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U.S. Government’s Defense Industrial Base Announces Expansion of BuildFreedom.US

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Federal workforce initiative promoting skilled-trades careers enters next phase, expanding to Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin

DALLAS, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — BuildFreedom.US, a program funded by the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy, today announced the next phase of its national campaign promoting careers in the skilled trades. After a successful launch earlier this year, BuildFreedom.US is expanding into Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, with more states to follow as the campaign grows nationwide.

The Department of War recognizes the urgent need to close the skills gap and strengthen America’s defense manufacturing and industrial base. BuildFreedom.US connects people with opportunities to develop in-demand skills, earn competitive wages, and contribute to national security. For young Americans interested in pursuing skilled-trade careers, BuildFreedom.US is a way to find scholarships, apprenticeships, training opportunities, and job openings.

“Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin represent a natural next phase in BuildFreedom.US’s national expansion. These states are home to industries critical to America’s defense industrial base and our national security,” said Dr. Kristin Schaaf, Director of the Investment Programs, which includes the IBAS Program. “Building the next generation of American workers isn’t just about creating good-paying careers – it’s about strengthening our communities, supporting American industry, and ensuring that our nation has the skilled workforce it needs to remain strong and competitive.”

Each state presents distinct opportunities for strengthening its skilled workforce:

Ohio is a leading manufacturing hub, with a strong aerospace and defense industrial presence driving demand for skilled workers in advanced manufacturing, engineering, production, and related technical careers.Illinois has a deep manufacturing base that supports the nation’s defense industrial supply chain, creating opportunities for the next generation of workers across advanced manufacturing, precision production, technology, and other high-skill fields.Wisconsin is home to a significant defense industrial base supporting military shipbuilding, vehicles, engines, welding, and other critical defense systems. Its aging workforce and critical labor shortage underscore the urgency of attracting, training, and retaining the next generation of skilled tradespeople.

BuildFreedom.US is joining forces with Mike Rowe, founder of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation and best known as the creator and host of the hit show Dirty Jobs. For nearly two decades, Rowe has been America’s leading advocate for skilled-trade careers. As part of the collaboration, BuildFreedom.US awarded the mikeroweWORKS Foundation a $10 million grant to support its Work Ethic Scholarship Program. Rowe will continue supporting BuildFreedom.US in its next phase.

“It’s a privilege to participate in such an important effort,” said Rowe. “Reinvigorating the skilled trades is now a matter of national security, and I’m proud to help make a more persuasive case for the excellent opportunities currently available in the defense industrial base. It’s also very gratifying to see BuildFreedom.US expand so quickly. Hopefully, our message will soon resonate in all 50 states.”

Dallas-based independent advertising agency TRG is leading BuildFreedom.US’s marketing efforts, including brand development, creative, and media strategy.

To learn more, visit BuildFreedom.US and view the videos here and here.

Press Inquiries

Visit buildfreedom.us/contact

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SOURCE BuildFreedom.US

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America’s Top Immigration Attorney JD Walker Steps Into the Reality-TV Spotlight on OWN’s Put a Ring on It: CheatHab

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From the courtroom to primetime television, immigration attorney J.D. Walker is bringing his larger-than-life personality, legal expertise and entrepreneurial ambition to a new audience.

MIAMI, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the founder of J.D. Walker Immigration Attorneys, Walker has built a recognizable legal brand around immigration law, representing clients navigating some of the most consequential moments of their lives. Now, the attorney known for his commanding presence and celebrity-style personal brand is stepping into an entirely different arena: reality television.

Walker appears in the new relationship series Put a Ring on It: CheatHab, airing on OWN and streaming on HBO Max. The series places couples at a crossroads following infidelity and relationship turmoil, creating an environment where love, trust, temptation and difficult decisions collide. (Unscripted Untold)

For Walker, the television appearance represents more than simply another credit on his résumé. It is an opportunity to introduce his personality and brand to an audience far beyond the traditional legal world.

From Immigration Law to Reality Television

Walker has developed his public persona around the identity of “America’s Top Immigration Attorney,” combining his legal career with media appearances, entrepreneurship and social-media branding.

That transition from attorney to television personality reflects a broader evolution in the way modern lawyers build their brands.

Today, attorneys are increasingly becoming public-facing personalities, using television, digital media and social platforms to communicate directly with audiences rather than relying solely on traditional legal advertising.

