered office is a house in a Toronto suburb that Ontario property records indicate is owned by Islam's family. DarkNX has approximately nine LinkedIn employees, none of whom appear to have data center experience, and several appear to hold other full-time jobs.
• Fabricated Partner Claims: DarkNX's website listed Dell, Supermicro, and Schneider Electric as "Strategic Partners." Dell told the researchers DarkNX "is not currently within our formal partner program," Supermicro said it "does not currently have a direct relationship with DarkNX," and Schneider Electric said it was "not aware of any partnership or relationship."
• Implausible Website Metrics: DarkNX's website previously claimed 3 million MVA of "power distribution equipment production" and 998 GW of "available data center development capacity," a figure the report says approaches three-quarters of total U.S. nameplate generation capacity. The site also included what the report alleges are photoshopped images of CEO Islam alongside Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and a case study describing an 85 MW hyperscaler deployment completed in 25 months, which would imply the project began before DarkNX was incorporated.
• Management Cannot Verify Funding: The DarkNX deal would require at least $3 billion by DarkNX's own estimate. On Innventure's Q4 earnings call, Chief Growth Officer Roland Austrup said: "All I can tell you is they are funded and they represented to me directly that they're funded. I don't know the source though." Ontario corporate records show no external directors, and a search of Canadian lien records found no registered liens against DarkNX's assets.
• Insider Earnout Triggered by the Deal: The SPAC transaction entitled pre-merger equity holders to shares upon Accelsius entering binding contracts for more than $15 million in revenue. On April 2, 2026, Innventure's board determined the milestone was met and issued 2 million shares worth $9.2 million to pre-SPAC holders including CEO Bill Haskell, Chairman Mike Otworth, and CSO John Scott. The report notes the DarkNX agreement is the only commercial deal Innventure has publicly touted.
• Compensation Against Minimal Revenue: Per Innventure's filings, the company generated $3.2 million in combined 2024-2025 revenue and incurred $371 million in losses over that period. Compensation for Haskell, Otworth, and Scott totalled $31.6 million across the same two years.
• Rapid Shareholder Dilution: Share count rose from approximately 49.5 million in November 2024 to approximately 84 million by May 2026, a 41% increase in roughly eighteen months. Approximately 18.3 million warrants remain outstanding, and a Standby Equity Purchase Agreement with Yorkville Advisors creates a further dilution overhang of roughly 24%.
• Largest Insider Selling Before the Announcement: Per Innventure's annual report, We-Inn LLC, controlled by former Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson and the holder of 8.6 million shares (19.5% of SPAC common stock), was subject to a lockup expiring October 2, 2025. The report says Wasson began selling within days of expiry, before the November 2025 DarkNX announcement, and sold a further 1.8 million shares in April 2026, reducing ownership below the 5% Schedule 13D reporting threshold.
• Prior Auditor Flagged Accelsius Forecasts: Innventure's 2024 annual report disclosed that auditor BDO identified five material weaknesses, including that "the forecast prepared for Accelsius was not effective." Four months later Innventure dismissed BDO and hired WithumSmith+Brown. Reuters reported Withum was fined by the PCAOB in 2024 for "widespread quality control failures in SPAC audits."
• Recurring Pattern of Failed Ventures: The report cites a 2021 Hindenburg Research report documenting that six companies associated with predecessor incubators XL Vision and XL TechGroup saw two go bankrupt, three get delisted, and one acquired after a roughly 95% decline, with an estimated $760 million in public shareholder capital destroyed. Innventure's first portfolio company, PureCycle, went public via SPAC in 2021 with projections of over $1 billion in 2025 revenue and seven planned factories; by 2026 it had commenced production at one plant operating below one-third of nameplate capacity and generated less than 0.5% of projected 2022-2025 revenue, according to the report.
• Earlier Fundraising Conduct Alleged as Fraudulent: Teresa Taylor, a former Innventure executive, alleged in 2024 court filings that she resigned over an environment she described as "unethical," and that Haskell and Scott solicited Accelsius investor funds in 2021 using "misleading and, in some instances, false information," including projections she called "pure fiction" made before the Nokia licensing deal had closed. The same litigation alleged Innventure later wrote that the Nokia technology it acquired was "useless." These are allegations in active litigation.

Catalysts

• DarkNX contract reassessment: Any disclosure, regulatory query, or media investigation that forces Innventure to clarify the basis of its "$50 million in bookings" claim, the figure was reiterated on the May 14, 2026 Q1 earnings call with no new deal announced, would directly challenge the primary valuation support.
• Accelsius order disclosure: Management has claimed more than $750 million in "production opportunities for 2026" and multiple 8- and 9-figure commercial orders; if future quarterly filings or earnings calls fail to name customers or convert claimed pipeline to signed contracts, that gap becomes a catalyst.
• Warrant and SEPA dilution: Approximately 18.3 million warrants outstanding, combined with the Yorkville Advisors equity facility, represent a roughly 24% additional dilution overhang that can be triggered without shareholder approval.
• Insider selling below reporting threshold: With We-Inn/Wasson now below 5% ownership, further sales no longer require Schedule 13D disclosure, reducing visibility into ongoing insider exit activity.
• Auditor and SEC-related disclosures: Any SEC inquiry into Accelsius forecasts, prior fundraising statements, or the material weaknesses identified by BDO would be a material catalyst; no timeline is specified in the source report.
• Litigation developments: Teresa Taylor's lawsuit and the December 2023 investor fraud complaint against Haskell both remain active; any rulings, settlements, or new filings tied to those cases could move the stock.

Company Response

The source report does not indicate that Innventure or DarkNX were asked directly for comment, and no statement from either company in response to the report's findings is included in the provided materials. On the Q4 earnings call, Chief Growth Officer Roland Austrup described DarkNX as funded and "vertically integrated." On the May 14, 2026 Q1 earnings call, CEO Bill Haskell said operating companies were experiencing "commercial momentum." Neither statement addressed the specific evidence gathered by the researchers.

Notable Details

• DarkNX's case study highlighted an 85 MW hyperscaler deployment described as completed in 25 months. Based on DarkNX's November 22, 2024 incorporation date, that timeline would imply the project began before DarkNX existed.
• Innventure's SPAC registration statement in early 2024 described Accelsius as having signed "revenue-generating agreements" with "several initial partners" for deployments in "operating data centers" by mid-2024. The SEC sent a comment letter fourteen days later asking Innventure to clarify the agreements and file them as exhibits. Innventure responded that the agreements were not material contracts and some were merely MOUs.
• The DarkNX CEO, Isaac Islam, also claims a board role at Skyridian, a purported orbital data center company incorporated in California approximately seven months before the report was published, with no other employees listed on LinkedIn. DarkNX's CTO, Arman Salah, is listed as a registered member of Skyridian in California records.
• A December 2023 investor fraud complaint alleged that Bill Haskell's son ran a crypto trading bot that did not exist, that materials inducing a $100,000 investment were fabricated, and that Haskell attempted to "divert" the investor by claiming Innventure would provide venture capital funding. These are allegations in that complaint.
• Data Center Dynamics, an industry publication, wrote the day after the DarkNX announcement that "few details" about DarkNX or its projects were available. On Innventure's Q4 earnings call, a sell-side analyst told management: "It's hard to find information on DarkNX."

"Just look at who DarkNX is. 5 guys and a dog. If you look at their office in Mississauga … the data center was at a trucking terminal or something like that. It's just, it's just not a real company."

A former Accelsius employee, quoted in the Morpheus Research report, on the company's flagship announced customer.

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