UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13
OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31 ,
2025
or
☐ TRANSITION REPORT UNDER SECTION 13
OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 001-38909
TRILLER GROUP INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 33-1473901
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
7119 West Sunset Boulevard , Suite 782
Los Angeles , CA N/A
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including
area code: 310 - 893-5090
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b)
of the Act:
Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stocks, $0.001 par value ILLR NASDAQ Capital Market
Warrants, each warrant exercisable for one-quarter of one share of Common Stock for $23.00 per full share ILLRW NASDAQ Capital Market
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g)
of the Act: None.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a
well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not
required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
(1) has filed all reports required by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for the past 90 days. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405
of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒
No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company.
See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company”
and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☒ Smaller reporting company ☒
Emerging Growth Company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check
mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting
standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial
reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or
issued its audit report. ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section
12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction
of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error
corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s
executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
At June 30, 2025, the last business day of the registrant’s most
recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the common stocks of the registrant held by non-affiliates of
the registrant was $ 60,947,295 .
The number of shares of the common stocks of the registrant outstanding
as of April 13, 2026 was 197,466,991 .
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None.
TRILLER GROUP INC.
FORM 10-K
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2025
PART I
1
Item 1.
Business
1
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
22
Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
92
Item 1C.
Cybersecurity
92
Item 2.
Properties
93
Item 3.
Legal Proceedings
93
Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
96
PART II
97
Item 5.
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
97
Item 6.
[Reserved]
97
Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
98
Item 7A.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
111
Item 8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
111
Item 9.
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosures
111
Item 9A.
Controls and Procedures
112
Item 9B.
Other Information
113
Item 9C.
Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
113
PART III
114
Item 10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
114
Item 11.
Executive Compensation
117
Item 12.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
119
Item 13.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
121
Item 14.
Principal Accounting Fees and Services
122
PART IV
123
Item 15.
Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
123
Item 16.
Form 10-K Summary
123
i
FREQUENTLY USED TERMS
Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report
on Form 10-K or unless the context requires otherwise, references in this annual report to:
●
“ B2B ” means TAG International Limited, a BVI business company and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company;
●
“ B2BSub ” means TAG Asset Partners Limited, a BVI business company and wholly-owned subsidiary of B2B;
●
“ BVI ” means the British Virgin Islands;
●
“ China ,” “ mainland China ,” or the “ PRC ” means the People’s Republic of China;
●
“ Convoy Global ” means Convoy Global Holdings Limited, TAG’s ultimate parent company;
●
“ COVID-19 ” means the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2;
●
“ Exchange Act ” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;
●
“ fintech ” means financial services technology;
●
“ Fintech ” means TAG Asia Capital Holdings Limited;
●
“ Greater Bay Area ” or “ GBA ” means the geographic region comprising Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the surrounding area;
●
“ HKCC ” means Hong Kong Credit Corporation Limited;
●
“ HKSub ” means OnePlatform International Limited, a Hong Kong company and wholly-owned subsidiary of B2BSub;
●
“ Hong Kong ” means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China;
●
“ Hong Kong Dollars ” or “ HK $” means the lawful currency of Hong Kong;
●
“ IPO ” means the initial public offering of AGBA Acquisition Limited, completed on May 16, 2019;
ii
●
“ Legacy Group ” means Convoy Global Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates, which do not include AGBA or any of its subsidiaries, B2B, B2BSub, and HKSub;
●
“ Nasdaq ” means the Nasdaq Capital Market;
●
“ OIP ” means OnePlatform International Property Limited;
●
“ OPH ” means, as the context requires, OnePlatform Holdings Limited prior to the OPH Merger, and, B2B following the OPH Merger;
●
“ OPH Merger ” means the merger of OPH with and into HKSub, with HKSub as the surviving entity, which completed on August 11, 2022;
●
“ PCAOB ” means the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States;
●
“ Private Placement Units ” means private units held by the Sponsor, which were acquired by the Sponsor at the consummation of the IPO;
●
“ Private Warrants ” means warrants sold as part of the Private Placement Units at the consummation of the IPO;
●
“ Public Warrants ” means public warrants of the Company trading on Nasdaq;
●
“ SEC ” or “ Securities and Exchange Commission ” means the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States;
●
“ Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
●
“ Sponsor ” means AGBA Holding Limited;
●
“ TAG ” means TAG Holdings Limited;
●
“ TAG Business ” means, B2B and Fintech together, in each case including each such entity’s respective subsidiaries;
●
“ ILLR Shares ” means the common stock of the Company, US$0.001 par value per share;
●
“ Transfer Agent ” or “ Continental ” means Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company;
●
“ U.S. Dollars ,” “ USD ,” and “ US $” means the legal currency of the United States;
●
“ U.S. GAAP ” means the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States; and
●
“ Yorkville ” means YA II PN, LTD, a Cayman Islands exempt limited partnership.
iii
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the
information incorporated herein by reference, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination
described herein, and the financial condition, results of operations, earnings outlook, and prospects of Company. In addition, any statements
that refer to projections, forecasts, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions,
are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,”
“continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,”
“may,” “might”, “ongoing,” “outlook,” “plan,” “possible”, “potential,”
“predict,” “project,” “should”, “strive”, “would”, “will,” and
other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements are based on the
current expectations of the management of the Company and its management and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances
and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be
those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, or other assumptions that
may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following:
●
expectations regarding our strategies and future financial performance, including its future business plans or objectives, prospective performance and opportunities and competitors, revenues, products, pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and our ability to invest in growth initiatives and pursue acquisition opportunities;
●
the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against us;
●
the risk that recent acquisitions or any proposed transactions disrupt our current plans and/or operations, including the risk that we do not complete any such proposed transactions or achieve the expected benefit from them;
●
the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of recent acquisitions or any proposed transaction, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, our ability to grow and manage growth profitably, and retain key employees;
●
costs related to being a public company, acquisitions, commercial collaborations and proposed transactions;
●
limited liquidity and trading of our common stock;
●
geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations;
●
the possibility that we may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors;
●
risks relating to the uncertainty of our projected financial information;
●
risks related to the organic and inorganic growth of our business and the timing of expected business milestones;
●
risk that the COVID-19 pandemic, and local, state, federal and international responses to addressing the pandemic may have an adverse effect on our business operations, as well as our financial condition and results of operations;
●
litigation and regulatory enforcement risks, including the diversion of management time and attention and the additional costs and demands on our resources; and
●
the inability to maintain the listing of our common stock on Nasdaq.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties
materialize or should any of the assumptions made by the management of the Company prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material
respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking
statements concerning the business combination or other matters addressed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and attributable to the Company
or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in
this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to
update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to reflect
the occurrence of unanticipated events.
iv
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview
We are a global, artificial intelligence (“ AI ”)
powered technology platform (“ Technology Platform ”) that serves a broad constituency of Creators and Brands around
the world. “ Creators ” include influencers, artists, athletes, other individuals and public figures that utilize or
have utilized our Technology Platform to create and publish content. Numerous famous Creators use our Technology Platform, including influencers
like Charli D’Amelio and Bryce Hall and music artists like The Weeknd. “Brands” are companies, products or product lines
which are active on our Technology Platform and utilize or have utilized one or more of our products or services offered through our Technology
Platform (“ Direct Brands ”), or companies, products or product lines whose associated data we track, report on and make
available to our clients as part of one or more of our product offerings (“ Tracked Brands ,” and collectively with Direct
Brands, “ Brands ”). Brands that have utilized or continue to utilize our platform include McDonalds, Pepsi, Walmart,
L’Oréal, Puma, Charmin and Major League Baseball.
