MIAMI, Aug. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Defiance ETFs, a leading issuer of thematic and leveraged exchange traded funds, today announced the launch of the Defiance China Robotics ETF (Nasdaq: CROB), the first US-listed ETF dedicated to China's humanoid robotics ecosystem. CROB seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Solactive China Humanoid Robotics Index, a rules-based index of Chinese companies engaged in the development, manufacturing, and supply of technologies essential for humanoid robotics, including AI driven robotics, motion control systems, precision actuators, and automation solutions.

Humanoid robots are moving from prototypes to production, and China has become a major center of that shift. China is home to major producers of many of the components that make a humanoid robot work: precision actuators, harmonic reducers, high precision motors, sensors, and motion control systems. At the same time, a new generation of Chinese robot makers is working to bring humanoids to commercial deployment at manufacturing scale, and humanoid robotics has been identified as a development priority by Chinese policymakers, including in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's 2023 Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots. Most of these companies trade in Hong Kong or on the mainland, outside the reach of a typical US brokerage account. CROB is designed to give investors targeted access to that ecosystem in a single US-listed ETF.

“We have watched China run this playbook before, in EVs, in solar, in batteries: scale the supply chain, drive costs lower, and capture global market share. We believe humanoid robotics represents the next phase of this strategy. CROB brings the builders of that entire ecosystem into one rules-based, US-listed ETF,” said Sylvia Jablonski, Chief Investment Officer of Defiance ETFs.

CROB carries an expense ratio of 0.89%. Defiance ETFs, LLC serves as the Fund's investment adviser, and Tidal Investments LLC serves as sub-adviser. CROB joins Defiance's lineup of thematic ETFs spanning quantum computing, drones and modern warfare, AI infrastructure, and other next-generation technologies.

For more information, including full holdings, visit www.defianceetfs.com/crob.

About Defiance ETFs

Founded in 2018, Defiance is a leading ETF issuer specializing in thematic, income, and leveraged ETFs. Our first-mover leveraged single-stock ETFs allow investors to take amplified positions in high-growth companies, providing precise leverage exposure without the need to open a margin account.

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Defiance ETFs, LLC (“Defiance” or the “Adviser”) serves as the Fund’s investment adviser; Tidal Investments LLC (“Tidal” or the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as sub-adviser to the Fund.

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 the prospectus and/or summary prospectus carefully before investing. Hard copies can be requested by calling 833.333.9383.

Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund is non-diversified, this Fund is a recently organized investment company with no operating history. The Fund is non-diversified and will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index. As of August 9, 2026, the Index is concentrated in the Commercial and Industrial Electric Products industry group and has significant exposure to the Consumer Vehicle Parts Manufacturing and Factory Automation Equipment industry groups. The Fund is passively managed and subject to index methodology, index provider, and tracking error risk. The Fund may engage in securities lending. Because securities held by the Fund may trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs.

As an ETF, the Fund may trade at a premium or discount to NAV. Shares are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. A portfolio concentrated in a particular industry, sector, or country, or in a small number of holdings, may be subject to a higher degree of risk. There is no guarantee the Fund will achieve its investment objective, and an investor may lose some or all of its investment.

China A-Shares Risk. The Fund may gain exposure to China A-Shares, which are issued by companies incorporated in mainland China and denominated in Chinese renminbi, primarily through the Stock Connect Program, a mutual market access program that permits international investors to trade eligible mainland China-listed securities through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A-Share markets are considered emerging markets characterized by generally low trading volume and less market liquidity, and are subject to Chinese government regulations on the repatriation of assets, restricted-list limitations, and trading suspensions, any of which could increase pricing volatility or disrupt the creation and redemption of Creation Units.

China and Hong Kong-Specific Risk. The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of Chinese issuers, including those trading on the Hong Kong Exchange, and is therefore more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting China and Hong Kong specifically. China and Hong Kong are developing markets that may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political, and social instability and demonstrate significantly higher volatility than developed markets. Many Chinese companies raise capital offshore through Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”) structures, under which an investor in the listed shell company has no direct equity ownership in the underlying Chinese operating company and gains exposure only through contractual arrangements, which limits investors’ recourse and the ability to control the operating company’s activities.

