HOUSTON, Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nauticus Robotics, Inc. (NASDAQ: KITT) ("Nauticus" or the "Company"), a pioneer in autonomous subsea robotics and AI-driven offshore solutions, today announced a series of strategic leadership appointments and commercialization initiatives designed to accelerate product growth, expand manufacturing capacity, and position the Company for its next phase of scale.

These announcements follow the recently disclosed commitment from Master Investment Group to support the building of additional Aquanaut® vehicles, strengthening Nauticus' manufacturing capabilities and enabling increased deployment across commercial energy and defense markets.

Silicon Valley Autonomy Leader Joins Nauticus

Nauticus has appointed Dr. Kjerstin "Kj" Easton as Vice President of Software.

Dr. Easton brings more than a decade of software development leadership from several notable Silicon Valley stalwarts. At X, The Moonshot Factory (formerly Google X), she led marine-focused AI and autonomy teams at Tidal developing real-world robotic systems. She previously led robotic perception at X's Everyday Robots and held senior engineering roles at Google Geo and Apple Maps Special Projects. Most recently, she led the engineering organization that launched a new site monitoring product while employed at Vantor (formerly Maxar Technologies).

Dr. Easton's expertise in artificial intelligence, perception systems, sensor fusion, and autonomous navigation significantly strengthens Nauticus' ability to scale its autonomy software platform, Nauticus ToolKITT™.

She holds a Ph.D. in Robotics from Caltech.

"Bringing Dr. Easton to Nauticus is a transformative milestone," said John Gibson, President and CEO. "We are entering a period of acceleration in both software deployment and product commercialization. Her leadership will help us move faster, integrate smarter, and execute at scale."

Dr. Easton added, "Nauticus has built a compelling autonomy platform capable of transforming subsea operations. I look forward to leading the continued development and rapid scaling of Nauticus ToolKITT to accelerate revenue growth, expand the adoption of subsea autonomy, and broaden Nauticus' impact across global markets.

Strengthening the Software Architecture for Networked Robotics

Nauticus also announced that Chuck Claunch has been named Chief Software Architect & Principal Software Engineer.

Mr. Claunch brings deep experience across multiple robotic platforms and autonomy architectures. As the robotics industry moves toward interoperable, mission-oriented robotic ecosystems, his expertise in networked robotics will support integration of Nauticus systems into broader defense and commercial robotic mosaics.

This strengthens Nauticus' position in emerging multi-robot mission environments – a key trend across both energy and defense sectors.

New Vice President of Growth & Go-To-Market to Drive Revenue Expansion

Jason Close has transitioned into the newly created role of Vice President of Growth & Go-To-Market.

In this role, Mr. Close will lead global go-to-market execution, product sales, and revenue growth initiatives across Nauticus ToolKITT, Aquanaut, subsea manipulators, and robotic systems.

His mandate includes:

• Expanding product sales and enterprise adoption
• Strengthening strategic customer partnerships
• Leading product marketing
• Revamping the Company's corporate website and brand positioning
• Highlighting Nauticus' expanded manufacturing plans, including the buildout of additional Aquanauts® supported by Master Investment Group

"Nauticus is entering its commercialization phase," said Mr. Gibson. "Jason's leadership ensures our market presence, product messaging, and sales execution match the scale of our technology ambition."

Mr. Close commented, "We have a differentiated autonomy platform and vehicle portfolio. My focus is translating that capability into accelerated product adoption, stronger strategic partnerships, and measurable revenue growth."

Continued Offshore Revenue Execution

Vice President of Sales, Steve Walsh, will continue leading offshore service sales operations utilizing Nauticus' robotic platforms, maintaining active deployments and supporting near-term revenue generation while the Company expands its product-centric strategy.

Aquanaut Manufacturing Expansion Backed by Master Investment Group

The recently announced commitment by Master Investment Group to support the building of additional Aquanaut vehicles reinforces Nauticus' ability to scale production and meet growing demand.

With enhanced software leadership, strengthened architecture, expanded manufacturing backing, and a sharpened commercial focus, Nauticus is aligning its organization around:

• Scalable autonomy software deployment
• Increased vehicle production
• Product-driven revenue growth
• Expansion across energy and defense markets

About Nauticus Robotics™

Nauticus Robotics, Inc. develops autonomous robots for the ocean industries. Autonomy requires the extensive use of sensors, artificial intelligence, and effective algorithms for perception and decision allowing the robot to adapt to changing environments. The company's business model includes using robotic systems for service, selling vehicles and components, and licensing of related software to both the commercial and defense business sectors. Nauticus has designed and is currently testing and certifying a new generation of vehicles to reduce operational cost and gather data to maintain and operate a wide variety of subsea infrastructure. Besides a standalone service offering and forward-facing products, Nauticus' approach to ocean robotics has also resulted in the development of a range of technology products for retrofit/upgrading traditional ROV operations and other third-party vehicle platforms. Nauticus' services provide customers with the necessary data collection, analytics, and subsea manipulation capabilities to support and maintain assets while reducing their operational footprint, operating cost, and greenhouse gas emissions, to improve offshore health, safety, and environmental exposure. https://nauticusrobotics.com/

Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Act"), and are intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Act as well as protections afforded by other federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: the expected timing of product commercialization or new product releases; customer interest in Nauticus' products; estimated operating results and use of cash; and Nauticus' use of and needs for capital. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events, or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by, or include the words "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "forecasts," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "plans," "scheduled," "anticipates," "intends," or "continue" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results, or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Nauticus' management's current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. There can be no assurance that the events, results, or trends identified in these forward-looking statements will occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Nauticus is not under any obligation and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update, alter, or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers should carefully review the statements set forth in the reports which Nauticus has filed or will file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") for a more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and that could cause actual outcomes to be materially different from those indicated in the forward-looking statements made by the Company, in particular the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in documents filed from time to time with the SEC, including Nauticus' Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 15, 2025 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC from time to time. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties, or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected. The documents filed by Nauticus with the SEC may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

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SOURCE Nauticus Robotics, Inc.