We help both Creators and Brands build relationships
with their audiences to create awareness, drive content consumption, generate commerce and build culture. Our Triller app is a short-form
video app similar to TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube shorts and other video apps that allow users to access both user generated and professionally
generated content from Creators around the world. Since our inception through September 30, 2023, we have raised more than $420 million
in capital and established more than 327 million Consumer Accounts on the Triller app and a total of 436 million Consumer Accounts on
our Technology Platform. “Consumer Accounts” are included when consumers create accounts on a Triller brand or owned property
and also when we employ our Technology Platform to create accounts on behalf of our Brands and Creators. We define Consumer Accounts as
the total number of individual Consumer Accounts recorded in databases across the Triller app, TrillerTV and BKFC (whether they are active
or inactive on our Technology Platform) at or around the time of measurement, that we track and that are able to benefit from the services
and features offered through our Technology Platform during the reported period. Users that simply accessed or viewed our content or partner
content on our platform or any other social media platform are not included in the total number of Consumer Accounts above. Consumer Accounts
that were created prior to acquisition by us are not included in the total number of Consumer Accounts above. Recently, we elected to
take a proactive approach to the way in which we report our Consumer Accounts, which we believe is uncommon in our industry. While we
believe that many social media companies include a significant number of “bot” accounts or “duplicate” accounts
in their user metrics, we undertook a robust process to purge as many duplicate and bot accounts as practicable with our resources and
in doing so we purged in excess of 200 million Consumer Accounts from our total user accounts metric.
Alongside the Triller app, Triller has dramatically
expanded its portfolio of offerings through organic growth and strategic acquisitions becoming a diversified Technology Platform for the
creation, distribution, measurement and monetization of digital, live and virtual content. It also produces content under its own and
third-party Brands, including trendsetting music, sports, lifestyle, fashion and entertainment media that creates cultural moments, attracts
users to Triller’s offerings and drives social interaction that serves as a cultural wellspring across digital society.
1
We operate within the global digital content marketplace,
which is estimated to reach $577.4 billion in 2023 according to Statistica’s August 2023 report on worldwide digital media, and
we focus our efforts on the $250 billion creator economy, as forecasted in a recent Goldman Sachs report on the creator economy. Goldman
Sachs Research estimated the creator economy could reach $480 billion by 2027 in its April 2023 report titled “The creator economy
could approach half-a-trillion dollars by 2027.” Our revenue was $21.6 million and $27.5 million in the fiscal years ended December
31, 2025 and 2024. We have incurred net losses in each year since our inception, including $174.5 million and $1,138.0 million for the
fiscal years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Through our subsidiaries in Hong Kong, we are
also a leading wealth management and healthcare institution based in Hong Kong servicing over 400,000 individual and corporate customers.
In addition to operating our Technology Platform,
we currently operate in four market-leading businesses: our Platform Business, Distribution Business, Healthcare Business, and Fintech
Business.
Since 2019, we have implemented a strategy to
expand and upgrade our long-standing broker-dealer business into a platform business and a distribution business. Today, we offer unique
product and service offerings:
- B2B: tech-enabled broker management
platform for advisors (“ Platform Business ”); and
- B2C: market leading portfolio of
wealth and health products (“ Distribution Business ”).
We also have a market leadership in our healthcare
business through our 4% stake in and a strategic partnership with HCMPS. It is one of the most reputed healthcare brands in Hong Kong.
It has a network of over 700 healthcare service providers.
Finally, we are an established operator and successful
investor in the FinTech industry. We have carefully built out investment positions in FinTech, WealthTech and HealthTech businesses, applying
lessons learned from our own distribution, platform and healthcare businesses.
History
On November 14, 2022, AGBA Acquisition Limited,
or AAL, a British Virgin Islands’ company and a special purpose acquisition company, consummated a series of transactions contemplated
by the Business Combination Agreement.
Upon the Closing of Business Combination : (i) AAL
became, through an acquisition merger, the 100% owner of the issued and outstanding securities of each of TAG International Limited, TAG
Asia Capital Holdings Limited, and their collective subsidiaries; (ii) the governing documents of AAL were amended and restated,
becoming the Fifth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association; (iii) the number of AAL’s authorized ordinary
shares was increased from 100 million to 200 million, and (iv) AAL’s name changed from “ AGBA Acquisition
Limited ” to “ AGBA Group Inc. ” which we sometimes also refer to, post-Business Combination, as “AGBA”
or the “Group.”
Triller Group Inc. (“ ILLR ”,
“ Triller Group ”, or the “ Company ”) (formerly AGBA Group Holding Limited (“ AGBA ”))
was incorporated in the State of Delaware on October 15, 2024, so as to redomicile AGBA’s legal jurisdiction from British Virgin
Islands to the State of Delaware.
On October 15, 2024, the Company consummated the
merger transaction with Triller Corp., a Delaware corporation (“ Triller ”), pursuant to that certain Amended and Restated
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 30, 2024, as amended (the “ Merger Agreement ”), by and between AGBA,
its wholly owned subsidiary AGBA Social Inc. (“ Merger Sub ”), Triller Corp. and Bobby Sarnevesht, as sole representative
of the Triller Corp. stockholders.
Platform Business
The Platform Business is a one-stop financial
supermarket with a breadth of products and services, sourced from leading global product providers, that is unrivaled in Hong Kong.
We operate under the “ OnePlatform ”
brand, offering a full-service platform to banks, other financial institutions, family offices, brokers, and individual independent financial
advisors to advise and serve their retail clients. Our technology-enabled platform offers a wide range of financial products, covering
life insurance, pensions, property-casualty insurance, mutual funds, money lending and real estate agency.
2
The Platform business, through B2B and its subsidiaries,
is a one-stop financial supermarket with a breadth of products and services that is unrivaled in Hong Kong sourced from leading global
product providers.
The Platform Business was set up to take advantage
of the decades-long experience we built up in supporting the largest financial advisors salesforce in Hong Kong. We were already
servicing a large pool of customers and in the process, built up a wide library of world class financial products and constructed a state-of-the-art
technological and operational infrastructure.
The Platform Business now operates this full-service
platform under its “OnePlatform” brand and has opened it up to banks, other financial institutions, family offices, brokers,
and individual independent financial advisors that are looking for support in advising and serving their retail clients.
Our technology-enabled Platform Business offers
a wide range of financial products, covering life insurance, pensions, property-casualty insurance, stock brokerage, mutual funds, money
lending and real estate agency.
In addition to its unrivaled product-shelf, the
Platform Business offers digital-enabled sales management and support solutions, business operations support, comprehensive customer services,
and training support.
Currently, our platform financial services and
investment products mainly comprise mutual fund distributions, portfolio management, money lending, insurance and Mandatory Provident
Fund (MPF) products, and international real estate referral and brokerage services.
The OnePlatform brand currently covers 80 insurance
providers selling 1,237 products, and 48 asset management fund houses with over 930 products.
Distribution Business
The Distribution Business currently operates as
a licensed insurance broker and a registered Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) intermediary in Hong Kong, providing financial planning
and wealth management services to institutional and individual customers with its team of over 1,500 independent financial advisors. The
Distribution Business is regulated by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.
The Distribution Business’s main sources
of income are sales commission and service fee income from its infrastructure support platform. It recognizes commission income from the
insurance providers based on the sale of insurance products at predetermined insurance premium rates according to the types of products
sold.
The financial advisors, organized under two brands
of “AGBA focus” and “AGBA perform”, are the primary distribution channels for the Distribution Business. These
channels are positioned to match individuals’ financial needs with an appropriate choice of insurance products. They target to bring
additional revenue for the Distribution Business by serving as a “matching platform” between insurance companies and consumers.
Marketing activities of the Distribution Business include sales campaigns and invitations to corporate events, at which new customers
are mainly solicited through direct conversation or meetings between financial advisors and retail customers.
As of December 31, 2025, we worked with 338 independent financial advisors.