Humanoid Robotics Companies Risk. Companies focused on the development, manufacturing, and supply of technologies essential for humanoid robotics are subject to intense competition, rapid product obsolescence, and risk to intellectual property rights. These companies often face high research and development costs and significant capital expenditures without assurance that their products or services will prove commercially successful, and are particularly sensitive to legal, regulatory, and political changes, including regulation related to societal impact and product safety.

Concentration Risk / Sector Risk. The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in a particular industry or group of related industries to the extent the Index is so concentrated, including the Commercial and Industrial Electric Products, Consumer Vehicle Parts Manufacturing, and Factory Automation Equipment industry groups. As a result, the value of the Shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares of a fund that invests in a broader range of industries, and the Fund’s investments may be more volatile than investments in more broadly diversified funds.

Emerging Markets Risk. The Fund invests primarily in companies organized in emerging market nations. Investments in developing or emerging markets involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in more developed markets, including the risk of government intervention, capital controls, sanctions, and geopolitical events such as military conflict, terrorism, or trade tensions, any of which could adversely affect the trading market and price for Shares.

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. The Fund invests primarily in investments denominated in non-U.S. currencies or in securities that provide exposure to such currencies. Currency exchange rates can be volatile and change quickly and unpredictably, which may cause the value of an investment in the Fund to change quickly and without warning.

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve risks not typically present with U.S. investments, including currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, less publicly available information about issuers, and additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks, which can make the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may invest more of its assets in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with an individual issuer or a small number of issuers, which may increase the Fund’s volatility.

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed, and its sub-adviser generally would not sell a security due to current or projected underperformance unless that security is removed from the Index or the sale is otherwise required upon a reconstitution or rebalancing of the Index.

Index Methodology Risk / Index Provider Risk. The Index relies on ARTIS®, the Index Provider’s proprietary natural language processing algorithm, to identify eligible companies, and as a result may not include every Chinese Robotics Company in Hong Kong or China. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile, maintain, reconstitute, rebalance, or calculate the Index accurately; losses or costs associated with any such errors generally will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decision.

Market Capitalization Risk. The Fund may invest in the securities of large-, mid-, and small-capitalization companies. Mid- and small-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than larger companies, generally trade in lower volumes, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes.

Tracking Error Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and the Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons, including Fund operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Index.

Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may engage in securities lending, which carries certain risks, including the risk that a borrower may fail to return loaned securities on a timely basis or at all, and the risk of a decline in the value of collateral posted by the borrower, either of which could cause the Fund to lose money.

ETF Risks. As an ETF, the Fund is subject to risks that include a limited number of Authorized Participants, market makers, and liquidity providers; the possibility that the Fund may be required to redeem shares for cash rather than in-kind, which may cause it to recognize capital gains it might not have otherwise recognized; trading costs and bid-ask spreads; and the potential for Shares to trade at a premium or discount to NAV, particularly during periods of market volatility or limited secondary-market trading activity. Because certain of the Fund’s holdings trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of ETFs holding only U.S.-listed securities.

Chinese Robotics Companies refers to companies identified by the Index Provider, using ARTIS®, as engaged in the development, manufacturing, or supply of technologies essential to humanoid robotics (including humanoid robotics and AI-powered automation, motion control and precision actuators, robotic perception and human-machine interaction, and industrial and service robotics infrastructure) and which are headquartered in China and meet the Index’s free float market capitalization and liquidity criteria.

As of August 9, 2026, based on a review of SEC EDGAR filings and publicly available ETF issuer, index provider, and exchange listings, Defiance ETFs has identified no US-listed exchange-traded fund, current or historical, whose name, underlying index, or stated principal investment strategy is dedicated to China's humanoid robotics ecosystem, and accordingly believes the Defiance China Robotics ETF (Nasdaq: CROB) is the first US-listed ETF dedicated to China's humanoid robotics ecosystem; existing US-listed humanoid robotics ETFs (KOID, HUMN, BOTT) maintain global mandates in which Chinese holdings are incidental, China-dedicated humanoid and robotics ETFs trade only on non-US exchanges (Hong Kong: Global X 2807/9807; Korea: Mirae Asset Tiger and Samsung KODEX China Humanoid Robot ETFs; Shenzhen: 159551), and the sole historical US-listed China/Asia robotics ETF (KraneShares KBOT) maintained a broad robotics and artificial intelligence mandate that was not humanoid-specific and was converted to the global KOID effective May 2025.

Brokerage commissions may be charged on trades.

Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f4c93691-6109-41b2-ac47-67c74a0e9756