Walker is taking that concept a step further.

His appearance on Put a Ring on It: CheatHab places an established legal professional inside the unpredictable world of reality television—where personality, relationships and authenticity become part of the story.

A Different Side of the Attorney

In the courtroom, clients generally see an attorney focused on strategy, preparation and advocacy.

Reality television provides something different: personality.

Viewers get an opportunity to see Walker outside the conventional attorney-client setting and experience the charisma, confidence and larger-than-life energy that have become part of his public image.

That contrast is part of what makes the appearance noteworthy.

Walker isn’t abandoning his legal identity. Instead, he is expanding the definition of what an attorney’s personal brand can look like in the age of streaming television and social media.

Building a Brand Beyond the Law

Walker’s television appearance comes as he continues to develop his presence across entertainment, media and business.

His strategy reflects an increasingly common reality in modern personal branding: expertise can establish credibility, but personality can establish recognition.

For an immigration attorney, that distinction can be particularly powerful.

Immigration law involves deeply personal stories involving families, careers, relationships and life-changing decisions. Walker’s television presence gives viewers a chance to connect with the person behind the professional title.

And in an era when audiences increasingly follow personalities as much as professions, that connection can become an important part of a modern legal brand.

Why Reality Television Matters for the JD Walker Brand

The significance of Walker’s appearance extends beyond one television episode.

OWN has positioned itself as a network built around personalities, relationships, ambition and conversations that continue beyond the television screen. The network also emphasizes the ability to connect with audiences across digital and streaming platforms. (Warner Bros. Discovery Press)

That environment creates a natural opportunity for a personality-driven attorney to reach viewers who may never have encountered his law practice through traditional legal marketing.

For Walker, the objective is not simply to be seen.

It is to be remembered.

Television creates a different kind of brand recognition—one where audiences can associate a name with a face, a personality and a story.

The Next Chapter

J.D. Walker’s appearance on Put a Ring on It: CheatHab represents a new chapter in the evolution of the attorney’s public profile.

From immigration law and entrepreneurship to television and personal branding, Walker is demonstrating that the modern attorney’s platform can extend well beyond the courtroom.

And while viewers may tune in for the relationship drama, Walker is bringing something different to the screen: the perspective and personality of an attorney who has built his career around navigating complicated human stories.

For J.D. Walker, the cameras are rolling—and his brand is entering a much bigger room.

Follow J.D. Walker on social media at @jdwalkerlawyer.

Reference Links

OWN Network

HBO Max

Warner Bros. Discovery Press

J.D. Walker Immigration Attorneys

Instagram — @jdwalkerlawyer

Maria Gonzalez – J.D. Walker Immigration Attorneys, PLLC.
Info@jd-walker.com 

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SOURCE J.D. Walker Immigration Attorneys, PLLC.

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MetaOptics Ltd establishes American Depositary Receipt (“ADR”) Programme on OTCQX in the U.S., with J.P. Morgan as the Depositary Bank

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — MetaOptics Ltd (Catalist: 9MT) (“MetaOptics” or the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), a leading-edge semiconductor optics company, today announced the establishment of its sponsored Level 1 ADR programme in the U.S. (the “ADR Programme”), under which American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) will trade on OTCQX.

The Company has appointed J.P. Morgan as the depositary bank for the ADR Programme. The ADR Programme does not involve any capital raising or the issuance of new shares by the Company. The Company’s ordinary shares will continue to trade on the Catalist board of the SGX Stock Exchange and the ADR Programme is not expected to have any material impact to existing shareholders of the Company.

Trading on OTCQX, the highest-level market of Over The Counter (“OTC”) Markets

OTCQX is the highest-level market operated by OTC Markets Group, which operates regulated markets for more than 12,000 U.S. and international securities. OTCQX is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies and requires companies to meet prescribed financial standards, follow best-practice corporate governance and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws.

Joining a growing group of Singapore-listed companies accessible to U.S. investors

The Company’s ADR Programme on OTCQX places it within a broader ecosystem of Singapore-listed companies whose shares are also accessible to U.S. investors. These include prominent names such as Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX Group), which also trades on OTCQX.