Healthcare Business
We own a 4% minority shareholding in HCMPS Healthcare
Holdings Limited (“HCMPS”), one of the leading healthcare management organizations in Hong Kong. The Company, through
one of its subsidiaries, holds 4% stake in and a strategic partnership with HCMPS.
Founded in 1979 and currently operating under
the Dr. Jones Fok & Associates Medical Scheme Management Limited (“JFA”) brand, JFA is one of the most reputed
healthcare brands in Hong Kong. It has a network of over 700 healthcare service providers — providing healthcare
schemes for more than 120 corporate clients with over 300,000 scheme members. JFA’s clients include blue chip companies from various
industry and leading insurers. Apart from Hong Kong, JFA is the largest operator in Macau with around 85 clinics.
3
JFA has a long-standing track record of operating
as a low-cost, high efficiency operation. It offers vast untapped opportunities for the Group, both in revenue growth and cross-selling.
FinTech Business
Fintech Investments
Fintech manages an ensemble of financial technology
(fintech) investments and operates through its subsidiaries TAG Technologies Limited, AGBA Group Limited (formerly known as Tandem Money
Hong Kong Limited), and Tandem Fintech Limited, a health and wealth management platform with a broad spectrum of services and value-added information
in health, insurance, investments and social sharing.
The portfolio companies in which Fintech has invested
remain growth stage businesses with modest revenues, and none has yet reached the operational breakeven point. Therefore, the business
case for all these companies relies on transformations in scale, product offering, and/or geographic scope to drive future value creation.
Fintech intends to maximize the strategic fit between these portfolio companies and the companies forming part of the OnePlatform brand
to drive additional value capture.
Fintech’s management team has strived to
establish the business as a leading name in the fintech investment sector.
Fintech’s business aims to create value
on three fronts:
1. Building
long-term fintech franchises in Hong Kong using business models, operations, and technologies tested in more mature markets;
2.
Supporting and capturing synergies with OnePlatform and its other business segments; and
3.
Realizing financial returns from its fintech investments.
1) Tandem
Tandem Money Limited (“ Tandem ”)
is a UK based “challenger” bank which focuses on lending growth with high risk-adjusted yields. It operates a “digital
deposit” strategy to continue funding its growth, which is known as a “neobank” strategy. Founded in 2013, Tandem provides
an app-based retail bank service for its customers. Through its app, customers can access retail banking services comprising deposits,
mortgages, loans and credit cards. Tandem also leverages digital wealth management to cross-sell and offers value-added services
such as cash management across bank accounts, savings, debt management, and financial planning.
Background to the Investment in Tandem
TAG Technologies Limited (“ TAG Technologies ”)
first invested in 2018 with Tandem still positioned as a neobank focused on digital and analytics to generate user and deposit growth.
The initial investment was by way of a subscription agreement with Tandem, pursuant to which TAG Technologies agreed to subscribe for
and Tandem agreed to issue 11,259,740 ordinary B shares in Tandem for a consideration of £15 million. The consideration was
determined by the parties after arm’s length negotiations taking into account (i) the unaudited consolidated net asset value
of Tandem as at September 30, 2018, which was approximately £55.7 million, and (ii) the potential in the future business
development of Tandem.
We believed that Tandem’s strategy in 2020
was predicated on a clear asset pivot to grow consumer loans in attractive categories such as home improvement and specialty mortgages.
In April 2020, TAG Technologies entered into a further subscription agreement with Tandem, pursuant to which TAG Technologies agreed
to subscribe for and Tandem agreed to issue 49,476,049 ordinary B shares in Tandem for a consideration of £10 million. The
consideration was determined by the parties after arm’s length negotiations taking into account (i) the unaudited consolidated
net asset value of Tandem as of October 31, 2019, which was approximately £44.9 million, and (ii) the potential in
Tandem’s future business development.
4
In June and August 2021, TAG Technologies
purchased an additional aggregate of 14,000,000 ordinary B shares of Tandem at the price of £0.15 per share, for cash consideration
of approximately US$2.9 million (equivalent to approximately £2.1 million). We currently own 4.30% equity interest in
Tandem.
Share Purchase and Knowledge Transfer Agreement
In connection with the April 2020 investment,
Tandem, AGBA Group Limited (“ AGBA Group ”) and TAG Technologies entered into a Share Purchase and Knowledge Transfer
Agreement pursuant to which, among other things, TAG Technologies purchased the entire issued share capital of AGBA Group, and Tandem
undertook to provide certain knowledge transfer services to TAG Technologies and its affiliates. Pursuant to the Share Purchase and Knowledge
Transfer Agreement, Tandem also granted a license in certain Tandem proprietary software and other licensed materials to be made available
to TAG Technologies and its affiliates during the “knowledge transfer period”, which ends on the earlier of the date six months
after Tandem completes a migration of its systems to a new platform, and April 2, 2023. For as long as TAG Technologies is a shareholder
of Tandem, each member of AGBA is granted a license to use the name “Tandem” and any registered logo or trademark used by
Tandem for a period of five years.
Through this investment we gained access to certain
of Tandem’s technology and digital platform assets and knowledge transfer. These assets provide significant costs savings for system
developments such as data platforms and the core banking platform, driven by the ability to leverage Tandem’s assets and “test
and learn” experience to accelerate development of the Fintech business.
Tandem’s Potential Growth
With the increasing use of online platforms in
the financial sector, our management believed that Tandem, with its technology know-how in the consumer finance industry, has significant
market potential to become a leading online retail bank for the mass market. The investment in Tandem is also part of our wider strategy
to launch digital services in Hong Kong and elsewhere, and Tandem is expected to be a key technology partner.
2) CurrencyFair
CurrencyFair is an online peer-to-peer currency
exchange marketplace. TAG Technologies first invested into CurrencyFair in 2018, through an investment of approximately €6,000,000
and the merger of AGBA’s then existing payments business with CurrencyFair. Since then, CurrencyFair has continued to grow its consumer
money transfer business focused on white-collar expat customers transferring money between selected European and Australian corridors.
CurrencyFair is now a global money transfer member organization that has exchanged more than €10 billion, with offices located
in Ireland, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. We believe that CurrencyFair’s scaling plan relies on expanding its consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
business to new US and Asia corridors, while acquiring small and medium enterprise (SME) customers directly and through an enterprise
sales model handling primarily Chinese merchant payments for cross-border e-commerce marketplaces. Revenue growth depends on
how successfully CurrencyFair scales transfer volumes in new C2C corridors and new SME businesses based on proposition development and
customer acquisition execution.
We intend to work closely with CurrencyFair as
it builds out its Asian franchise, and intends to offer CurrencyFair’s unique currency marketplace to our customers in Hong Kong
as well as introducing enhanced Asian currency services to CurrencyFair’s international customers. We intend for CurrencyFair’s
domain expertise, technology, and operational experience to be leveraged as part of a wider strategy to improve our services to assist
customers to manage their finances.
In 2021, CurrencyFair merged with Australia-based Assembly
Payments Limited, whose platform automates complex payment workflows. Following the merger, the business re-branded to “Zai”,
with CurrencyFair as Zai’s consumer brand.
5
On March 18, 2022, we entered into a sale
and purchase agreement with the stockholder to acquire 4,158,963 shares of CurrencyFair for a cash consideration of US$7.84 million.
The transaction closed in April 2022, resulting in the ownership of 9.98% equity interest in CurrencyFair.
3) Goxip
Goxip is a fashion media platform based in Hong Kong
with over one million high-end fashion shoppers. Its digital marketing arm matches key opinion leaders (KOLs) with marketers and
brands for lead generation, launching and monetizing marketing campaigns. We currently own a 3.30% equity interest in Goxip.
4) HCMPS Healthcare Holdings Limited
HCMPS Healthcare Holdings Limited (“HCMPS”)
is a healthcare management organization based in Hong Kong. Founded in 1979, it has over 700 network service branches providing healthcare
schemes for more than 120 corporate clients with over 300,000 scheme members. HCMPS offers its patients a full range of medical services,
including general services, specialist services, physiotherapy, Chinese medicine, dental, vaccination, X-ray, laboratories, and imaging
services. we currently own a 4.00% equity interest in HCMPS.
