JP 3E Holdings, Inc. Appoints Henry Ji, Ph.D., Stephen Ma and Jaedong Yoon to Board of Directors

TRENTON, N.J., Aug. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JP 3E Holdings, Inc. (OTC Markets: JPTE) ("JP 3E Holdings" or the "Company") today announced the appointment of Henry Ji, Ph.D., Stephen Ma and Jaedong Yoon to its Board of Directors, effective August 13, 2026.

The appointments strengthen JP 3E Holdings' Board with additional experience across public-company leadership, capital markets, life sciences, institutional finance and U.S.-Korea cross-border business. The expanded Board will support JP 3E Holdings as the Company advances its strategic initiatives, including its activities in strategic metals and real-world-asset ("RWA") infrastructure.

About the New Directors

Henry Ji, Ph.D.
Executive Chairperson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Scilex Holding Company (Nasdaq: SCLX)

Dr. Ji has served as Executive Chairperson and a member of the board of Scilex Holding Company since September 2023 and as its President and Chief Executive Officer since August 2025. He has also served on the board of Scilex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since November 2016 and previously served as its Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Ji co-founded Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., where he served in senior executive and board leadership positions. He founded Vivasor, Inc. and serves as its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman and also serves as Executive Chairperson of Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Ji holds a Ph.D. in animal physiology from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in biochemistry from Fudan University.

Stephen Ma
Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Secretary and Director, Scilex Holding Company (Nasdaq: SCLX)

Mr. Ma has served as Scilex's Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President since September 2023, Corporate Secretary since March 2024, a director since September 2025 and Chief Operating Officer since October 2025. He previously served as Scilex's Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President of Finance. Mr. Ma also serves in senior operating and financial roles at Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Earlier in his career, he held finance and operating positions at Anwita Biosciences, Inc., Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Ardelyx, Inc. and Globavir Biosciences, Inc. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from San Jose State University.

Jaedong Yoon
Senior Advisor, Murua Korea Corp.

Jaedong Yoon serves as a Senior Advisor to Murua Korea Corp. and brings experience across governance, institutional strategy, finance and international business coordination. Mr. Yoon's experience is expected to strengthen JP 3E Holdings' ability to develop institutional relationships and execute cross-border initiatives between the United States and Korea.

Strategic Direction

JP 3E Holdings' expanded Board is intended to provide additional governance and public-market experience as the Company develops its businesses at the intersection of strategic assets, institutional capital and real-world-asset infrastructure.

JP 3E Holdings also serves as Manager of Patriot Strategic Metals LLC, with operational authority covering procurement, custody, banking, government program participation and commercial execution for Patriot's strategic-metals platform. The strategic-metals sector is increasingly exploring tokenization as a way to connect physical commodities with digital ownership, financing and settlement infrastructure.

On July 1, 2026, Datavault AI Inc. (Nasdaq: DVLT) announced a proposed strategic partnership with Patriot Strategic Metals to jointly develop the Strategic Materials Acquisition Platform (SMAP), designed to combine Patriot's strategic-metals platform with Datavault AI's RWA tokenization, AI-enabled digital infrastructure and blockchain-based settlement capabilities.

Datavault AI's announcement contemplates an initial Phase I platform development program of up to $700 million, subject to financing availability, definitive agreements, board approvals and applicable regulatory requirements. JP 3E Holdings believes the announced framework reflects the broader convergence of physical strategic assets, institutional finance and digital market infrastructure, with the potential to improve transparency, collateral efficiency and transaction speed as regulatory and market structures continue to evolve.

"The addition of Henry, Stephen and Jaedong significantly strengthens the depth of our Board. We are building JP 3E Holdings for its next stage of growth, and that requires experienced leadership, access to capital markets and disciplined execution across the United States and Korea. We believe this Board gives us a stronger foundation from which to execute our strategy." — John K. Park, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JP 3E Holdings, Inc.

About JP 3E Holdings, Inc.

JP 3E Holdings, Inc. (OTC: JPTE) is a Nevada holding company headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey, with interests spanning strategic metals, real estate development, blockchain and real-world-asset infrastructure, and Korean small- and mid-cap enterprise growth. More information is available at https://jp3e.com/.

Investor and Media Contact

John K. Park
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
JP 3E Holdings, Inc.
1300 Kuser Road, First Floor
Trenton, NJ 08619
John.park@jp3e.com
+1 (609) 581-1721 (Office)

ABOUT DEMORA FOUNDATION

Demora Foundation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JP 3E Holdings Inc., is the developer, owner, operator, and governor of the Demora Vault (DVT) ecosystem. Demora operates the Demora Mainnet — an OP Stack, EVM-compatible Layer-2 network — and is the issuer of the Demora Vault (DVT) settlement token for institutional real-world-asset tokenization, custody, and cross-border settlement.

ABOUT DATAVAULT AI INC.

Datavault AI™ (NASDAQ: DVLT) is a pioneer in AI-driven data experiences, valuation, and monetization of assets in the Web 3.0 environment. DataVault AI develops enterprise data systems, blockchain-based tokenization solutions, analytics platforms, and digital infrastructure for data monetization and institutional applications. Through its Data Sciences division, Datavault AI delivers patented technologies — including Data Vault Bank^®, DataScore^®, DataValue^®, the Information Data Exchange^®, and VerifyU™ — for the secure valuation, scoring, verification, tokenization, exchange, and settlement of real-world assets. Learn more at dvlt.ai.

MEDIA & INVESTOR CONTACTS

JP 3E Holdings, Inc.
1300 Kuser Road, First Floor, Trenton, NJ 08619 
+1 (609) 581-1721  ·  info@jp3e.com  ·  jp3e.com

Website: https://jp3e.com/ · www.jp3eholdings.com X: x.com/JP3EHoldingsInc · Facebook: facebook.com/JP3E Holdings Inc E-Mail: info@jp3e.com · K2Global Platform: https://k2global.tech/en

Datavault AI Inc. — Investor Relations
Edward Barger, VP, Investor Relations · ir@dvlt.ai

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable federal securities laws. These statements include, among other things, statements regarding JP 3E Holdings' Board composition, strategic-metals and RWA initiatives, Patriot Strategic Metals, the proposed Strategic Materials Acquisition Platform, related financing and technology integration, and the anticipated benefits of the director appointments. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including financing availability, execution of definitive agreements, required approvals, regulatory developments, technology integration, market adoption and general economic conditions. Actual results may differ materially. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any security, digital asset or investment product. References to third parties do not constitute their endorsement of JP 3E Holdings. The proposed Patriot Strategic Metals-Datavault AI relationship remains subject to the conditions described in Datavault AI's July 1, 2026 public announcement.