Expanding the Company’s global shareholder base

Following the Company’s successful listing on the Catalist of the SGX-ST in September 2025, its participation in CES 2025 and CES 2026, as well as recent product and technology roadshows in the U.S., the Group’s engagement and collaboration with U.S. industry partners, customers and institutional investors, has validated its growth and expansion plans in the U.S. including the establishment of the Group’s maiden front-end semiconductor fabrication line with 12-inch DUV immersion photolithography equipment in the U.S., for the mass production of metalenses and modules. With the Group’s continued and ongoing expansion in the U.S., the ADR Programme is intended to broaden the Company’s international investor reach and provide U.S.-based investors with a more convenient channel to access and trade the Company’s securities, and to provide a platform for U.S. investors to directly participate in the Company’s growth story. The Company believes that greater access to U.S. investors will be particularly relevant as it progresses its next phase of commercialisation and development.

In addition, the ADR Programme will provide Singapore-based investors around-the-clock access to trade in the Company’s shares, via OTCQX and its local listing on the SGX Stock Exchange. The ADS conversion can be effected through J.P. Morgan as the Company’s depositary bank, and trading of the ADSs through U.S. brokers and trading platforms. Singapore-based investors who wish to trade in the ADSs through Singapore-based brokers and trading platforms, are able to do so via such brokers and trading platforms, and can reach out to their respective trading representatives for further details.

Investors who wish to find out more about the conversion and/or ADSs issuance on OTCQX may refer to https://adr.com/ for the related forms and instructions. J.P. Morgan’s Settlement and Operations team will also be available to assist investors and/or their brokers, and can be contacted at jpm.adr.settlements@jpmorgan.com.

Supporting the Group’s commercialisation and collaboration in the U.S.

The ADR Programme complements the Company’s deployment of its key direct laser writers (“DLW”) at the nano@stanford facility and the University of Arizona’s Centre of Semiconductor Manufacturing, to further expand the Group’s engagement within the U.S. technology and research ecosystems, and support the Group’s U.S. expansion strategy, prospective U.S. customer engagement, and commercialisation roadmap, including the establishment of the Group’s maiden front-end semiconductor fabrication line with 12-inch DUV immersion photolithography equipment in the U.S., for the mass production of metalenses and modules.

Mr Thng Chong Kim, Executive Chairman said “The ADR Programme on OTCQX provides us an additional platform to introduce and increase awareness of our technology and solutions, and provides U.S. investors with a dedicated and accessible trading channel for our shares, which will help us broaden our shareholder base, enhance the potential for liquidity and international visibility, and bring our growth story to a wider investment community. This is particularly relevant, as we progress on our next phase of commercialisation and expansion in the U.S..”

About MetaOptics Ltd

MetaOptics Ltd (Catalist: 9MT) is a leading-edge semiconductor optics company pioneering glass-based metalens solutions enhanced by AI-driven image processing. Using advanced optical design and a scalable 12-inch DUV lithography process, it powers next-generation applications in CPO, mobile, AR VR, automotive and other emerging markets. Headquartered in Singapore, MetaOptics aims to deliver high-performance optics with the reliability and scalability demanded by today’s most innovative technology brands. Find out more at www.metaoptics.sg.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the Company’s growth strategies, its future business development, results of operations and financial condition, its research and development efforts, its ability to attract and retain customers, and its ability to establish and maintain relationships with suppliers and business partners; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Singapore (Headquarters)

MetaOptics Technologies Pte Ltd, 81 Ayer Rajah Crescent, #01-45, Singapore 139967

United States

MetaOptics Inc. (USA), 1 Ferry Building, Suite 201, San Francisco, CA 94111

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SOURCE METAOPTICS LTD

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H2O.ai’s Singapore Lab Aims to Turn the Republic From AI User to AI Maker

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H2O.ai founder Sri Ambati on why Singapore’s constraints and demanding market make it a testbed for sovereign AI.

SINGAPORE, Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sri Ambati, founder and chief executive of H2O.ai, spoke to Kestone Global about why the company has set up a forward deployed AI lab in Singapore, and what he thinks a small, land-scarce country can pull off that bigger ones can’t.

Kestone Global: Singapore is small, short on land and has an ageing population. Why build here rather than somewhere with more room to grow?

Ambati: Because those limits do some of the work for us. When you don’t have spare land or spare people, you end up leaning on AI and robotics just to keep productivity moving, so the pressure to get it right is higher here than in most places we operate. And the customers are demanding. Government agencies, private companies, they’re already AI-literate, so our products get pushed harder in Singapore than they would somewhere more forgiving. I’d rather build against that kind of resistance than in a market that lets us coast.

