BenevolentAI Provides an Update on Its Business Priorities

Regulatory News:

BenevolentAI (“BenevolentAI” or the “Company”) (Euronext Amsterdam: BAI), a leader in applying advanced AI to accelerate biopharma drug discovery, today announces an update on its business priorities.

• Going forward the Company will focus on its AI-driven drug discovery collaboration and proprietary pipeline revenue generating pillars, following recent successes in these areas. The Board believes this focus will likely bring the greatest potential return for shareholders.
• Following completion of the market assessment of its Knowledge Exploration Tools, as noted at the time of the Company’s full year results on 14 March 2024, work on the Knowledge Exploration Tools will cease, given the investment needed to fully commercialise this SaaS product and the estimated timeframe to see a potential meaningful financial return.
• The impact of these changes will be a reduction in headcount by c.30%, with cash burn reduced by c.20%, extending the Company’s cash runway to late Q3 25, even after partial reinvestment of the savings into Phase Ib/IIa enabling studies for lead asset BEN-8744, following positive results from the Phase Ia trial.

Since September 2023, the Company has made significant operational progress on multiple fronts, including signing the collaboration with Merck KGaA with a potential $594m in revenue generation, and announcing positive top line Phase Ia data on its lead asset BEN-8744 for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC), as well as making significant changes to strengthen its Executive Leadership Team.

The Company had communicated in March 2024 that a current market assessment was underway of its Knowledge Exploration Tools that would determine if, or how, this opportunity complemented its wider commercial strategy. Following completion of this assessment, which took into account the level of further investment needed to successfully commercialise these tools as well as the timeframe within which a meaningful financial return could be expected, the Company has concluded that resources allocated to the development of these tools would be better utilised focusing on the Company’s two other revenue pillars, following on from recent successes in its AI driven drug discovery collaboration and proprietary pipeline pillars.