Research Solutions Expands Into Africa With University Of Pretoria As First Partner

Rhea-AI Summary

Research Solutions (NASDAQ: RSSS) signed a three-year agreement with the University of Pretoria in December 2025 to deploy Scite, its AI-driven research platform. The University launched Scite in February 2026 with campus sessions and Zoom streaming, marking the first South African university library adoption and supporting regional expansion.

Positive

• Signed a three-year agreement with University of Pretoria in December 2025
• First South African university library to adopt Scite, signaling institutional leadership
• University launch in February 2026 included four live sessions with strong attendance
• Scite's Smart Citations and reduced AI hallucinations position product as research-focused

Negative

• Initial commercial rollout limited to a single institution in South Africa
• No financial terms disclosed for the agreement, limiting investor visibility

News Market Reaction – RSSS

-0.87%

-0.87% Session close to close

In the Mar 12 session, RSSS declined 0.87%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Market Context

This announcement highlights a three-year agreement making the University of Pretoria the first Sout...

Analysis

This announcement highlights a three-year agreement making the University of Pretoria the first South African adopter of Scite, extending Research Solutions’ AI-powered research tools into a new geography. It builds on earlier AI launches and profitable quarters with ARR at $21.8M and gross margin above 50%. Investors may focus on how many additional African institutions follow, the mix shift toward higher-margin platform revenue, and whether similar partnerships translate into sustained revenue and earnings growth.

Key Figures

Agreement term: three-year Agreement date: December 2025 Launch date: February 2026 +1 more

4 metrics

Agreement term three-year Partnership duration with University of Pretoria

Agreement date December 2025 When University of Pretoria signed Scite agreement

Launch date February 2026 Official Scite launch to University of Pretoria community

Launch sessions 4 sessions Number of Scite launch sessions in Library Auditorium

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Feb 26 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	24h Move	Catalyst
Feb 26	AI product launch	Positive	+0.0%	Launch of Scite MCP linking major AI tools to literature index.
Feb 12	Earnings release	Positive	-0.4%	Q2 FY26 results with higher ARR, platform revenue and profitability.
Jan 29	Earnings date notice	Neutral	-2.8%	Announcement of upcoming Q2 FY26 results and conference call.
Dec 11	CFO transition	Neutral	-2.7%	CFO departure and appointment of interim CFO and Secretary.
Nov 13	Earnings release	Positive	+2.9%	Q1 FY26 earnings showing ARR growth and margin expansion.

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Pattern Detected

Recent earnings and product news skew positive, but share reactions have often been flat or modest, indicating a tendency toward muted price responses to fundamentally constructive updates.

Recent Company History

Over the past six months, Research Solutions reported multiple profitable quarters and SaaS transition progress, with ARR reaching $21.8M and gross margin improving above 50%. An AI-focused launch on Feb 26, 2026 expanded Scite’s reach across AI tools, while earlier earnings on Nov 13, 2025 highlighted higher platform revenue and stronger cash flow. A December 2025 CFO transition introduced some management turnover. Today’s African university partnership extends the same Scite platform push into a new geography, building on these prior growth initiatives.

Key Terms

smart citations, ai hallucinations

2 terms

smart citations technical

"Scite, the company's AI-driven research platform powered by Smart Citations technology."

Smart citations are source links embedded with extra, machine-readable details that tell you where a claim came from, how reliable it is, and whether the original document has been updated or disputed. For investors they act like enriched footnotes you can click to quickly verify facts, see supporting documents or corrections, and assess the trustworthiness and freshness of information before making decisions.

ai hallucinations technical

"Reduced AI Hallucinations: By grounding AI responses in verified, peer-reviewed sources..."

AI hallucinations are instances when an artificial intelligence system confidently produces false, made-up, or misleading information instead of correct facts. For investors, these errors matter because they can lead to bad decisions, faulty financial models, regulatory or legal exposure, and damage to a company’s credibility—think of trusting a GPS that calmly directs you down a road that doesn’t exist.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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The Continent's Leading Research-Intensive University Signs A Three-Year Agreement with Research Solutions' AI Platform, Scite

HENDERSON, Nev., March 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Research Solutions (NASDAQ: RSSS), a leading provider of AI-powered scientific research tools, announced that the University of Pretoria has become the first South African institution to adopt Scite, the company's AI-driven research platform powered by Smart Citations technology. The University signed a three-year agreement in December 2025, establishing Research Solutions as a key player within the South African higher education sector.

The University of Pretoria's Department of Library Services (DLS) officially launched Scite to its academic community in February 2026, hosting four sessions in the Library Auditorium with simultaneous live streaming via Zoom. The sessions drew strong attendance from researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students, and professional staff across the institution.

A Strategic Entry Into A High-Growth Market

South Africa's higher education sector is undergoing rapid digital transformation, with institutions increasingly seeking modern, evidence-based alternatives to legacy research tools. The University of Pretoria's adoption of Scite, following a rigorous evaluation of competing AI research platforms, reflects a deliberate shift toward greater accuracy, transparency, and academic integrity in AI-assisted research workflows.

