Volato Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SOAR) has signed a definitive agreement to merge with Alignment Engine, Inc., an AI infrastructure company, in a transaction valuing Alignment Engine at approximately $500 million, according to a company statement.

The merger would reposition Volato around AI infrastructure, high-performance computing, and data center development through Alignment Engine's industrial campus in Ohio. The campus currently has 154 megawatts of power available, with a stated path to 480 megawatts of total capacity.

Alignment Engine's infrastructure is designed to support GPU compute, AI training, inference, and other compute-intensive workloads. Volato said it will remain the publicly traded parent company following the close of the transaction.

"Power and compute capacity have become critical constraints on the continued expansion of AI," said Chris Ensey, chief executive officer of Alignment Engine. "We have a powered industrial campus and 154MW available today with a path to 480MW of capacity."

The merger closing is not conditioned on Volato stockholder approval, though a stockholder meeting will be held at a later date for the conversion of convertible preferred stock issued to Alignment Engine shareholders into shares of Volato's Class A common stock. The parties expect to close the transaction shortly after execution of the definitive agreement, subject to applicable closing conditions.

Matt Liotta, chief executive officer of Volato, said the company had been evaluating opportunities since announcing its move into AI infrastructure. "Alignment Engine is the result," he said.

Additional details on the transaction will be available through Volato's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.