Triller’s Business
We primarily operate in the North American digital
media and live entertainment industries and offer diverse products and services that compete for consumers’ time and disposable
income. The rise of streaming, increased legalization of sports betting, increased competition from tech entrants, and continued viewership
appeal attribute to the projected growth of live sports and digital media. This growth has also benefited from long-term shifts in consumer
behavior, particularly in millennials, who continue to seek more interactive experiences that they can document and broadcast through
social media. The film industry is also benefitting from growth in digital home viewing and premium movie-going experiences.
The top-earning musicians generated more of their
income from touring than from any other source, according to Billboard. Our portfolio of content is well positioned to take advantage
of this trend. Our success depends on our ability to offer premium content through popular channels of distribution that meet the changing
preferences of the broad consumer market and respond to competition from an expanding array of choices facilitated by technological developments
in the delivery of digital content. Potential risks to our expansion into digital media include costs to curate and produce Events, as
well as shifting customer preferences.
We believe our Technology Platform is at the crossroads
of the entertainment, sports, and content ecosystem, and is highly responsive to changing consumer preferences and industry trends. We
have the ability to create, procure and cultivate satisfying consumer content, leveraging the secular trends identified above.
E-Commerce Industry
Our market includes the global e-commerce market.
A primary growth driver for global e-commerce marketing spend has been the dramatic shift away from traditional brick-and-mortar commerce
to e-commerce due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is expected to expand due to the convenience of online shopping and returns. To capitalize
on this growth and generate revenue, we will have to continue to innovate and offer marketers a set of capabilities across our Technology
Platform that cannot be easily replicated elsewhere.
Content Spend (Film & TV) Industry
Our market includes linear and digital media distributors.
According to Ampere Analysis, subscription OTT services increased investment in content by 20% in 2021 to nearly $50 billion representing
a growth of over 50% as compared to 2019. To capitalize on this growth and generate revenue, streaming services are both investing in
original content and acquiring licensed content. We are well positioned to capitalize on this increasing spend through our customer traction
with major movie studios, streaming platforms and content owners around the world.
6
Experiences (Sporting Events, Concerts &
Performing Arts)
Sporting events, concerts, and performing arts
are core to our live Events, entertainment properties and experiences operations. Our market constituents primarily include retail consumers,
sponsors and corporate customers. The events ticket market has the potential to grow by $14.9 billion during 2023 to 2027 and is expected
to experience a CAGR of 4.5%, according to the recent Statista report Event Tickets — Worldwide. This growth is expected to be driven
by the expected increasing use of mobile apps for booking tickets. The global sporting events segment, representing the largest segment
of the global ticketing segment, is expected to reach $33.7 billion in 2024 and to grow at a CAGR of 2.95% from 2024 to 2028, reaching
$37.94 billion by 2028. 3.91% to $37.16 billion by 2027, largely driven by the increasing popularity of sports and rising consumer preferences
for in-person events. While less substantial than sports, the performing arts ticket segment reached $9 billion in 2019 and is expected
to grow at a CAGR of 4% to $11 billion in 2024, driven by growing demand for live art performances.
Streaming Technology and Related E-Commerce
Services
We believe proliferation trends in the digital
content streaming market present an opportunity for streaming infrastructure providers capable of delivering an end-to-end solution for
Creators and media rights owners who desire to launch their own content streaming services, and monetize their user bases in new ways,
without incurring the significant costs inherent in developing underlying technology. We believe recent private company transactions in
the space are an indication that the market is both underserved and ripe for further expansion. For example, in November 2022 Disney,
then the majority equity owner of BAMtech Media (now Disney Streaming Services), a streaming infrastructure provider whose technology
serves as the core streaming, account management and billing platform for Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu, purchased all outstanding minority
interests of BAMtech Media in a transaction that valued the company at $6 billion. Similarly, a November 2022 private equity investment
led by General Atlantic in streaming infrastructure services provider Amagi valued the company at $1.4 billion. We have invested and expect
to continue to invest in our streaming technology and infrastructure, including developing new ways for Creators and media rights owners
to leverage user profiles and preferences and drive monetization through advertising, pay-per-view, subscription-based offerings and related
e-commerce transactions.
Metaverse
According to Citigroup’s Metaverse and Money
report published in March 2022, “the total addressable market for the Metaverse could be between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by
2030, with total Metaverse users numbering around 5 billion.” We believe that by investing in our Metaverz ecosystem now, while
the industry is still nascent, will provide us with a lasting competitive advantage and allow us to shape consumer expectations.
Media Rights Expenditure
Spending on media rights continues to be a significant
component of revenues in the sports industry, with rights values appreciating consistently over the past decade. Market constituents include
linear and digital distributors, which acquire sports media rights and broadcast sports content. In 2021, the value of global sports media
rights totaled $55.1 billion, a 1.15% increase from the previous year, according to Sports Business Consulting’s Global Media Report
2022. According to the Business Research Company’s report, the global sports market as a whole is expected to reach $512 billion
in 2023 and grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2022. The rise of streaming, increased legalization of sports betting, increased competition from
tech entrants, and continued viewership appeal attribute to the projected growth on the rights price tags. The contract values underpinning
industry revenues are locked-in long-term, offering a high degree of visibility.
7
Marketing and Licensing
Our market constituents include corporate clients
seeking brand marketing or IP owners looking to license their Brands. According to Licensing International’s survey, global sales
revenue generated from licensed merchandise and services grew to 340.8 billion in 2022, reflecting an 8.02% increase over the $315.5 billion
generated in 2021. The entertainment/character sector remains the leading market share category, accounting for $138.1 billion, or 40.5%
of the total global licensing market. The second largest sector was corporate Brands with $87.6 billion (25.7%). Sports licensing, in
third place, totaled $37.3 billion with an 11% share.
Digital Advertising and Marketing Automation
The digital ad market is expected to surpass $300
billion by 2025, according to a 2022 report by Insider Intelligence Inc. For 2023, ad spending across 16 media platforms is forecasted
to reach $165.7 billion, according to BIA Advisory Services. Roughly half of the ad spending is anticipated to be focused on digital media,
wherein $33.5 billion is anticipated to go to mobile ad spending for smartphones. Additionally, marketing technology and marketing automation
are a growing trend. 51% of companies are currently using marketing automation and 58% of B2B companies plan to adopt such technology.
According to Sales Fusion, 77% of business owners had an increase in conversion after using marketing automation software. Key trends
in marketing automation for 2022 include personalized email automation, social media marketing automation, chatbots, and ML and AI.
SMS and Artificial Intelligence Marketing
SMS marketing allows businesses to reach consumers
directly through their phones. In 2022, there were 7.3 billion mobile phone users globally and 6.9 billion smartphone users, accounting
for 86.3% of the world’s population. 83% of consumers receive text messages from companies. Click through rates for SMS marketing
is 36% (as compared to 2% for email marketing messages). In 2022, global SMS marketing market was approximately $64.4 billion and is expected
to grow to $84.9 billion by 2027. AI technology can be used in SMS marketing and more broadly across the technology marketing sphere.
The global AI market was estimated to be worth $86.9 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $407 billion by 2027. 52% of high performing
marketing teams are looking to increase their usage of artificial intelligence.
Intellectual Property and Other Proprietary
Rights
We consider intellectual property to be very important
to the operation of our business and to driving growth in our revenues, particularly with respect to professional engagements, sponsorships,
licensing rights, and media distribution agreements. Our intellectual property includes the “Triller,” “Triller Fight
Club,” “TrillerFest,” “TrillerTV,” “FITE,” “Cliqz”, “Fangage”, “Julius”
and “Thuzio” Brands in addition to the trademarks and copyrights associated with our content, Events, and the rights to use
the intellectual property of our commercial partners. Substantially all of our IP and owned assets that we acquire are protected by trademarks
and copyright, whether registered or unregistered.
