NUBURU Appoints Gianluca Trezza as CEO of TEKNE and Provides Commercial Update

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 22, 2026--

NUBURU, Inc. (NYSE American: BURU) ("NUBURU" or the "Company"), a dual-use Defense & Security platform company, today announced the appointment of Gianluca Trezza as Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of TEKNE S.p.A. ("Tekne"), effective October 26, 2026. The appointment follows NUBURU’s acquisition of a 70% controlling interest in Tekne on October 15, 2026, and places industrial execution and commercial development at the center of the next phase of integration.

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Trezza brings more than three decades of experience across Italian institutions and the international defense industry. Following service in Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, where he attained the rank of Major, he held senior leadership roles at ELT Group, a major player in EW and defense industry, across the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and global business development. His experience spans electronic warfare, cyber intelligence, C4ISR and international industrial partnerships.

His priorities will include aligning customer commitments with procurement and production, strengthening program controls, engaging the relevant Italian authorities on potential program reactivation, and developing Tekne’s electronic-warfare, special-vehicle and defense-mobility businesses. This mandate supports NUBURU’s strategy of combining Tekne’s industrial capabilities with the group’s photonics, software and systems-integration capabilities, subject to technical qualification, customer requirements and applicable approvals.

“With Tekne now part of NUBURU, our priority is execution,” said Alessandro Zamboni, Executive Chairman and Co-CEO of NUBURU. “Gianluca brings the sector knowledge and international experience to connect customer opportunities with industrial delivery. We intend to demonstrate progress through confirmed awards, reliable deliveries and the conversion of those deliveries into revenue.”

“With Golden Power authorization secured and NUBURU’s acquisition completed, I am fully committed to working with the relevant Italian government authorities and contracting bodies to pursue the resumption of selected eligible programs and opportunities placed on hold while the authorization process was pending,” said Gianluca Trezza. “We will address the contractual and technical requirements of each program and align delivery plans with customers and suppliers. Any resumption or new award remains subject to the relevant authorities’ decisions and applicable procurement procedures.”

Tekne commercial overview

USD millions at 100% of Tekne, grouped by the military and civil classifications in its registers. Other sectors include civil protection, public safety, transport and industrial applications.

By recorded value, approximately 89% of the order and program portfolio relates to Italy and 11% to markets outside Italy. The potential reactivation register relates entirely to Italian contracting authorities, representing approximately 100% Italy and 0% outside Italy. Additional pipeline is approximately 39% Italy and 61% outside Italy, illustrating the international scope of Tekne’s prospective business.

1 Preliminary remaining program value in the supplied September operating schedule, including conditional items; not validated signed backlog or a revenue forecast.

2 Historical values of terminated contracts and previously unawarded procurement procedures under review for possible reactivation or renewed participation. These are not current awards or expected recoveries.

3Gross value of 41 prospective opportunities.

4 Periods are indicative planning assumptions. The business plan and commercial registers cover different populations; these dates do not allocate every amount in the table to annual revenue. The 2031 growth scenario requires further new orders beyond the identified pipeline.

USD amounts are approximate and have been translated at a reference exchange rate of $1.1551 per euro, consistent with the rate used in the Company’s previous portfolio disclosures. Actual US GAAP translation rates may differ.

Revenue generation through 2031

The planning scenario concentrates existing-program revenue in 2027–2028, with remaining deliveries through 2029. Selected defense programs assume restart in December 2026, with initial revenue from other MoD procedures in March 2027 and Flyer in April 2027. These programs require reinstatement or new awards, production funding and customer acceptance. Growth through 2031 also depends on securing further new business.

The Company intends to build on Tekne’s customer base across Italy, the United States, NATO and allied markets where authorized, extending equipment deliveries through maintenance, upgrades, software and lifecycle support. New integrated offerings remain subject to qualification and customer adoption. NUBURU aims to integrate Tekne into a comprehensive Defense & Security platform, operating as a long-term industrial group with shared engineering, coordinated manufacturing and integrated customer solutions across electronic warfare, special vehicles, photonics, software and lifecycle services.

About NUBURU Inc

NUBURU, Inc. (NYSE American: BURU) is developing a dual-use Defense & Security platform combining electronic warfare and defense mobility, laser and photonics engineering, operational-resilience software and AI-assisted orchestration, and advanced manufacturing and support. Its strategy is to integrate operating businesses and developing technologies into solutions for defense, security, critical-infrastructure and industrial customers. NUBURU’s operating capabilities include Tekne’s special-vehicle and electronic-system engineering, Lyocon’s laser expertise and Orbit’s operational-resilience software. Integrated mission packages and technologies under development remain subject to validation and applicable approvals. For more information, visit www.nuburu.net.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These include statements about leadership priorities, integration, industrial execution, prospective awards, program reactivation, billing, pipeline and multiannual revenue scenarios, financing and market expansion.

Program and pipeline measures are preliminary and unaudited; they are not recognized revenue or complete forecasts. Pipeline estimates do not guarantee awards and may overlap with other program descriptions. Reactivation values represent historical contract or procurement amounts, not expected recoveries. Resumption or new awards may not occur. Illustrative scenarios depend on their assumptions and do not establish future results.

Actual results may differ materially because of procurement and funding decisions; contract changes or cancellations; competition; supply-chain, capacity, delivery, acceptance or payment delays; working-capital and financing constraints; integration risks; product qualification; export-control, security, Golden Power and other regulatory requirements; currency, liquidity and continued-listing risks; and other factors described in NUBURU’s SEC filings. Statements speak only as of their date. NUBURU undertakes no obligation to update them except as required by law.

Gianluca Trezza

BRUSSELS (AP) — The International Criminal Court and its embattled staff have won the European Union’s top human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize, an official said Thursday.

The award came just days after the Trump administration announced sweeping new sanctions on the court, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, as part of its campaign to dismantle the tribunal over investigations into the United States and its allies, including Israel.

“The European Union is built on respect for multilateralism and international institutions, and this prize recognizes the important work of the court in upholding international law and justice,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said.

Her announcement at the parliament in Strasbourg, France, was greeted with a standing ovation.

The annual EU award, named after Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and basic freedoms.

ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan welcomed the award, saying that it “comes at a time when the court and its officials face unprecedented challenges.”

“Against this backdrop, the Sakharov Prize carries particular significance, reaffirming the importance of independent judicial institutions and of those who work to uphold international law,” she said in a statement.

The ICC opened in 2002 as a court of last resort to prosecute senior leaders it deems responsible for crimes that, according to its founding treaty, “deeply shock the conscience of humanity.” It has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.

The Trump administration's sanctions cut off the court from U.S.-based financial services, technology companies and even using U.S. dollars. They set a six-month timeline for U.S. companies and individuals that have business with the court to wind that business down.

In a statement after their summit last week, EU leaders said that the 27-nation bloc “deeply regrets” the Trump administration’s sanctions move and “urges the United States to reverse these latest measures.”

They noted that the U.S. has delayed the full impact of the sanctions by six months, and that “this creates space for diplomacy,” and expressed hope that the measures can ultimately be reversed.

Should diplomacy fail, however, the leaders insisted on “the EU’s readiness to take all necessary measures.”

They tasked the European Commission “to take all appropriate initiatives” to help protect the ICC and mitigate the impact of the sanctions, “specifically towards EU companies so that they can continue providing services to the Court.”

One possible retaliatory measure is the EU “blocking statute,” which could be used to protect European court staff, and possibly the Dutch-based court itself, by preventing European companies from complying with the U.S. measures.

The ICC and its officials were nominated for the prize by the Socialist and Democrats group in the European Parliament. The group, which unites center-left parties across Europe, said that it was “proud to have put forward their candidacy at a time when international justice is under attack.”

The Sakharov winner is chosen by the European Parliament's president and top EU lawmakers from among candidates nominated by the parliament’s various political groups. The assembly says the award is “the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work.”

Imprisoned Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu and Taraneh and Romina Rahimi — twins being held in prison for taking part in demonstrations against the Iranian government — were the others to make the EU shortlist.

Last year’s prize went to journalists Andrzej Poczobut and Mzia Amaghlobeli, who were imprisoned in Belarus and Georgia, respectively. Metsola said at the time that “their courage has made them symbols of the struggle for freedom and democracy.”

Several Sakharov laureates, including Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, picked up the Sakharov Prize in 2024.

Mike Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands.

FILE - A general view of the exterior of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, File)