News: Optoelectronics
22 August 2025
NUBURU hits first milestone in Tekne acquisition with initial stake and launch of US JV
NUBURU Inc of Centennial, CO, USA — which was founded in 2015 and developed and previously manufactured high-power industrial blue lasers — has successfully executed the first milestone under the phased acquisition plan for Tekne S.p.A. established following formal notice received from the Italian government under the ‘Golden Power’ framework.
Through its new subsidiary Nuburu Defense, the firm secured an initial equity stake equal to the maximum interest permitted under current Golden Power regulatory thresholds (3%) and agreed to an action plan that, by utilizing the Luxembourg investment vehicle TCEI, will pave the way to a controlling interest in Tekne.
This step serves as the foundation for the launch of a US-based defense 80/20 joint venture between Nuburu Defense and Tekne, aimed at being immediately operational with three primary mandates:
- deliver an initial US$7.5m backlog of Tekne special vehicle contracts outside Italy, while managing sales to non-Italian clients across Tekne’s pipeline;
- manufacture, assemble and market Tekne’s proven product lines for the Americas;
- develop new defense-tech solutions, integrating Tekne’s licenses with NUBURU’s blue laser platform to create proprietary IP for allied markets.
“This joint venture transforms the phased acquisition plan into a revenue-generating reality,” says NUBURU’s executive chairman Alessandro Zamboni. “We can now execute contracts, expanding Tekne’s reach into the Americas, and laying the groundwork for co-developed technologies that can shape the future of allied defense.”
As part of the broader phased plan, the binding agreement signed between NUBURU and Tekne’s shareholders — which provides for Nuburu Defense’s path from minority stake to an eventual 70% controlling interest in Tekne — includes commitments to finance up to €40m in Tekne’s working capital needs over the next 12 months, also supported by Supply@ME Capital Plc’s inventory monetization platform and potential further additional investors through the platform.
A renewed Golden Power notification will be filed to progress to majority ownership in compliance with Italian requirements.
To bolster execution, NUBURU has engaged Anthony Sinnott, a retired US Marine Corps officer and former US Department of Defense (DoD) senior advisor, as a strategic consultant. Sinnott has extensive operational, NATO and Fortune 500 leadership experience, including service on Tekne’s board.
Together, these steps advance NUBURU’s Defense & Security Hub strategy — uniting Tekne’s deployed Tactical Bubble systems and defense vehicle expertise with NUBURU’s blue laser technology and its confirmed upcoming acquisition of the Software-as-a-Service startup focused on operational resilience, which allows for an expanded offering from Nuburu Defense.
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