Triller’s Technology Platform
Triller’s Technology Platform is built along
three core sections – Triller generates and distributes influencer and sports content via the Triller app and Triller TV, which
drives engagement through the Triller app in a highly measureable manner made possible through our Triller One suite of AI and SaaS tools,
thus driving monetization and creating value for all Triller’s stakeholders.
8
Triller’s Technology Platform originated
with the Triller app, a video-sharing app. The Initial Triller app was launched in 2015 as an AI music editing tool. In 2019, upon the
formation of Triller Hold Co LLC, when Triller acquired the technology underlying the current Triller app it integrated the Initial Triller
app with AI technology pursuant to its agreement with Mashtraxx Ltd. We refer to this integrated app as the “ Triller app ”.
The Triller app continued to integrate and update and was fully “live” by September of 2021. The Triller app underwent a refinement
to its scalable systems and other feature and toolset updates and additional refinements were rolled out in July of 2023 and are live
today. The Triller app leverages proprietary AI and ML technologies and enables users to create professional-looking videos and to share
those videos within the Triller app and on other social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter in seconds.
Key features of the Triller app include extensive editing, filtering and overlaying tools; AI-powered technology to automatically synchronize
video and audio with little to no manual editing; and Triller’s proprietary dual camera feature, which allows users to record videos
simultaneously from the back-and front-facing cameras of their smartphones. The Triller app’s primary audience is the 18-34 year
old demographic, with strong engagement from users in the United States and an established user base in high-growth markets such as India,
where we maintain a presence, including a period in August 2020 when Triller temporarily became the number one short-form video app in
the App store subsequent to TikTok being banned in 2020.
The Triller app contains channels for the posting
and consumption of short-form and long-form content, where Triller hosts content made by celebrities, influencers and other Creators,
as well as professionally-produced episodic content about music, sports, gaming, fashion and other forms of entertainment.
Triller’s Technology Platform reflects its
deep experience as content creators and forms the basis for Triller’s aspiration to be a technology company built by Creators, for
Creators. Key to Triller’s approach of empowering Creators and Brands is its proprietary AI and machine learning (“ ML ”)
technology that helps them mix and edit music and video content and distribute it to digital platforms and enables them to understand
and engage with their audiences at scale, while retaining control and authenticity of their audience relationships. “ AI ”
is a general term to describe the efforts of computer scientists to design and implement computer hardware and software systems capable
of learning and thinking. ML is a field of study in AI concerned with the development and study of statistical algorithms that can effectively
generalize tasks and thus performing those tasks without explicit instructions. ML approaches have been applied to large language models
(“ LLMs ”), computer vision, speech recognition, email filtering, agriculture, and medicine, where it is able to achieve
efficiencies without having to implement detailed specialized algorithms and systems which would be too complex and costly to build. Creators
and Brands have the ability to connect Triller’s customized LLMs and Natural Language Processing (“ NLP ”) technologies
to real-time API-based feeds, from virtually all major social platforms, to read, analyze, cluster, filter, and suggest or (when appropriate)
send replies to their fans with deep efficiency and personal precision. LLMs are deep learning algorithms that can recognize, summarize,
translate, predict, and generate content using very large datasets. Deep learning is a method in AI that teaches computers to process
data in a way that is inspired by the human brain. Deep learning models can recognize complex patterns in pictures, text, sounds, and
other data to produce accurate insights and predictions. NLP, a branch of AI, uses ML to process and interpret text and data. Natural
language recognition and natural language generation are types of NLP. By giving each Creator and Brand an AI-powered “factory of
assistants” to help them identify superfans, up-and-comers, key topics and trends to respond to (while filtering out spam, hate-speech
and noise), they are better able to deepen relationships and loyalty, optimize their scarce time and resources, and ultimately increase
conversions and monetization through a mix of brand partnerships and direct commerce.
9
Triller’s Suite of Creator and Brand
Offerings
Triller has augmented its Technology Platform
through a combination of internal development and strategic acquisitions, including the additions of the following products and services
that deliver, automate or otherwise streamline SMS and social messaging, AI-powered customer engagement, cross-platform marketing, digital
streaming, content and audience management, e-commerce services, social and creator analytics and engagement measurement:
(a)
Fangage – serves as the entry point for Creators looking to leverage Triller’s ecosystem and establish a digital presence on the internet, across social media, e-mail and SMS. Fangage comprises a set of tools and features that allow Creators to manage and distribute their content and maintain and grow their audiences, communicate with those audiences directly, and gather and analyze data that allows them to streamline their monetization efforts. The Fangage offering is integrated with and incorporates services from the Triller app, Amplify.ai, Cliqz and Julius.
(b)
Amplify.ai – a cross-platform conversational AI engine that provides viewers with gamification, multiple engagement touchpoints, clickable links, and tune-in reminders all in an automated, platform agnostic direct messaging experience that facilitates communications between Creators, Brands and their respective audiences.
(c)
Cliqz – enables Creators to aggregate their audiences across their social media accounts and access those audiences directly via SMS and direct messaging, avoiding the algorithmic limitations imposed by most social media platforms that limit these Creators’ content viewership and opportunities for content engagement and monetization. For example, as noted by Hootsuite in August 2023, the average engagement rate of an organic Facebook post ranges from 2.58% down to just 1.52%.
(d)
CrossHype – helps Brands and Creators reach audiences across multiple social platforms, with a particular emphasis on helping Brands create awareness and engagement with consumers, with a common framework for measuring the effectiveness and efficacy of their marketing efforts. This solution allows Brands and Creators to reach specific audiences within social media platforms, including highly targeted followers of specific social media Creators, and to build retargetable audiences that grow in size and detail, accruing even more value over time.
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(e)
Julius – a SaaS solution that provides strategic marketers at Brands and advertising agencies with access to a database of profiled Creators and their associated audiences, giving them the ability to enlist Creators to develop and share captivating stories to market their products and services. Julius provides Brands and agencies a detailed dashboard to measure engagement across all Creator-driven marketing campaigns. Furthermore, Julius serves as a marketplace allowing e-commerce Brands to automate the process of on-boarding Creators with per-transaction incentives for enabling e-commerce transactions. Julius is directly integrated with Triller’s Fangage solution, completing the circle between Creators and Brands.
(f)
Thuzio – a solution for creating and executing premium Creator Events and experiences. Thuzio helps Brands and other enterprise customers create Events with Creators including sports icons and speakers. Thuzio has partnered with Creators across many verticals, including athletes such as Tiki Barber, Allen Iverson, Scottie Pippen, and Lisa Leslie, comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, music artists such as Ja Rule and celebrity chefs such as Marcus Samuelsson.
(g)
Metaverz – enable Triller to transform live Events, which are typically only enjoyed by a few thousand people, into digital Events, including augmented reality and virtual reality experiences, that can be experienced by millions of consumers globally. Metaverz provides an array of ways to create digital experiences featuring Creators and Brands, containing social engagement and gamification features as well as virtual merchandise stores that allow users to digitally purchase collectibles and memorabilia.
The major companies that serve this market include
Meta, Alphabet, ByteDance, Snap and Twitter, each of which employ a closed-garden approach to monetization, where they are the sole purveyor
of the advertising placed within or around content created by millions of Creators. Our approach, which is differentiated from the above
companies, helps our Creators distribute their content on numerous platforms, including our own, and also focus on creating click-out
opportunities to create long-standing consumer relationships and monetization across a digital landscape that includes the web, mobile
apps and messaging services. This open-garden approach stands in contrast to the closed-garden approach of many of our competitors and
we believe is a major benefit that attracts Creators and Brands to our Technology Platform.
