JACKSON, Wyo., June 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brand Engagement Network (BEN), (Nasdaq: BNAI), an emerging provider of safe, personalized customer engagement AI, and Valio Technologies (Valio), a pan-African company focused on developing disruptive enterprise-grade technology solutions, today announced a partnership aimed at developing healthcare AI assistants that will support the mental health of students at universities across South Africa.

BEN is working with Valio to support Valio’s mission of creating ground-breaking technologies that minimize many of the problems that afflict the African continent and can provide support to over 600,000 university students across the country. Leveraging BEN’s safe, conversational, human-modeled AI avatars, Valio’s eYakho Health platform will support student mental health at over one dozen universities in South Africa. Valio’s eYakho Health platform is Africa’s largest eHealth network and will provide the necessary information and best practices to train BEN’s AI assistants to handle sensitive mental health queries from students and provide a human-like resource that students can leverage for support and to find mental health treatment and therapy options.

“Our mission at Valio Technologies is to lead Africa into the Fourth Industrial Revolution by creating groundbreaking technologies that address significant challenges,” said Lefentse Nokaneng, CEO and Founder at Valio Technologies. “Partnering with BEN and integrating its advanced AI assistants into our platform is crucial to ensuring better mental health outcomes for South African and African students.”

“I have been working with Valio since its inception and their commitment to advancing mental health care through innovative AI solutions is critical,” said Bheki Twala, Professor of DVC (Digital Transformation) at Tshwane University. “Our partnership with BEN and South African universities will enable us to provide students with a secure digital environment where they can seek mental health support without fear of stigma.”

The partnership aims to deploy BEN’s AI assistants across South Africa's 503 registered post-school education and training institutions, encompassing public universities, private higher education institutions, technical and vocational education colleges, private colleges, and community education and training colleges. According to research by Universities South Africa (USAf) up to 20 percent of South African university students require mental health assistance.

“Despite the current gap between expectations and reality, generative AI holds significant potential as a dependable solution for improving healthcare and mental health treatment access,” said Paul Chang, Co-CEO of BEN. “Our privacy-focused AI assistants fulfill AI’s unmet promises, reliably engaging users in a conversational and empathetic way that protects student-patient information and alleviates some of the burden placed on overextended healthcare professionals.”

For more information about BEN please visit: http://www.beninc.ai.

About BEN

Brand Engagement Network (BEN), NASDAQ: BNAI, is an emerging provider of safe and secure generative AI for businesses and consumers, headquartered in Jackson, WY. BEN’s full-stack platform, encompassing front-end, middleware, and back-end, is scalable, customizable, and can be fully optimized for superior CX, productivity, and performance. The backbone of BENs success is its rich portfolio of conversational AI applications, featuring 16+ perception, understanding and response modules that facilitate human-like engagements with consumers. BEN seeks to deploy scalable and sustainable AI solutions to businesses and partner with those with complimentary capabilities and networks in industries experiencing significant workforce gaps. In line with the vision of an AI-enhanced world, BEN strives to bring AI assistants to everyone who can benefit from them.

Additional information about BEN can be found here: https://beninc.ai/

About Valio Technologies
Valio (Technologies Pty Ltd) is a Pan-African technology company specializing in the development of disruptive enterprise blockchain, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Artificial Intelligence solutions tailored for developing markets. With a strategic focus on key sectors such as healthcare, automotive, mining, and supply chain management, our mission is to lead Africa into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Valio is dedicated to transforming these sectors by harnessing innovation to foster sustainable development and economic growth across the continent.

Media Contacts:
Dan Brennan, ICR
dan.brennan@icrinc.com