Losses at BenevolentAI have narrowed following a boardroom coup earlier this year.
A former darling of the UK AI scene, the London-headquartered MedTech saw its shares slump by more than 90% before the coup led by founder Ken Mulvany, who ousted chair Dr François Nader and three non-executive directors in April.
Its market cap has since recovered slightly from around £80 million to £92m.
In its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30th June 2024, BenevolentAI reported operating loss reduction of 30% from £45.9 million (H1 2023) to £32.3m, which it said reflects both the impact of reduced restructuring costs and the prioritisation of research and development activities.
Revenue decreased by 46% from £5.3m to £2.8m, primarily due to the anticipated scaling down of the target identification efforts within its AstraZeneca collaboration. Its newer Merck collaboration is now generating revenue to replace it, according to the firm.
“Additional revenue is expected from the Merck collaboration in the second half of 2024 through to 2026, once the development milestones are received for work already completed,” it added.
The company said it has already made significant progress across its proprietary pipeline, which includes a mix of potential first-in-class and best-in-class drugs for high-impact and complex diseases. The therapeutic focus spans immunology, neurology and oncology.
All the assets in the pipeline have been generated through the company’s technology platform and validated at its biology and chemistry laboratories located at the Babraham Campus in Cambridge.
The company added: “However, despite these intensified efforts and the full focus of the business development team, the complex nature of such agreements demanding meticulous negotiation and precise strategic alignment, may make it challenging for the company to sign an agreement in the current fiscal year.
“The company remains committed to conclude a deal as soon as possible. BenevolentAI is dedicated to transparently managing stakeholder expectations and will provide further updates as more definitive information becomes available.”
Leading the coup in April, Mulvany outlined “serious concerns about the company’s cost management, business development resourcing, strategy, investor relations and governance”. Baroness Joanna Shields OBE – a former government minister who had built the company up from a startup over five years as CEO – had resigned the previous September amid other executive changes.
CEO Dr Joerg Moeller plus non-executive directors Jean Raby, Prof Sir Nigel Shadbolt and Dr John Orloff continued in their respective positions, while Peter Allen, Jeremy Sohn, Ian Nicholson and Mulvany himself joined the board.
In May 2023 the MedTech announced plans to lay off 180 staff, with planned cost savings of £45m intended to extend its cash runway to at least July 2025, while in April 2024 the company revealed plans to slash more jobs and close its US office.
Mulvany, who founded the company in 2013, left the board in 2022 when it listed on the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam via a SPAC merger which valued it at more than £1 billion.