Our Technology Platform powers the Triller app,
our suite of Creator offerings and our Events and Events-related services. Our Technology Platform enabled more than half a billion quarterly
user interactions as of September 30, 2023, including posts, messages, automated communications, and e-commerce transactions both on our
Triller branded offerings as well as on various third-party social platforms (including but not limited to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook,
YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter), across the web and via SMS messaging. Through our Technology Platform we deliver sports and entertainment
content to millions of consumers around the world and we believe that we inspire Creators and Brands to do the same. Our Technology Platform
comprises an array of business-to-business and business-to-consumer offerings that empower Creators to establish and sustain long-lasting
consumer relationships that help drive their businesses.
Our Technology Platform generates revenue through
revenue sharing and service fee arrangements. Revenue share comes from advertising, premium content, Events, pay-per-view fees, subscription
fees or merchandise sales that are transacted via our Technology Platform. Service fees comes from Brands that utilize our platform to
reach consumers via a combination of campaign fees, transaction fees or SaaS fees, including monthly subscription fees. We also generate
revenues from Triller branded Events via ticket sales, pay-per-view fees, subscription fees, merchandise sales, brand advertising and
sponsorship.
Our AI-driven, mission-critical Technology Platform
enables Brands and Creators to reach their target audiences and our messaging-based notification services drives a continuous cycle of
engagement for audiences (where they stay “in the know” and are kept up-to-date on what their favorite Creators and Brands
are doing), while the Creators and Brands receive real-time data, analytics and feedback–driven by user engagement.
We have a host of service offerings that drive
awareness, engagement and monetization. The reason we call this a Technology Platform is because we offer a highly differentiated solution
that integrates all of our service offerings into a comprehensive portfolio of services that go well beyond a single app-based or web-based
content solution to virtually every medium of content engagement (e.g. social media, streaming, live events and virtual world experiences).
We create network effects via our proprietary AI-powered technology designed to drive optimal engagement through the best channels, increasing
the return-on-investment for Creators and Brands. Furthermore, the efficiencies gained from our AI-powered Technology Platform enable
both us and our partners to operate at scale to grow via multiple channels of engagement, which our competitors that focus on a single
walled-garden ecosystems are not able to replicate.
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Our Technology Platform
Our Technology Platform reflects our deep experience
as content creators and forms the basis for our aspiration to be a technology company built by Creators, for Creators. For all the progress
and promise of the creator economy to date, we believe that Creators have historically lacked sufficient power to truly realize their
potential and capture a sufficient amount of the value they create. While it is now possible to find and grow a large online audience,
it is still too impersonal, and too elusive for many to turn their passion and expertise into a successful career. A goal of our Technology
Platform is to help “rebalance the equation” by enabling Creators to grow the engagement “pie” while providing
them with a larger slice of the revenue.
Key to our approach of empowering Creators and
Brands is our proprietary AI and machine learning (“ ML ”) technology that helps them mix and edit music and video content
and distribute it to digital platforms and enables them to understand and engage with their audiences at scale, while retaining control
and authenticity of their audience relationships. “AI” is a general term to describe the efforts of computer scientists to
design and implement computer hardware and software systems capable of learning and thinking. ML is a field of study in AI concerned with
the development and study of statistical algorithms that can effectively generalize tasks and thus performing those tasks without explicit
instructions. ML approaches have been applied to large language models (“ LLMs ”), computer vision, speech recognition,
email filtering, agriculture, and medicine, where it is able to achieve efficiencies without having to implement detailed specialized
algorithms and systems which would be too complex and costly to build. Creators and Brands have the ability to connect our customized
LLMs and Natural Language Processing (“ NLP ”) technologies to real-time API-based feeds, from virtually all major social
platforms, to read, analyze, cluster, filter, and suggest or (when appropriate) send replies to their fans with deep efficiency and personal
precision. LLMs are deep learning algorithms that can recognize, summarize, translate, predict, and generate content using very large
datasets. Deep learning is a method in AI that teaches computers to process data in a way that is inspired by the human brain. Deep learning
models can recognize complex patterns in pictures, text, sounds, and other data to produce accurate insights and predictions. NLP, a branch
of AI, uses ML to process and interpret text and data. Natural language recognition and natural language generation are types of NLP.
By giving each Creator and Brand an AI-powered “factory of assistants” to help them identify superfans, up-and-comers, key
topics and trends to respond to (while filtering out spam, hate- speech and noise), they are better able to deepen relationships and loyalty,
optimize their scarce time and resources, and ultimately increase conversions and monetization through a mix of brand partnerships and
direct commerce.
For our LLMs, we currently use a mix of open source
code for embeddings (for example, open source code such as SBERT with models from HuggingFace) and optionally support embedding models
including GPT-4 from OpenAI, PaLM from Google and other models from Cohere. Embeddings models offer an approach to ML where high-dimensional
data (data in which the number of features or variables observed are close to or larger than the number of observations, or data points)
is converted into low-dimensional data (where the number of observations far outnumbers the number of features) while preserving relevant
information. This process of dimensionality reduction helps simplify the data and make it easier to process by ML algorithms. The appeal
of embeddings is that they can capture the underlying structure and semantics of the data. For instance, in NLP, words with similar meanings
will have similar embeddings. This provides a way to quantify the ‘similarity’ between different words or entities, which
is highly valuable when building complex models. We have purposefully designed our systems to give us the flexibility to be independent
of any one provider or partner. We periodically evaluate the cost, latency and quality of models because we operate in a rapidly evolving
industry. We believe we get superior performance compared to “off-the-shelf” use of LLMs through (a) injecting relevant historical
data into prompts (via the standard “Retrieval-augmented generation” pattern) and (b) pre-and post-processing the data to
better address customer-specific vernaculars, including the use of acronyms, emojis and non-traditional spellings. We also fine-tune open
source and third-party models with proprietary labeled data to improve performance on tasks like extracting relevant profile data from
content that end-users or consumers have shared in conversations with our conversation AI systems or classifying fan engagement data as
genuine versus originating from bots or spam. While unlabeled data consists of raw inputs with no designated outcome, labeled data is
carefully annotated with meaningful tags, or labels, that classify the data’s elements or outcomes. For example, in a dataset of
emails, each email might be labeled as “spam” or “not spam.” These labels then provide a clear guide from which
a ML algorithm can learn. We do not believe that utilizing this approach introduces risk of impacting our LLMs.
Our NLP technology was developed in-house and
is continuously updated via our ML models. We have incorporated some open source code in the development of our products but our products
are not dependent on any third-party software or services. We do not use any third party software with regard to our NLP. As is customary
in our industry, we used open source code (however, we do not use open source libraries) as one part of the basic building blocks of some
of our AI. We do not believe that our utilization of open source code and/or models introduces material risk of impacting our AI products
or intellectual property, however as with the usage of any open source code or models there are risks. See Risk Factors —
“Certain of our products contain third- party open source software components, and failure to comply with the terms of the underlying
open source software licenses could restrict our ability to sell our products.”
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The rapid pace of AI-innovation is fueling ever
more opportunities for us to help Creators and Brands in each phase of their lifecycle, from content creation and distribution (through
the Triller app, FITE, Metaverz, Thuzio and Amplify.ai) to fan engagement (through Fangage, Julius and Amplify.ai) and to targeted promotions
and upsells (through CrossHype), across the digital platforms they use today and, we believe, will use tomorrow. By occupying a position
as their trusted intermediary connecting them with their fans across multiple platforms and the comments, mentions, direct messages, etc.
that flow across them daily, we believe we are well suited to build, deploy and refine ever more powerful and effective models and tools
in the coming years.
