Assets in the Fund have doubled since April, with the $200 million milestone arriving less than two weeks after JEDI announced it was the first ETF with indirect exposure to Shield AI, the privately held autonomy company behind the Hivemind AI pilot and the V-BAT aircraft.

JEDI

MIAMI, Aug. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Defiance ETFs today announced that the Defiance Drone & Modern Warfare ETF (NYSE: JEDI) has surpassed $200 million in assets under management as of August 21, 2026, less than eleven months after the Fund’s September 25, 2025 launch. The milestone comes less than two weeks after Defiance announced that JEDI had become the first ETF to provide indirect exposure to Shield AI (SHAI.PVT), the privately held defense autonomy company, through an interest in a single-asset special purpose vehicle.

Accelerating Adoption

JEDI crossed $100 million in assets on April 20, 2026, less than seven months after launch. Four months later, those assets have doubled. The mandate has grown along with them. A supplement to the Fund’s prospectus dated July 27, 2026 added a secondary investment objective: with respect to up to 15% of the Fund’s net assets, from time to time and at the Adviser’s discretion, the Fund seeks to provide exposure to companies that would have qualified for inclusion in the BITA Drone & Modern Warfare Select Index except that their securities are not publicly traded. On August 11, 2026, Defiance announced that JEDI had put that mandate to work, bringing Shield AI exposure into the portfolio.

JEDI targets the companies rebuilding modern defense around drones, autonomous systems, and AI-driven capabilities across land, sea, air, and space. All of it sits in an ETF structure, with full holdings published daily and shares tradable throughout the trading day.

“Crossing $200 million in under a year tells us the thesis is landing,” said Sylvia Jablonski, Chief Investment Officer of Defiance ETFs. “Modern warfare is undergoing a paradigm shift around drones, autonomy, and software, and investors increasingly want that entire stack in a single ticker. Bringing Shield AI into the fund was about completing that picture, because the companies defining this category are not all public yet. Shareholders should not have to wait for an IPO to hold one of the companies at the forefront of autonomy in defense, and this milestone tells us they agree.”

The Shield AI Exposure

The Fund holds its Shield AI exposure indirectly, through an interest in a single-asset special purpose vehicle sponsored by an unaffiliated third party that holds Shield AI securities. As of August 20, 2026, the position represented approximately 2.44% of the Fund’s net assets.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Diego, Shield AI builds autonomy software and aircraft for defense applications. The company’s Hivemind AI pilot enables aircraft to operate in environments where GPS and communications links are jammed or denied, and the company has described Hivemind as continuously deployed in real-world operational environments since 2018. In June 2026, the U.S. Air Force awarded Shield AI a production contract to implement Hivemind as mission autonomy software for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. The company’s MQ-35 V-BAT, a vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft system requiring no runway or launch infrastructure, has been procured by the U.S. Coast Guard and allied militaries including the Netherlands Ministry of Defence. In March 2026, Shield AI announced a $2 billion raise at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation, led by Advent International with participation from the Strategic Investment Group of JPMorganChase’s Security and Resiliency Initiative and funds managed by Blackstone.

About Defiance ETFs

Defiance ETFs is a leading issuer of thematic, income, and leveraged exchange-traded funds with more than $12 billion in assets under management. Founded in 2018, Defiance has established itself as a first mover in select thematic categories including AI infrastructure, quantum computing, and drone and modern warfare technology. For more information, visit www.defianceetfs.com.

* As of August 7, 2026, based on a review of SEC EDGAR filings, publicly available ETF issuer holdings disclosures, and U.S. and non-U.S. exchange listings, Defiance ETFs has identified no other exchange-traded fund that holds or has held securities of Shield AI, Inc., a privately held defense technology company, and accordingly believes the Defiance Drone & Modern Warfare ETF (NYSE: JEDI) is the first ETF to hold Shield AI.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Shield AI is not affiliated with, and does not sponsor, endorse, or promote, Defiance ETFs or the Fund. References to Shield AI are not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Fund holdings are subject to change and should not be considered investment advice.

The Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other important information about the investment company. Please read carefully before investing. A hard copy of the prospectuses can be requested by calling 833.333.9383.

Defiance ETFs LLC is the Fund’s investment adviser. The Fund’s sub-adviser is Penserra Capital Management LLC.

Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. As an ETF, the Fund may trade at a premium or discount to NAV. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. A portfolio concentrated in a single industry or country may be subject to a higher degree of risk.

Private Company / Privately Offered Securities Risk: Securities of private companies are not traded on an exchange and are typically issued without registration under the Securities Act of 1933. Such investments are subject to significant risks, including illiquidity risk, valuation risk, limited disclosure and lack of certain regulatory protections available to investors in publicly traded securities, exit strategy risk, and the risk of total loss. Private companies may have limited operating histories, unproven business models, and limited access to capital.

Investment Selection Risk (Private Sleeve): The Fund’s investments in privately issued securities are selected by the Adviser in its discretion and are not selected by reference to the Index. Those selection decisions may underperform the Index, other relevant benchmarks, or alternative investments the Adviser could have selected.

Sponsor Dependence Risk: The Fund depends on the SPV sponsor for administration of the SPV, transmission of information rights, the conduct of the SPV’s relationship with the underlying issuer, and implementation of any liquidity event. The SPV sponsor may have interests that diverge from those of the Fund.

Liquidity Risk: The Fund’s SPV interest is not traded on any public market, is not redeemable on demand at the option of the Fund, and may be transferred only with the consent of the SPV sponsor. The Fund’s ability to monetize the investment generally depends on the occurrence of a qualifying liquidity event at the underlying issuer. There is no assurance that any such liquidity event will occur within any particular time frame, on any particular terms, or at all.

Illiquid Investments Risk: The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. Illiquid investments may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time or price desired, may be sold at a substantial discount to carrying value, and may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to meet redemption requests.

Valuation Risk: Private company securities are fair valued in accordance with procedures adopted pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Fair valuations involve subjective judgments, and the value at which an investment is ultimately realized may differ, potentially materially, from the most recent fair value determination.

Premium/Discount Risk: The Fund’s SPV interest does not have an observable market price during the trading day and is reflected in the Fund’s daily net asset value at fair value. As a result, Fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to net asset value to a greater extent, and with greater volatility, than has historically been the case for the Fund.

Tracking Error / Index Divergence Risk: Because the Fund holds an investment that is not a component of the Index, the Fund’s performance is expected to diverge from the performance of the Index. The magnitude of this divergence may be material.

Concentration Risk: A portfolio concentrated in a single industry or country may be subject to a higher degree of risk than a more diversified portfolio.

Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in foreign securities involve certain risks including risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability. This risk is magnified in emerging markets.

Small/Mid-Cap Risk: Small and mid-cap companies are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than securities of large-cap companies.

Aerospace and Defense Companies Risk: Aerospace and defense companies rely heavily on government demand and contracts, making them sensitive to regulation, budget changes, and spending policies that can significantly affect industry performance.

Drone Companies Risk: Drone companies face risks from changing business cycles, rapid technological change, and government regulation, and may have limited product lines or financial resources. Securities of smaller drone companies tend to be more volatile than those of companies that do not rely heavily on technology.

Non-Diversification Risk: The Fund may invest a larger portion of its assets in fewer issuers than a diversified fund, increasing exposure to the risks of individual companies.

New Fund Risk: The Fund is a recently organized investment company with limited operating history, so prospective investors have a limited track record on which to base their investment decisions.

Effective April 30, 2026, the BITA Drone & Modern Warfare Select Index methodology was updated to expand the list of eligible capability areas, change constituent weighting to a liquidity-momentum factor, and permit between-rebalance additions of high-exposure IPOs and companies pivoting to modern warfare technology. Performance shown for periods prior to April 30, 2026 reflects the Index’s prior methodology and may not be representative of results under the current methodology.

The ‘BITA Drone & Modern Warfare Select Index’ is the exclusive property of BITA GmbH. BITA® is a trademark of BITA GmbH and has been licensed for use for certain purposes by Defiance ETFs LLC. Products based on the BITA Drone & Modern Warfare Select Index are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by BITA GmbH, and BITA GmbH makes no representation regarding the advisability of trading in such product(s). It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Diversification does not ensure a profit nor protect against loss in a declining market.

Commissions may be charged on trades.

Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

Media Contact:
Brenda Hentschel
bhentschel@gregoryagency.com
201.705.3758

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3b590799-d080-4b21-88c6-63cf8dee0128

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