BEN Announces Private Placement at Premium to Market Price, Promotion of Paul Chang to Co-CEO
29 Mai 2024 - 2:00PM
Business Wire
Brand Engagement Network Inc. (“BEN”) (Nasdaq: BNAI), an
emerging provider of personalized customer engagement AI, today
announced it has closed a private placement with existing investors
of its common stock and warrants to purchase common stock in the
aggregate amount of $4.95 million, providing the Company with
increased financial flexibility to continue the development of its
human-like, business-safe conversational AI assistants.
Concurrently, BEN announced that Paul Chang has been promoted to
Co-CEO, bringing his unique perspective to the leadership team
alongside Co-CEO Michael Zacharski.
“The moves we are announcing today represent a powerful vote of
confidence in our strategy from our Board, executive team, and our
existing investors,” said the Chairman of BEN’s Board of Directors,
Chris Gaertner. “This investment will allow BEN to continue to fund
its business plan as it seeks to execute on its growth and revenue
strategies.”
The investment, which was backed by a group of existing BEN
shareholders, includes a combination of stock and warrants to
purchase common stock and was priced at $2.50 per share, materially
above the current trading price of the Company’s common stock.
Certain members of the investor group have also agreed to provide
the Company with additional capital through the exercise of their
warrants if the Company is unable to raise an additional $3.25
million by October 31, bringing the total investment to $8.25
million.
Concurrently, Paul Chang has been promoted to Co-CEO alongside
Co-CEO Michael Zacharski. Mr. Chang joined BEN as its Global
President in May 2023 after 18 years at IBM creating new markets
for emerging technologies and roles at multiple start-ups. As
Co-CEO, Mr. Chang will have responsibility over the entire BEN
commercial operations focused on market validation and commercial
growth of the business. Mr. Zacharski will focus on inorganic
growth opportunities, including through M&A and other strategic
transactions.
“I am thrilled to take on the role of Co-CEO,” said Paul Chang,
Co-CEO of BEN. “As we transition into delivering value to our
customers by commercializing our safe and comprehensive Gen AI
Platform, BEN is well positioned both financially and
technologically to execute our plans. With our unique design and
architecture as well as portfolio of patents, we hope to
demonstrate to the market that our AI Assistants are ready to
contribute to businesses in areas that can increase CX, help to
complete tasks, and fuel their growth.”
Michael Zacharski, Co-CEO of BEN said, “This is a pivotal time
for the AI industry, and we’re excited about the prospect of
partnering with organizations that complement our vision and
capabilities. I am excited to focus on furthering the Company’s
M&A strategy, which we believe will be core to our business
strategy moving forward.”
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 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 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 “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,”
“plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,”
“continue,” or “should,” 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: failure
to realize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination;
risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial
information with respect to BEN; 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; and 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;
the risks of operating and effectively managing growth, including
through mergers and acquisitions and other inorganic growth
opportunities, in evolving and uncertain macroeconomic conditions,
such as high inflation and recessionary environments; and
continuing risks relating to the COVID 19 pandemic. 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.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240528600430/en/
Investors: Ryan Flanagan, ICR
ryan.flanagan@icrinc.com
Media: Dan Brennan, ICR dan.brennan@icrinc.com
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