Kestone Global: You talk a lot about “Sovereign AI.”What does that actually mean for a country like Singapore?

Ambati: I’d compare it to a power grid, or water supply. You either own and control your core AI systems or you don’t, and using something isn’t the same as owning it. A country becomes AI-sovereign when it can diagnose a model, debug it, improve it, build on it, not just license someone else’s and stop there. For Singapore that means building up local data, local infrastructure and local talent, instead of importing all three off the shelf.

Kestone Global: How do you actually build that local talent base, in practice?

Ambati: We put local engineers on live projects next to our most senior people, some of whom are Kaggle Grandmasters. Not a course, not a workshop, an actual project with actual stakes. Sitting next to someone who’s already solved the hard version of your problem teaches you faster than any curriculum does, and honestly Singapore starts ahead with her strong university ecosystem and community-centric culture, so we’re not starting from zero.

Kestone Global: That’s the talent side. What about the delivery model? How does H2O.aiactually get these projects into production?

Ambati: Forward deployment. Senior engineers sit physically close to the customer instead of running things remotely from some head office. It’s a product decision, not just a staffing one. Spend enough time inside a bank or a hospital and you find the gaps a demo would never show you, and it’s closing those gaps, not polishing the pitch deck, that actually matters. What we’re after is getting past the demo and into something that produces a return you can measure. We call that the last mile.

Kestone Global: What kinds of local problems is the lab aiming to take on?

Ambati: A few things are on the list. On financial crime, the idea is to build models that catch scams earlier, and to go a step further with AI bots that pretend to be potential victims, tying up a scammer’s time and pulling intelligence out of the conversation. We also want to look at robots that can safely help elderly residents, and at predicting lightning strikes near high-rise buildings, both shaped by how dense Singapore is and by its climate, so any model would need guardrails tuned to local conditions rather than a generic template pulled from somewhere else. In healthcare, women’s health is underfunded, and that’s an area where I’d like to move quickly with local hospitals. More broadly, I think the nearest payoff from AI shows up in science and medicine, where it can cut years off getting to a discovery.

Kestone Global: Where does this mission come from, personally?

Ambati: My mother was diagnosed with cancer, and that’s really where it started. I wanted AI pointed at the disease directly, and that turned into something bigger for me: making AI cheap enough, fast enough, easy enough that it becomes ordinary. Like water. If it costs less to run, more people get to experiment with it instead of a handful of well-funded labs deciding what gets built. That’s not a slogan we put on a slide, either. It’s the reason we’ve managed to pull in people to work on things like counting endangered species, alongside the paid healthcare work.

Kestone Global: Zooming out, what does the world look like by the end of this decade?

Ambati: I think AI adds more than US$100 trillion to global GDP by 2030 and beyond, and I want human health and longevity to be somewhere in that story with H2O.ai’s name on it. The shape of the technology itself is going to change too. Today’s large models are dinosaurs, honestly, and better data, including synthetic data, should push things toward small language models that can run on a device rather than a data center. After that, physical AI, robots, is the next big shift, and I’d bet it moves faster and matters more than most people expect. Space exploration too.

Kestone Global: So what’s the immediate test, here in Singapore?

Ambati: Whether a small country with real constraints can become a maker of AI instead of just a customer for it. If that works, other countries chasing the same thing get a blueprint they can actually use, one built on co-creating with local partners, on returns you can measure, and on homegrown people, not just a licensed product shipped in from somewhere else.

About H2O.ai

H2O.ai is an artificial intelligence company founded by Sri Ambati, built around a mission to democratize AI by making it faster, cheaper and easier to use. Its platform integrates predictive, generative and agentic AI, and the company works with governments and enterprises worldwide, including through forward deployed labs such as its new Singapore initiative, to co-create localized AI solutions across sectors including finance, healthcare and public safety. H2O.ai’s long-term vision centers on “AI for good,” applying AI to major scientific, economic and societal challenges, with particular focus on advancing human health and longevity.

Media Contact

Name: Norris Liew
Email: norris.l@kestoneglobal.com
Phone: 96278813

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SOURCE Kestone CL Asia Hub Pte Ltd

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