From Compute, to Memory, to Light: Tuttle Capital Launches the Pure Play Photonics ETF (FOTO)

New Actively Managed ETF Offers Targeted Exposure to the Optical Technology Replacing Copper Inside AI Data Centers - Across Lasers, Optical Transceivers, Silicon Photonics, Specialty Wafers, and Foundry Capacity

• Tuttle Capital Management announces the launch of the Tuttle Capital Pure Play Photonics ETF (CBOE: FOTO), an actively managed ETF built for focused exposure to the photonics industry. Photonics is the science and technology of moving data as pulses of laser light through fiber, instead of as electrical signals through copper wire. Modern AI data centers wire thousands of GPUs together and pass enormous volumes of data between them, and at that scale, copper has hit a physical wall. Light is what comes next — and FOTO offers exposure to the companies building the lasers, optical transceivers, silicon photonics, specialty wafers, and manufacturing capacity that are making that shift possible.
• FOTO applies a "pure-play" revenue screen designed to cut out diversified conglomerates where photonics is an incidental side business. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in companies whose primary operations are directly related to photonics, generally requiring at least 50% of revenues or operating profits to come from photonics-related products or services, subject to Adviser discretion.
• FOTO carries a management fee of 0.75% and is listed on the Cboe Exchange, Inc.

Riverside, Connecticut--(Newsfile Corp. - May 29, 2026) - Tuttle Capital Management, an industry pioneer in thematic exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced the launch of the Tuttle Capital Pure Play Photonics ETF (CBOE: FOTO). Built to give investors clean, focused exposure to the photonics industry, FOTO is actively managed and now trading on the Cboe Exchange.

The AI Bottleneck Has Moved Again
Every phase of the AI buildout has hit a wall. In 2021, the constraint was compute. In 2023, it was memory. Today, with hyperscaler capital expenditures running at roughly $610 billion a year across the four largest U.S. cloud providers, the newest constraint is the highway between the chips — and the industry is rapidly migrating that highway from copper to light.

"Every phase of the AI buildout has had a bottleneck, and in every phase, consensus has initially mapped that bottleneck wrong. Compute in 2021, memory in 2023, and now the highway between chips. Photonics is the technology that moves data as pulses of laser light through fiber, and it's already inside virtually every long-haul network on earth. What's happening now is the migration of that same technology inside the data center itself — onto boards, into chip packages, and eventually onto the silicon die."

- Matthew Tuttle, CEO & CIO, Tuttle Capital Management

How FOTO Works: Active, Pure-Play, and Stack-Aware
Photonics isn't a single stock or product category — it's an entire technology stack. FOTO is designed to actively capture opportunities across five core layers of that stack:

• Lasers — The light sources that generate the photons used across optical communications, industrial systems, scientific instrumentation, and sensing applications.
• Optical transceivers — The components that convert electrical signals into optical signals and back. According to TrendForce (December 2025), Nvidia's strategic capacity lock-in at top EML laser suppliers has pushed optical transceiver lead times beyond 2027, triggering a worldwide shortage as hyperscalers scramble for secondary suppliers.
• Silicon photonics — The integration of optical functions directly onto silicon wafers and chip packages, enabling photonic integrated circuits and co-packaged optics.
• Specialty wafers (e.g., indium phosphide) — The critical upstream compound semiconductor materials required to produce lasers and high-performance photonic devices.
• Foundries and capital equipment — The specialized manufacturing capacity and equipment needed to produce photonic and optoelectronic components at scale.

Because the industry is quickly evolving, FOTO is actively managed rather than tied to a passive, quarterly-rebalanced index. That active mandate is designed to let the Fund adapt as the technology and public market opportunity set evolve, with primary focus on the highly specialized small- and mid-cap companies driving innovation across the related industries.

To ensure investors get genuine exposure, FOTO applies a strict pure-play revenue screen. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in companies whose primary operations are directly related to photonics. Generally, eligible companies must derive at least 50% of their revenue or operating profits from photonics-related products or services — excluding diversified conglomerates where optical tech is just an incidental side business. The Adviser may, at its discretion, also include companies with a substantial nexus to photonics that are reasonably expected to meet that threshold in the future, including early-stage, pre-revenue, or recently public companies whose principal business operations are photonics-focused.

