New York City becomes commercial headquarters for U.S. expansion as industry veterans join to scale Cataneo's global media technology platform

WILMINGTON, Del., July 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Brand Engagement Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: BNAI) ("BEN" or the "Company"), an enterprise AI technology company, today announced the launch of Cataneo's U.S. market expansion following BEN's successful acquisition of Cataneo GmbH, marking the next phase of the Company's strategy to scale Cataneo's globally proven media technology platform. Building on the acquisition completed on June 30, 2026, BEN has established its U.S. commercial headquarters on Madison Avenue in New York City, creating the foundation for Cataneo's expansion into the U.S. market. This expansion represents the next phase of BEN's integration strategy, combining Cataneo's proven global media technology infrastructure, BEN's artificial intelligence capabilities, and industry expertise to build the next generation of enterprise media technology.

Cataneo's MYDAS platform currently manages more than €6 billion in annual advertising inventory across more than 1,000 media brands and 200+ channels globally. The U.S. market represents a significant growth opportunity for BEN as broadcasters, media companies, content owners, and advertising organizations increasingly seek to modernize advertising infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, and adopt AI-powered technologies to meet the evolving demands of the industry.

Expanding BEN's Media Technology Leadership

To accelerate Cataneo's U.S. expansion, BEN has appointed Don Durand as Chief Sales Officer of Cataneo. A veteran media technology executive with more than 20 years of experience, Durand brings extensive industry relationships and a deep understanding of the U.S. media technology landscape, developed through senior leadership roles with WideOrbit and Imagine Communications. Having spent decades working directly with broadcasters, publishers, advertisers, and enterprise customers, Durand understands the market dynamics, purchasing decisions, competitive landscape, and operational challenges facing media organizations today. Through senior leadership roles across the industry, he has developed a unique perspective on the technology platforms and customer requirements shaping the future of media technology.

Durand joins the Company at a pivotal moment as AI creates a new opportunity to redefine how media organizations operate, automate workflows, and drive measurable outcomes. His experience provides BEN with valuable market insight and customer perspective as the Company scales Cataneo's globally proven platform to the U.S. market. Combined with BEN's AI capabilities, Cataneo's media infrastructure positions the Company to deliver the next generation of enterprise media technology solutions designed to address the evolving needs of media organizations. In his role, Durand will lead Cataneo's global commercial strategy and expansion, leveraging his industry expertise and customer relationships to accelerate adoption of BEN's AI-powered media technology platform. 

Strategic Vision for the Future of Media Technology

BEN Board Member and Cataneo Co-Founder Christian Unterseer will help drive corporate strategy and future M&A initiatives as the Company continues to expand its AI-powered media technology platform. A recognized pioneer in media technology, Unterseer founded Cataneo more than 25 years ago with the vision that media operations would ultimately move to the cloud, years before cloud-native infrastructure became widely adopted across the industry. Over more than two decades, Unterseer built Cataneo into a globally recognized enterprise platform serving leading media organizations across international markets. Having helped lead the transformation of media technology from traditional infrastructure to cloud-based operations, Unterseer believes AI represents the next fundamental shift in how media organizations operate, automate workflows, and deliver measurable value to advertisers and audiences.

While AI has become a major focus of industry discussion, Unterseer believes the opportunity now is moving beyond conversation and into practical enterprise implementation—where BEN's AI capabilities and Cataneo's proven media technology infrastructure can create measurable impact. His appointment strengthens BEN's Board with decades of media technology experience and reinforces the strategic alignment of the Cataneo acquisition as the Company accelerates its expansion into AI-powered enterprise media technology. "When we founded Cataneo more than 25 years ago, we believed the future of media technology would be cloud-based, long before the industry reached that conclusion," said Christian Unterseer. "Today, I believe AI represents the next major transformation for our industry. Many organizations are discussing the potential of AI, but the real opportunity is turning that potential into practical solutions that deliver measurable outcomes. BEN and Cataneo bring together the technology, infrastructure, and expertise needed to help make that transformation a reality. Joining the Board gives me the opportunity to help drive that vision and support BEN as it leads the next phase of transformation in media technology." 