As the first university library in South Africa to adopt Scite, the University demonstrates institutional leadership in the responsible integration of AI within higher education. Research Solutions views the partnership as the cornerstone of a broader regional expansion strategy, with active engagement underway at additional South African institutions.

Why The University Of Pretoria Chose Scite

Before selecting Scite, the DLS conducted a thorough review of available AI research tools. The decision to partner with Research Solutions was guided by Scite's differentiated capabilities, which directly address the limitations of both legacy citation tools and general-purpose AI platforms:

• Smart Citations: Scite analyzes billions of citation statements to reveal not only where a paper is cited, but whether subsequent research supported, mentioned, or contradicted its findings, enabling rapid, nuanced evaluation of evidence.
• Reduced AI Hallucinations: By grounding AI responses in verified, peer-reviewed sources, Scite substantially reduces the risk of fabricated references: a critical concern for institutions with high standards of academic integrity.
• Broad Coverage: Scite indexes content from a wide range of publishers and databases, ensuring relevance across disciplines.
• Research Integrity Support: The platform enables researchers to track how scientific claims evolve, identify retractions, and assess the reliability of findings over time.

"The introduction of Scite marks a significant advancement in our commitment to innovation, digital scholarship, and the enhancement of research impact," said Marguerite Nel, Assistant Director: Library Technical Services at the University of Pretoria. "By providing our academic community with advanced, evidence-based AI tools, we are improving research quality and rigor, promoting responsible AI literacy, and strengthening evidence-informed supervision and publishing. As the first university library in South Africa to adopt Scite, the University of Pretoria is demonstrating its leadership in the responsible integration of AI within higher education."

Chief Strategy Officer at Research Solutions and co-founder of Scite, Josh Nicholson, said, "The University of Pretoria is setting the standard for responsible AI adoption in South African higher education. We're honored they chose Scite, and we're committed to building on this partnership as we grow our presence across the region."

AI Literacy Across South African Higher Education

Research Solutions sees the University of Pretoria partnership as the beginning of a larger mission in the region. The University's early leadership sets a powerful precedent, and Research Solutions looks forward to building on that foundation across the South African higher education sector.

About The University Of Pretoria

The University of Pretoria is a multi-faculty, research-intensive university and one of South Africa's leading institutions for research output and impact. With nine faculties, a business school, and more than 50,000 students across campuses in Pretoria and Johannesburg, the University produces the highest number of graduates in South Africa annually. In over a century of operation, it has delivered close to 250,000 alumni. For more information, visit www.up.ac.za.

About Scite

Scite is an AI-powered research platform that helps researchers discover and evaluate scientific literature using Smart Citations - a technology that analyzes the full text of citing articles to show whether findings have been supported, mentioned, or contrasted by subsequent research. Scite is used by millions of researchers and is available as a web platform, browser extension, and Zotero plugin. For more information, visit https://www.scite.ai. Scite is a product of Research Solutions (NASDAQ: RSSS).

About Research Solutions

Research Solutions (NASDAQ: RSSS) is a vertical SaaS and AI company that simplifies research workflow for academic institutions, life science companies, and research organizations worldwide. As one of the only publisher-independent marketplaces for scientific, technical, and medical (STM) content, the company uniquely combines AI-powered tools - including an intelligent research assistant and full-text search capabilities - with seamless access to both open access and paywalled research. The platform enables organizations to discover, access, manage, and analyze scientific literature more efficiently, accelerating the pace of scientific discovery.

For more information about Research Solutions, visit: www.researchsolutions.com | LinkedIn | Facebook | X

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/research-solutions-expands-into-africa-with-university-of-pretoria-as-first-partner-302711568.html

SOURCE Research Solutions, Inc.

FAQ

What did Research Solutions (RSSS) announce about the University of Pretoria on March 12, 2026?

They announced a three-year agreement to deploy Scite at the University of Pretoria. According to the company, the contract was signed in December 2025 and the platform was launched to campus users in February 2026 with live sessions.

Why did the University of Pretoria choose Scite over other AI research tools (RSSS)?

They selected Scite for Smart Citations and reduced AI hallucinations that support research integrity. According to the company, the library conducted a rigorous review and valued evidence-grounded citations and broad publisher coverage.

How will the Scite rollout at University of Pretoria affect Research Solutions' regional strategy (RSSS)?

The partnership serves as a cornerstone for regional expansion into South Africa. According to the company, active engagement is underway with additional South African institutions to build on this initial adoption.

When did the University of Pretoria launch Scite for its academic community (RSSS)?

The University officially launched Scite in February 2026 with four sessions and Zoom streaming. According to the company, sessions drew researchers, students, and professional staff across the institution.

Does Research Solutions disclose the financial terms of the University of Pretoria contract (RSSS)?

No financial terms were disclosed in the announcement, so contract value is not public. According to the company, the press release focused on adoption, deployment timeline, and platform features rather than pricing.