"Photonics isn't a single stock call — it's a stack. Lasers, transceivers, silicon photonics, upstream materials, and manufacturing capacity. Each layer has its own supply-demand story, and we wanted a fund that could hold exposure across the whole stack and move with it actively as the opportunity set evolves. Passive, quarterly-rebalanced thematic funds tend to show up after a theme is already obvious. We'd rather be there earlier."

- Matthew Tuttle, CEO & CIO, Tuttle Capital Management

The Public Evidence Is Already There
Photonics-related commitments have been increasingly referenced in publicly disclosed hyperscaler capex plans, product roadmaps, and infrastructure announcements. NVIDIA's Blackwell GPU platform has publicly incorporated co-packaged optics for chip-to-chip interconnect. Alphabet has disclosed that its Jupiter data center network has deployed over one million optical transceiver ports. Amazon Web Services has disclosed that its Trainium2 AI chip incorporates photonic I/O designed to deliver substantially greater interconnect bandwidth than its predecessor. Microsoft's multi-year capital expenditure plans have explicitly prioritized optical networking, and major semiconductor foundries have announced capacity expansions for silicon photonics manufacturing.

References to specific companies above are based on those companies' publicly disclosed statements and are included for industry context only. They are not current or projected holdings of the Fund and do not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.

About Tuttle Capital Management
Tuttle Capital Management is an industry leader in thematic ETFs, allowing investors to capitalize on shifting market dynamics. Known for its active management approach, the firm constructs portfolios around emerging, high-conviction trends. FOTO joins Tuttle Capital's growing suite of thematic products. For more information and to view the prospectus, please visit https://fotoetf.com/.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Tuttle Capital Pure Play Photonics ETF (FOTO) before investing. For a prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please visit http://fotoetf.com/ or call (833) 759-6110. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Principal Risks include: Photonics Industry Risk, Technology Sector Risk, Semiconductor and Capital Equipment Risk, Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk, Early-Stage and Pre-Revenue Company Risk, Non-U.S. and Emerging Markets Risk, Concentration Risk, Active Management Risk, Equity Securities Risk, Market Risk, Cyber Security Risk, Inflation Risk, ETF Risks (including Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Limitation Risk; Cash Redemption Risk; Costs of Buying or Selling Shares; Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV; and Trading Risk), Non-Diversification Risk, and New Fund Risk.

Companies in the photonics industry are subject to rapid technological change, evolving standards, and intense competition. Demand may fluctuate based on capital spending cycles, telecommunications infrastructure deployment, semiconductor fabrication capacity, defense and aerospace procurement, and broader macroeconomic conditions. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the Adviser's success or failure to implement its investment strategy. The Fund is non-diversified and may experience greater price volatility than a diversified fund. The Fund may invest significantly in small- and mid-cap and early-stage companies, which may experience greater price volatility and reduced liquidity than larger, more established issuers. ETF shares may trade at a premium or discount to NAV.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding market conditions, technology trends, and industry developments. Such statements are subject to significant uncertainties and actual events or outcomes may differ materially. Supplier lead-time figures referenced herein are based on publicly available industry reporting and are subject to change. There is no guarantee that the Fund's investment strategy will be properly implemented, and an investor may lose some or all of their investment.

Investment in the Fund is subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of some or the entire principal amount invested. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be successful in meeting its investment objective. Investment in the Fund is also subject to the following risks:

Limited History of Operations Risk: As of the date of this prospectus, the Fund has no operating history and currently has fewer assets than larger funds. Like other new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund's market exposure for limited periods of time. This impact may be positive or negative, depending on the direction of market movement during the period affected.

Index Tracking Risk. Returns may not match its reference Index due to costs, timing differences, or operational constraints. The Fund will hold reference index securities regardless of outlook, which may lead to underperformance versus active strategies.

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers and maybe more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund.

Distributor: Foreside Fund Services, LLC

MEDIA CONTACT

Matthew Tuttle

Tuttle Capital Management

mtuttle@tuttlecap.com

(347) 852-0548

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/299356