Redwood AI Enters LOI to Explore Pathogen Tracking Through AI Genomics at the Border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo with Aim of Potentially Tracing Ebola Virus Disease

Executive Summary

• Redwood AI Corp. signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Dr. Placide Sesonga of The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) to develop an AI-enabled regional pathogen tracking and outbreak intelligence initiative in Central and East Africa.
• The collaboration aims to deploy "One-health" surveillance infrastructure across Rwanda and the DRC to enhance early detection, monitoring, and coordinated public health responses to emerging infectious diseases.
• The Company also announced the immediate resignation of director Graydon Bensler from its Board of Directors.

Key Details

• LOI Structure & Status: Non-binding agreement focused on collaborative planning, protocol development, and funding discussions. Any future binding commitments require separate definitive agreements and are not assured.
• Geographic Scope: Initial deployment targets high-priority surveillance regions and mobility corridors within Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
• Technology Stack: System will integrate pathogen monitoring, metagenomic sequencing, geospatial and epidemiological analytics, and Redwood's AI-enabled predictive intelligence platform to identify abnormal pathogen activity and emerging outbreak signals at the population level.
• Strategic Framework: Employs a "One-health" approach examining zoonotic disease transmission between animals and humans across major border crossings, transit hubs, and urban centers.
• Catalyst & Long-Term Goal: Discussions were accelerated by the recent Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC, but the infrastructure is designed for broader, long-term preparedness against a wide range of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
• Implementation Roadmap: Parties will collaborate on a formal project protocol, operational deployment framework, and technical/analytical workflows, while engaging the Rwandan Ministry of Health, national/regional public health authorities, laboratories, and academic partners.
• Corporate Governance Update: Graydon Bensler resigned from the Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Notable Quotes

• Dr. Placide Sesonga, UGHE: "Strengthening regional pathogen surveillance and outbreak preparedness requires closer integration of environmental surveillance, laboratory science, genomics, epidemiology, and public health decision-making. We are encouraged by the opportunity to explore innovative approaches that may enhance earlier detection of emerging infectious disease threats and strengthen regional preparedness efforts across Central Africa."
• Kristian Thorlund, President, Redwood AI: "We are honoured to work alongside Dr. Sesonga and his team in exploring this important initiative. UGHE has played a critical role in some of the world's most important pathogen surveillance, outbreak response, and research programs. We believe advances in pathogen tracking, sequencing technologies, geospatial analytics, and AI-enabled intelligence systems offer a meaningful opportunity to strengthen regional outbreak preparedness infrastructure and support earlier, more coordinated public health decision-making for emerging infectious disease threats."