We report herein on a catalytic system involving palladium and copper to achieve the cyclization of N-arylcyanothioformamides and the synthesis of 2-cyanobenzothiazoles. The C-H functionalization/intramolecular C-Sbond formation reaction was achieved in the presence of air, using 2.0 equiv of an inorganic additive (KI). In many cases, the reaction led to a sole product regioselectively obtained in