Brand Engagement Network Secures $55.9 Million in Strategic Funding

Brand Engagement Network secures $55.9 million in funding By Investing.com

JACKSON, Wyo. - Brand Engagement Network (LON:NETW) Inc. (NASDAQ:BNAI), a company specializing in conversational artificial intelligence (AI), has announced the completion of a private placement and a Standby Equity Purchase Agreement (SEPA), totaling $55.9 million in funding. The transactions are aimed at bolstering the company's strategic growth and scaling production of its AI technology. On Monday, BEN disclosed that it has raised $5.925 million through a private placement with current investors, who acquired 1.185 million shares at $5.00 each, a price notably higher than the stock's recent trading levels. The investors also received an equivalent number of shares from certain existing stockholders. These transferring stockholders were compensated with 960,000 warrants to buy additional shares at the same price and had lockup restrictions on 1,252,500 shares released. Additionally, BEN entered into a SEPA with Yorkville Advisors, under which up to $50 million worth of shares may be purchased over the next three years. This agreement provides the company with a flexible capital source to support its business objectives. However, the SEPA can only be utilized once the Securities and Exchange Commission declares the related registration statement effective. BEN, headquartered in Jackson, focuses on AI-driven customer engagement, targeting sectors with significant workforce shortages and potential for consumer interaction transformation. The company prides itself on its proprietary large language model and conversational AI applications that enhance customer experience and operational efficiency. The press release also contained forward-looking statements, cautioning about potential risks and uncertainties that may affect the company's future results. These statements are standard in such disclosures and highlight factors that could influence BEN's performance, including the need for additional capital, technological shifts, intellectual property enforcement, regulatory challenges, and broader economic conditions. The information for this article is based on a press release statement from Brand Engagement Network Inc. In other recent news, Brand Engagement Network (BEN) and Vybroo have announced a partnership aimed at transforming brand-to-customer interactions through the integration of BEN's AI assistant technology with Vybroo's radio and audio platforms. This collaboration, which also includes Baja California's well-established pharmacy chain, Farmacia Roma, will use BEN's AI to answer complex user questions and offer tailored suggestions via various audio mediums. The goal is to enhance customer experience and brand responsiveness, while ensuring personal information protection. Co-CEO of BEN, Paul Chang, sees this partnership as an opportunity to extend BEN's AI platform's reach to consumers in daily situations, such as driving or shopping, wherever radio and streaming services are available. Vybroo CEO, Roque Mascareño Chávez, emphasized the potential societal benefits of optimizing processes that improve lives in areas like health and business. BEN, a NASDAQ-listed company, is dedicated to providing secure generative AI for businesses and consumers. This partnership is expected to boost Vybroo's offerings and solidify its position in corporate audio and video communication. However, the companies have not disclosed the financial terms or specific timelines for the implementation of these AI-assisted engagement strategies. These recent developments are based on a press release statement and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could affect the actual outcomes of the partnership. As Brand Engagement Network Inc. (NASDAQ:BNAI) secures substantial funding for its strategic AI initiatives, investors and industry observers are closely monitoring the company's financial health and stock performance. Recent data from InvestingPro reveals some challenges and opportunities that the company faces. An InvestingPro Tip suggests that Brand Engagement Network Inc. is quickly burning through cash, which is a critical point of consideration for a company that has just raised additional funds. This aligns with the need for capital infusion indicated by the recent private placement and SEPA. Moreover, the company's stock has experienced significant volatility, with an InvestingPro Tip highlighting that it has taken a big hit over the last six months. This level of price volatility could be a reflection of investor sentiment and market perception of the company's future prospects. Delving into the InvestingPro Data, Brand Engagement Network Inc. has a market capitalization of $64.01 million, which provides a sense of the company's size relative to its peers. The data also shows a negative P/E ratio of -8.97, indicating that investors are currently facing losses, which may be a result of the company not being profitable over the last twelve months. Additionally, the company's stock is trading at a high revenue valuation multiple, which suggests that the market may be expecting future growth or that the stock is overvalued relative to its current revenue generation. For those interested in a deeper analysis, InvestingPro offers additional tips that can provide further insights into Brand Engagement Network Inc.'s financial position and stock performance. These additional tips can be accessed through the InvestingPro platform at https://www.investing.com/pro/BNAI, offering valuable information for making informed investment decisions.