The Triller App
Our Technology Platform originated with the Triller
app, a video-sharing app. The Initial Triller app was launched in 2015 as an AI music editing tool. In 2019, upon the formation of Triller
Hold Co LLC, when we acquired the technology underlying the current Triller app we integrated the Initial Triller app with AI technology
pursuant to our agreement with Mashtraxx Ltd. We refer to this integrated app as the “ Triller app ”. The Triller app
continued to integrate and update and was fully “live” by September of 2021. The Triller app underwent a refinement to its
scalable systems and other feature and toolset updates and additional refinements were rolled out in July of 2023 and are live today.
The Triller app leverages proprietary AI and ML technologies and enables users to create professional-looking videos and to share those
videos within the Triller app and on other social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter in seconds. Key
features of the Triller app include extensive editing, filtering and overlaying tools; AI-powered technology to automatically synchronize
video and audio with little to no manual editing; and our proprietary dual camera feature, which allows users to record videos simultaneously
from the back-and front-facing cameras of their smartphones. The Triller app’s primary audience is the 18-34 year old demographic,
with strong engagement from users in the United States and an established user base in high-growth markets such as India.
The images above are examples of how the user
interface of the Triller app allows users to perform various actions as depicted above.
The Triller app contains channels for the posting
and consumption of short-form and long-form content, where we host content made by celebrities, influencers and other Creators, as well
as professionally-produced episodic content about music, sports, gaming, fashion and other forms of entertainment.
13
We believe the content creation features and availability
of short- and long-form content offered on the Triller app are key differentiators that set us apart from our competitors and will continue
to do so as we focus our efforts on growing our user base and deepening the level of engagement among Creators, Brands and users who interact
with our ecosystem.
Our Suite of Creator and Brand Offerings
We have augmented our Technology Platform through
a combination of internal development and strategic acquisitions, including the additions of products and services that deliver, automate
or otherwise streamline SMS and social messaging, AI-powered customer engagement, cross-platform marketing, digital streaming, content
and audience management, e-commerce services, social and creator analytics and engagement measurement.
Fangage
Fangage serves as the entry point for Creators
looking to leverage our ecosystem and establish a digital presence on the internet, across social media, e-mail and SMS. Fangage comprises
a set of tools and features that allow Creators to manage and distribute their content and maintain and grow their audiences, communicate
with those audiences directly, and gather and analyze data that allows them to streamline their monetization efforts.
The Fangage offering is integrated with and incorporates
services from the Triller app, Amplify.ai, Cliqz and Julius.
Amplify.ai, Cliqz and CrossHype
We acquired Amplify.ai in December 2021 and internally
developed our Cliqz and CrossHype offerings. These products provide a broad set of features that further enable Creators to connect directly
with their audiences, spotlight their content across a broad range of social media sites, measure audience engagement with that content,
and monetize their content through personalized user experiences.
14
Our Amplify.ai product automates SMS and direct
message marketing communications between Creators, Brands and their respective audiences through the use of proprietary AI and NLP technologies.
Our
Cliqz product enables Creators to aggregate their audiences across their social media accounts and access those audiences
directly via SMS and direct messaging, avoiding the algorithmic limitations imposed by most social media platforms that limit these Creators’
content viewership and opportunities for content engagement and monetization. For example, as noted by Hootsuite in August 2023, the average
engagement rate of an organic Facebook post ranges from 2.58% down to just 1.52%.
Our CrossHype product helps Brands and Creators
reach audiences across multiple social platforms, with a particular emphasis on helping Brands create awareness and engagement with consumers,
with a common framework for measuring the effectiveness and efficacy of their marketing efforts. This solution allows Brands and Creators
to reach specific audiences within social media platforms, including highly targeted followers of specific social media Creators, and
to build retargetable audiences that grow in size and detail, accruing even more value over time.
15
Julius
Julius, which we acquired in November 2022, is
a SaaS solution that provides strategic marketers at Brands and advertising agencies with access to a database of profiled Creators and
their associated audiences, giving them the ability to enlist Creators to develop and share captivating stories to market their products
and services. Julius provides Brands and agencies a detailed dashboard to measure engagement across all Creator-driven marketing campaigns.
Furthermore, Julius serves as a marketplace allowing e-commerce Brands to automate the process of on-boarding Creators with per-transaction
incentives for enabling e-commerce transactions. Julius is directly integrated with our Fangage solution, completing the circle between
Creators and Brands.
Thuzio
Thuzio, which we acquired in October 2021, is
a solution for creating and executing premium Creator Events and experiences. Thuzio helps Brands and other enterprise customers create
Events with Creators including sports icons and speakers. Thuzio has partnered with Creators across many verticals, including athletes
such as Tiki Barber, Allen Iverson, Scottie Pippen, and Lisa Leslie, comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, music artists such as Ja Rule and
celebrity chefs such as Marcus Samuelsson.
Metaverz
Our Metaverz offering enables us to transform
live Events, which are typically only enjoyed by a few thousand people, into digital Events, including augmented reality and virtual reality
experiences, that can be experienced by millions of consumers globally. Metaverz provides an array of ways to create digital experiences
featuring Creators and Brands, containing social engagement and gamification features as well as virtual merchandise stores that allow
users to digitally purchase collectibles and memorabilia.
Our Strategic Growth Plans
Overall Market Opportunities in the Greater
Bay Area
The Greater Bay Area comprises the major urban
centers of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau and is one of the world’s largest financial services markets, with an overall economy
size of US$1.98 trillion according to data from the Guangdong Provincial Office of the Leading Group for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong
Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This marks a new and higher level in terms of economic aggregate, after the region’s economy surpassed
the thresholds of US$1.69 trillion and US$1.83 trillion in 2021 and 2022 respectively, solidifying its position as the most
dynamic growth engine in the world. The GBA is an area of vast scale and wealth, with the following defining characteristics according
to 2023 Hong Kong Trade Development Council research:
●
Largest GDP in China, GDP of US$1.98 trillion in 2023 and per-capita GDP of US$22,867 in 2022;
●
US$1.98 trillion economy, compared with US$2.1 trillion for Tokyo and US$2.3 trillion for New York; and
●
Population of 86.9 million, compared with 44.4 million in Tokyo and 19.5 million in the New York Metropolitan Area.
Hong Kong is a major financial services hub.
According to 2024 Hong Kong Trade Development Council research, Hong Kong’s stock market was the fourth largest in Asia and
the seventh largest in the world in terms of market capitalisation at the end of August 2024. Hong Kong is the largest offshore RMB clearing
centre in the world. Between January and September 2024, about 80% of global offshore RMB settlements were processed in Hong Kong. At
the end of October, there were 2,623 companies listed on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX), with a total market capitalisation of about
US$4.5 trillion, the market capitalization of companies from mainland China listed on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX) amounted to over US$3 trillion
in 2023. Companies from mainland China accounted for 76 percent of HKEX’s market capitalization. According to the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange monthly market highlights, it has over 1,400 mainland China listed enterprises as at 31 December 2024.
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Mainland investor activity in Hong Kong’s
equity market has grown over the years. According to HKEX data,
●
Average daily turnover (ADT) on Southbound Stock Connect has grown from HK$0.9 billion in 2014 to HK$38.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2024;
●
Between July 2023 and September 2024, Southbound Stock Connect recorded 15 consecutive months of net buying activity, indicating growing demand from Mainland China investors; and
●
Since 2018, the market capitalisation of securities portfolios held through Southbound Stock Connect has grown from HK$789 billion to HK$3.4 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2024.
●
In September 2024, Mainland investors could trade a total of over 550 Hong Kong-listed securities through Shanghai and Shenzhen Connect, nearly double the number of eligible securities at the launch of Southbound Stock Connect in 2014.
