Institutional Investors Have Funded or Committed Over $220 Million in Financing in Total

Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders Remains Scheduled for September 23, 2025

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 15, 2025-- 

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. ("Kodiak" or the "Company"), a leading provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology, and Ares Acquisition Corporation II $(AACT)$ ("AACT"), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, today announced a $145 million PIPE commitment of convertible preferred stock and common stock warrants to AACT from institutional accredited investors to support the previously announced proposed business combination (the "proposed business combination") between AACT and Kodiak. One such investor had previously committed to providing $50 million of support for AACT's previously announced common stock PIPE investment, and such commitment was amended and restated in the form of a subscription agreement for the convertible preferred stock and common stock warrant investment.

To date, certain institutional investors have invested or committed an aggregate of over $220 million in financing to Kodiak and AACT since the announcement of the proposed business combination. In addition, the combined company will receive the cash remaining in AACT's trust account at closing after any redemptions by AACT shareholders at the upcoming AACT extraordinary general meeting. As of August 18, 2025, there was approximately $562 million of cash held in AACT's trust account at closing, which does not account for any such redemptions of existing AACT shares or any transaction expenses. Kodiak and AACT may opportunistically seek additional capital in connection with the consummation of the proposed business combination to provide additional support for Kodiak's operating plan.

"We believe these additional investments underscore our investors' confidence in the value proposition of Kodiak's safe and commercially-deployed autonomous technology," said Don Burnette, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kodiak. "As we continue to make progress toward completing our proposed business combination with AACT and bringing Kodiak to the public markets, our entire team remains focused on executing our strategy to scale our business and accelerate our growth. We look forward to leading the advancement of the commercial trucking and public sector industries and delivering on the exciting value creation opportunities ahead to the benefit of customers and shareholders."

"Kodiak continues to differentiate itself as an industry leader in a significant addressable market, and this latest announcement further reinforces our excitement for its launch as a publicly-traded company," said Allyson Satin, Chief Operating Officer of AACT and Partner at Ares. "Don and his team have demonstrated the long-term potential for Kodiak's AI-driven technology, and we look forward to continuing to support the company through its next chapter."

An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the "Extraordinary General Meeting") to approve the proposed business combination is scheduled to be held on September 23, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The Extraordinary General Meeting will be held in person at the offices Kirkland & Ellis LLP located at 601 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and virtually via live webcast at https://www.cstproxy.com/aresacquisitioncorporationii/egm2025. Holders of AACT's ordinary shares at the close of business on the record date of August 20, 2025, are entitled to notice of the Extraordinary General Meeting and to vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting. AACT and Kodiak filed the definitive proxy statement/prospectus relating to the proposed business combination and AACT began mailing it to shareholders as of the record date on or about Friday August 29, 2025. More details about the proposed business combination and the resolutions to be voted upon at the Extraordinary General Meeting can be found in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus filed by AACT, available at: http://www.sec.gov.

Assuming satisfaction of the conditions to the closing of the proposed business combination, including approval of the proposed business combination by AACT's shareholders, the post-proposed business combination company intends to list its common stock and public warrants on The Nasdaq Stock Market ("Nasdaq") under the proposed symbols "KDK" and "KDKRW," respectively. The Nasdaq listing is subject to the closing of the proposed business combination and fulfillment of all Nasdaq listing requirements.

Every vote is important and AACT encourages all shareholders to make their voices heard by authorizing their proxy online or by mail as soon as possible, regardless of the number of shares held. AACT shareholders who need assistance in completing the proxy card, need additional copies of the proxy statement/prospectus, or have questions regarding the Extraordinary General Meeting may contact AACT's proxy solicitor, Sodali & Co, by calling (800) 662-5200 (toll free) or banks and brokers can call (203) 658-9400, or by e-mailing AACT.info@investor.sodali.com.

About Kodiak Robotics, Inc.

Kodiak Robotics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and is a leading provider of AI-powered autonomous vehicle technology that is designed to help tackle some of the toughest driving jobs. Kodiak's driverless solution can help address the critical problem of safely transporting goods in the face of unprecedented supply chain challenges. Kodiak's vision is to become the trusted world leader in autonomous ground transportation. Kodiak is committed to a safer and more efficient future for all through the commercialization of driverless trucking at scale. To that end, Kodiak developed the Kodiak Driver, a virtual driver that combines advanced AI-powered software with modular and vehicle-agnostic hardware designed to help address Kodiak's customers' needs. The Kodiak Driver is not just an idea-it is operating without a human driver today. Kodiak serves customers in both commercial trucking and the public sector. In 2024, Kodiak believes it achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first company to deploy customer-owned and -operated driverless trucks in commercial service. The Kodiak Driver is also being utilized in the public sector, where Kodiak believes it can support national security initiatives and critical government applications.

About Ares Acquisition Corporation II

Ares Acquisition Corporation II (NYSE: AACT) is a special purpose acquisition company affiliated with Ares Management Corporation, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements including regarding AACT's or Kodiak's or their management teams' expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Forward-looking statements may be identi ed by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "may," "plan," "potential," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: Kodiak's and AACT's expectations with respect to the future performance and the success of the combined company following the consummation of the proposed business combination (the "combined company"); expectations regarding the completion of the convertible preferred stock and warrant investment, the proposed business combination and the combined company being listed on Nasdaq following completion of the proposed business combination; and the expected benefits of the proposed business combination. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identi ed in this press release, and on the current expectations of Kodiak's and AACT's management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied upon by any investors as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a de nitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are dif cult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Kodiak and AACT. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in business, market, nancial, political and legal conditions; the inability of the parties to successfully or timely consummate the proposed business combination, including the risk that any regulatory approvals are not obtained, are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected bene ts of the proposed business combination or that the approval of the equity holders of Kodiak or AACT is not obtained; failure to realize the anticipated bene ts of the proposed business combination; risks related to the rollout of Kodiak's business and the timing of expected business milestones; the effects of competition on Kodiak's business; supply shortages in the materials necessary for the production of the Kodiak Driver; risks related to working with third-party manufacturers for key components of the Kodiak Driver; risks related to the retro tting of Kodiak's vehicles by third parties; the termination or suspension of any of Kodiak's contracts or the reduction in counterparty spending; delays in Kodiak's operational roadmap with key partners and customers; the amount of redemption requests made by AACT's public equity holders; AACT's ability to consummate the expected private placement of equity securities in connection with the consummation of the

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September 15, 2025 08:30 ET (12:30 GMT)