BEN Announces Private Placement at Premium to Market Price, Secures $50 Million Standby Equity Purchase Agreement - Brand Engagement Network (NASDAQ:BNAI)

JACKSON, Wyo., Aug. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brand Engagement Network Inc. ("BEN") BNAI, an emerging provider of safe and secure customer engagement AI, today announced it has closed a private placement with existing investors to purchase shares of BEN's common stock in the aggregate amount of $5.925 million. Concurrently, BEN announced that it has entered into a $50 million Standby Equity Purchase Agreement ("SEPA") with Yorkville Advisors. Together, these two transactions provide the Company with increased financial flexibility and access to capital in support of strategic growth initiatives, expanded market validation, and production scaling of its human-like, conversational AI assistants. The private placement is backed by a group of existing BEN stockholders, who agreed to purchase 1.185 million shares of common stock at $5.00 per share, materially above the current trading price of the Company's common stock. For each share purchased, investors received an additional share of common stock from certain existing stockholders of the Company. In exchange for transferring their shares to existing investors, certain transferring stockholders were issued 960,000 warrants to purchase shares of the Company's common stock at a price of $5.00 per share, and received a release from certain existing "lockup" restrictions on 1,252,500 shares of common stock owned by them. The shares of common stock will be purchased on a monthly basis through April 5, 2025. Under the terms of the SEPA, Yorkville Advisors has agreed to purchase BEN shares up to the aggregate amount of $50 million over three years. This financing structure will provide the company with access to capital on an as-needed basis to fund its business plan as it seeks to execute on its growth and revenue strategies. BEN cannot utilize the SEPA until a registration statement registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, is declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. About BEN BEN (Brand Engagement Network) is a leading provider of conversational AI technology and human-like AI avatars headquartered in Jackson, WY. BEN delivers highly personalized, multi-modal (text, voice, and vision) AI engagement, with a focus on industries where there is a massive workforce gap and an opportunity to transform how consumers engage with networks, providers, and brands. The backbone of BEN's success is a rich portfolio of conversational AI applications that drive better customer experience, increased automation and operational efficiencies. Powered by a proprietary large language model developed based on years of research and development from leading experts in AI and advanced security methodologies, BEN seeks to partner with companies with complementary capabilities and networks to enable meaningful business outcomes. Additional information about BEN can be found here: https://beninc.ai/. Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results of BEN to differ materially from those expected and projected. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words "anticipates," "believes," "continue," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "projects," "should," "will," or "would," or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside BEN's control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to BEN; uncertainty regarding and the failure to realize the anticipated benefits from future production-ready deployments; the attraction and retention of qualified directors, officers, employees and key personnel; our ability to grow our customer base; BEN's history of operating losses; BEN's need for additional capital to support its present business plan and anticipated growth; technological changes in BEN's market; the value and enforceability of BEN's intellectual property protections; BEN's ability to protect its intellectual property; BEN's material weaknesses in financial reporting; BEN's ability to navigate complex regulatory requirements; the ability to maintain the listing of BEN's securities on a national securities exchange; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations; the effects of competition on BEN's business; and the risks of operating and effectively managing growth in evolving and uncertain macroeconomic conditions, such as high inflation and recessionary environments. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. BEN cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. BEN cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. BEN does not undertake nor does it accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, and it does not intend to do so unless required by applicable law. Further information about factors that could materially affect BEN, including its results of operations and financial condition, is set forth under "Risk Factors" in BEN's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q subsequently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BEN Contacts Investors: Ryan Flanagan, ICR ryan.flanagan@icrinc.com Media: Dan Brennan, ICR dan.brennan@icrinc.com Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs