National Defense Magazine highlights lifecycle challenges across design, build, and sustainment phases of maritime assets
Dynamic ecosystem-wide platforms, such as recent digital twins emerge as a decisive factor in defense acceleration and scale
Maritime Digital twins and AI transformation are extensible to air, sea, and space domains
Arlington, Virginia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2026) - Edge Total Intelligence Inc. (TSXV: CTRL) (OTCQB: UNFYF) (FSE: Q5I) ("edgeTI", "Company"), a leader in real-time digital twins and decision intelligence, today outlined a series of strategic developments positioning the Company at the intersection of global defense modernization, digital transformation, AI adoption, and operational scale.
Accelerating U.S. Shipbuilding and Sustainment Readiness
According to National Defense Magazine, the U.S. shipbuilding industry has been plagued with problems for years while China has established itself as a dominant figure in the global industry, accounting for 53.3 percent of shipbuilding worldwide. All the while, the United States makes up 0.1 percent, according to a March analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The imbalance underscores a growing industry consensus that artificial intelligence and digital twins are no longer optional, but essential to resolving shipyard backlogs and improving sustainment readiness across maritime infrastructure. Defense and industrial leaders increasingly point to AI-enabled digital twins as critical to optimizing workflows, reducing logistical friction, and increasing throughput across complex, capital-intensive systems.
Jim Barrett, CEO of edgeTI said: "Our edgeCore platform is proven and equipped to meet this challenge - combining real-time digital twin intelligence with AI, automation, and industry-specific platforms to drive faster, smarter decisions, minimize downtime, and optimize lifecycle performance."
With significant new federal investment and growing adoption across the defense industry, scaling AI and digital twin capabilities are seen as critical steps to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding capacity, improving lifecycle management, and ensuring long-term maritime superiority.
Acquisition of Austal Digital Assets Expands Maritime and Defense Capabilities
Early last month, edgeTI completed the acquisition of key software, automation assets, and technical personnel from Austal Limited (ASX: ASB), a global shipbuilder and defense prime to establish new operations in Perth Australia. The acquired assets and strategic partnership span maritime and aviation lifecycle management to enable end-to-end digital twin workflows supporting shipyard planning, sustainment operations, and decision-centric logistics across naval and allied fleets.
Solutions such as edgeTI's edgeCore and Austal's maritime-focused platforms are specifically designed to minimize downtime, maximize asset availability, and reduce long-term operational costs. Leveraging Austal's proven experience solving similar challenges for the Royal Navy, this partnership positions edgeTI to deliver fully integrated, AI-enabled digital twin capabilities that are essential for restoring U.S. maritime readiness, optimizing lifecycle management, and maintaining global competitiveness in the increasingly contested naval environment.
The U.S. Navy's challenge to accelerate the design, build, and sustainment of vessels-particularly submarines-demands solutions that improve delivery while materially reducing total cost of ownership. By way of example, a $6 billion submarine can incur lifetime sustainment costs as high as 10 times the cost to build. edgeTI's expanded product portfolio and collaboration with Austal, enable deployment of edgeCore and maritime-specific platforms designed to minimize downtime, improve asset availability, and reduce long-term operational costs.
Strategic Partnership with Sabel Systems Advances Digital Engineering
Building on the Austal integration, edgeTI expanded its strategic collaboration with Sabel Systems to accelerate digital engineering initiatives across defense manufacturing and fielded platforms. The combination of Sabel's deep technical expertise with edgeTI's composable digital twin applications enable rapid deployment of mission-ready templates, domain-specific KPIs, and pilot programs across high-velocity production and sustainment environments.
Leadership Expansion Strengthens National Security and Cyber-Physical Expertise
To support adoption across government agencies, defense primes, and critical infrastructure operators, edgeTI appointed the Honorable Lucian Niemeyer-former Assistant Secretary of Defense and a recognized authority in cyber-physical risk and operational resilience-to its Industry Advisory Council. Niemeyer's experience enhances edgeTI's ability to navigate complex defense acquisition environments and deliver resilient, credible digital twin solutions for high-consequence missions.
Capital Strengthened to Scale AI and Digital Twin Deployments
In late 2025, edgeTI closed an oversubscribed US$8.01 M convertible debenture financing, backed by Laidlaw & Company, a recognized institutional investor with an established track record in advanced AI and defense technology ecosystems, like Palantir. The financing enhances edgeTI's balance sheet and supports accelerated commercialization, mission-critical deployments, and expanded enterprise and government digital twin implementations.
Market Opportunity
Defense and industrial sectors are entering a decisive phase of modernization. Shipyards and sustainment depots face persistent backlogs, workforce constraints, and escalating lifecycle costs, while AI-powered digital twins offer a unifying platform to orchestrate data, predict maintenance needs, and streamline logistics across domains. edgeTI's recent actions position the Company to address these challenges with a scalable, ecosystem-driven approach spanning capital, talent, technology, and partnerships.
"Digital twins are no longer aspirational - they are operational imperatives," said Jim Barrett, CEO of edgeTI. "Our momentum this past quarter reflects a deliberate strategy of aligning technology, partnership depth, improving financial strength, and extending advisory expertise to help customers realize the promise of real-time, decision-ready digital operations across defense, maritime, and enterprise domains."
About edgeTI
Edge Total Intelligence Inc. empowers defense, service providers, and enterprises to operate decisively with real-time clarity in complex, mission-critical environments. Its edgeCore Digital Twin and industry-specific platforms dynamically and cost-effectively unite data, applications, third-party services, business models, AI, automation, and domain expertise to orchestrate real-time actions and drive targeted outcomes-enabling faster, more effective decisions across continually evolving defense, business, and lifecycle operations.
Website: https://ir.edgeti.com/
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For more information, please contact:
Nick Brigman, Corporate Secretary
Phone: 888-771-3343
Email: ir@edgeti.com
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Forward-Looking Information and Statements
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements or information for the purposes of applicable Canadian and US securities law. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions.
Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the continued availability of capital and financing, the impact of viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, competition and general economic, and market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Source: Edge Total Intelligence Inc.