Commercial Expansion Strategy

BEN's U.S. expansion strategy is focused on bringing Cataneo's proven enterprise media technology platform to broadcasters, media companies, content owners, and advertising organizations seeking to modernize advertising operations while creating new opportunities to integrate BEN's AI capabilities into existing workflows. By combining Cataneo's operational platform with BEN's Engagement Language Model (ELM™), the Company aims to enable AI-enhanced capabilities across advertising sales, scheduling, forecasting, workflow automation, operational intelligence, and customer engagement. The commercial rollout also creates opportunities to introduce BEN's broader enterprise AI capabilities across Cataneo's global customer ecosystem while expanding Cataneo's presence in the U.S. market. Together, the combination creates a pathway to transform media operations from traditional workflow automation toward intelligent, AI-driven enterprise systems designed to improve efficiency, accountability, and measurable outcomes across the media ecosystem.

Expansion at a Glance

• U.S. commercial headquarters established on Madison Avenue in New York City
• Cataneo's U.S. market expansion underway
• Don Durand appointed Chief Sales Officer of Cataneo to lead commercial growth strategy
• Christian Unterseer joins BEN's Board of Directors to support strategic direction and future M&A initiatives
• Immediate focus on broadcasters, media companies, content owners, and advertising organizations across the U.S. market
• Integration of BEN's AI capabilities into Cataneo's enterprise media technology platform continues

Leadership Perspective

Tyler Luck, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Brand Engagement Network

"The acquisition gave BEN the foundation. This expansion represents the next phase - bringing together Cataneo's trusted media infrastructure, industry expertise, and BEN's AI capabilities to build the future of enterprise media technology. We're investing in the people, leadership, and infrastructure needed to scale Cataneo's globally proven platform in the U.S. market. The U.S. represents one of the largest opportunities in the global media technology market, and we believe the combination of Cataneo's enterprise media technology and BEN's artificial intelligence capabilities creates a unique opportunity to help media organizations modernize operations, automate increasingly complex workflows, and prepare for the next generation of AI-powered advertising. We believe the next generation of media technology will not only automate workflows, but fundamentally change how media organizations operate and create value."

About Cataneo GmbH 

Cataneo GmbH is a global provider of enterprise software for advertising sales, scheduling, traffic, and content management across linear, digital, and on-demand media. Its MYDAS platform provides end-to-end media management, monetization, analytics, CRM integration, and real-time reporting solutions for broadcasters and media organizations worldwide. 

For more information, visit www.cataneo.com. 

About Brand Engagement Network 

Brand Engagement Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: BNAI) is an enterprise AI software company that enables organizations to connect engagement to execution through secure, intelligent conversational AI. Powered by its proprietary Engagement Language Model (ELM™), BEN helps organizations automate workflows, improve customer experiences, and drive operational intelligence across healthcare, hospitality, mobility, government, media, retail, and other industries. 

The acquisition of Cataneo expands BEN's global deployment infrastructure by adding a proven enterprise software platform, established customer relationships, and international distribution capabilities, creating new opportunities to deploy BEN's enterprise AI at scale while reinforcing the Company's position as an enterprise AI software provider. 

For more information, visit www.brandengagementnetwork.com. 

Media Contact 

Amy Rouyer 
amy@beninc.ai 

Investor Relations 

investors@beninc.ai 

Forward-Looking Statements 

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the anticipated benefits of the acquisition, future integration efforts, commercialization opportunities, customer growth, the deployment of BEN's AI technologies, and the Company's business strategy and growth initiatives. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Risks include, but are not limited to, the ability to realize the expected benefits of the acquisition; the successful integration of Cataneo's technology, operations, and personnel; the Company's ability to expand its AI capabilities into new markets and applications; customer adoption and retention; competition; financial performance; and other risks described in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and subsequent filings. BEN undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law. 

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SOURCE Brand Engagement Network, Inc. (BEN)