According to the 2023 China Private Wealth Report
published by China Merchants Bank, the total size of China’s individual investable assets reached RMB278 trillion (US$39 trillion)
in 2020, a compound annual growth rate of 7% from 2020 to 2022 and was expected to reach RMB300 trillion (US$42.2 trillion)
by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, in 2022, the number of Chinese HNWIs with investable assets of RMB 10 million or more reached 3.16 million,
with a CAGR of 10% from 2020 to 2022. Their investable assets totaled RMB 101 trillion, or RMB 31.83 million in average per person. The
number of Chinese HNWIs and their investable assets are expected to grow at a CAGR of about 11% and 12% respectively in the next two years.
With China a significant strategic growth opportunity
for many global and regional financial institutions, may players have opted to access China opportunities through Hong Kong via an ‘offshore’
model. Offshore investment channels through Hong Kong continues to be an attractive way for servicing Chinese wealth given the various
inbound and outbound investment channels as mentioned earlier. In addition, Hong Kong is a popular offshore investment and service location
given its high connectivity, diversified talent pool, effective legal system, competitive tax regime, and supportive regulatory environment.
The fast-growing affluent population in China, especially in the Greater Bay Area will be the new growth driver for international asset
and wealth managers in the coming years.
Cross-Border Wealth Management Connect
On June 29, 2020, the People’s Bank
of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Monetary Authority of Macau jointly announced the introduction of the cross-boundary wealth
management connect pilot scheme (Wealth Management Connect scheme) in the GBA, which will allow residents in the GBA to invest in wealth
management products distributed by banks across the region. The scheme helps promote investment diversification and facilitate capital
flow within the GBA, promote RMB internationalization and strengthen Hong Kong’s status as an offshore RMB hub.
According to the implementation rules of the Wealth
Management Connect scheme published by The People’s Bank of China in September 2021, there will be an aggregate investment
quota of RMB150 billion in each of the “northbound Connect” and “southbound Connect” schemes, with an individual
investment quota up to RMB1 million. Recognized investment products under the “Northbound Scheme” include fixed income
(primarily bonds and deposits) and equity wealth management products, along with public securities investment funds with low or medium
risk rating. Complex investment products with high volatility or leverage are currently excluded. The scheme is expected to facilitate
a total fund flow of RMB300 billion (US$47 billion) in the sale of investment products. As at the end of August 2023, the amount
of cross-boundary fund remittances (including Hong Kong and Macao) under Cross-boundary WMC was RMB6.31 billion, the quota usage of which
was far from the aggregate quota under the Southbound and Northbound Schemes (i.e. RMB300 billion).
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According to press release from the Hong Kong
Government in November 2023, cross-boundary WMC has seen steady development since its launch. Hong Kong banks engaging in retail banking
or private banking businesses and registered with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for relevant regulated activities can participate
in Cross-boundary WMC. Twenty-four eligible Hong Kong banks have commenced relevant businesses with their respective Mainland partner
banks.
According to the statistics as of end-October
2023 published by the People’s Bank of China, 62,900 individual investors in the GBA participated in Cross-boundary WMC, including
44,600 from Hong Kong and Macao and 18,300 from the Mainland, recording a total of more than 35,000 cross-boundary fund remittances (covering
Hong Kong and Macao) amounting to over RMB8.65 billion. The aggregate quota usage under the Southbound Scheme and Northbound Scheme (covering
Hong Kong and Macao) was over RMB2.33 billion and RMB250 million respectively (calculated on a net cross-boundary remittance basis). Since
the resumption of normal travel between the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, the Southbound business has seen significant growth. In the
first 10 months of 2023, the number of new individual investors participating in Cross-boundary WMC exceeded 6,400, representing an increase
of 70 per cent over the same period of 2022. Cross-boundary fund remittances amounted to over RMB6.2 billion, having increased more than
fivefold over the same period of 2022.
Future expansion plan to China
In April 2024, the China Securities Regulatory
Commission (CSRC) announced five measures to support Mainland-Hong Kong connectivity. The five measures include:
●
Expanding the scope of eligible ETFs under Stock Connect that more ETFs can be included in Stock Connect, attracting more investors to participate in cross-border trading and supporting the development of Hong Kong as an international asset management centre;
●
Including REITs into Stock Connect to enhance liquidity, offering investors more opportunities to diversify and invest in the real estate sector;
●
Supporting the inclusion of RMB-denominated stocks into Southbound Stock Connect launched on 19 June 2023, which offers Hong Kong investors a choice of trading the shares of Hong Kong-listed companies in either HKD or RMB;
●
Optimising mutual recognition of funds to promote the moderate relaxation of the proportion limit for cross-border sales of mutual recognition of funds (MRF) and optimize the MRF arrangement to better meet the needs of investors in Mainland China and Hong Kong; and
●
Supporting the listing of leading Mainland companies in Hong Kong to further strengthen communication and coordination with relevant departments to support eligible leading Mainland companies in listing and financing in Hong Kong.
With the business opportunities brought by the
Mainland-Hong Kong connectivity and Wealth Management Connect scheme, and the upcoming Insurance Connect introduced by the China Insurance
Regulatory Commission, China will be one of our focus areas with an increasing addressable market and opportunity set.
We intend to leverage the Group’s two decades
of experience operating in China. We are particularly well-positioned to capture the emerging opportunities. Currently, we do not
have any Chinese operating companies and we do not plan to use “variable interest entities,” or VIEs, in the future to conduct
our operations. While we have no operations in China, it is and will continue to be part of our strategy to market and sell our products
and services to Chinese customers located in mainland China from its Hong Kong based operating subsidiaries through partnerships
or customer referrals.
After a 6-month project with a consulting
firm to study our capability and competitive advantages, we identified four strategic enablers, including (1) partnership development;
(2) establishing a lead management platform; (3) establishing a service center for our customers; and (4) digital marketing.
Multiple collaboration models have been designed, with potential partners identified for implementation. We intend for these initiatives
to drive business growth through customer acquisition and cross-selling combined with increased use of data analytics.
Strategic Enablers to Capture GBA Opportunities
China B2B Partnership for Customer Acquisition
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We intend to upsell selected customers simple
insurance products through our local insurance brokerage channel, by using free insurance protection products to attract customers, and
then conducting customer behavioral analysis and product matching. Based on the analysis of social media interaction and digital marketing,
we market our international and partnership offerings to customers who demonstrate interest and refer them to our network of financial
advisors in Hong Kong for cross-selling of other financial products and investment portfolio recommendations. We intend to periodically
review our referral mechanisms to ensure their continued effectiveness.
We are currently in active discussions to establish
a strategic partnership with a top asset manager (the “ Potential Partner ”) in China to provide offshore insurance solutions
to the Potential Partner’s over 20 million nation-wide customers. The Potential Partner serves both individual affluent
and high-net-worth customers as well as institutions. Our management believes a strategic partnership with the Potential Partner
has the potential to increase our AUM and competitiveness by expanding the types of local and overseas investment vehicles available to
it and to further penetrate its existing customer database.
Service Centre for Customer and Partner Servicing
Leveraging our existing China local insurance
brokerage licenses, sales teams and infrastructure, we intend to build a business platform to acquire mainland China customers through
referrals and to establish new partnerships.
We intend to transform our existing shared service
center to (i) provide post-sales services to mainland China customers who have purchased Hong Kong insurance products;
and (ii) institutionalize our capabilities to form B2B partnerships in mainland China. We intend to build a lead management tool
to recommend new and personalized insurance products to customers, which we intend to be a key priority for 2025 and beyond.
Leverage Our Technology, Tools and Features
to Continue to Attract and Engage Creators, Brands and Users and Build a Robust Ecosystem
We intend to continue leveraging our integrated
global platform to maximize the growth potential of our business. The proliferation of digital content and engagement with such content,
and the convergence of live entertainment and digital technologies, have expanded use cases, exposure and monetization opportunities for
our Technology Platform and our customers. We believe that our integrated capabilities and global reach allow us to deepen relationships
with existing Brands, Creators and Users and attract new Brands, Creators, Users and partners.
We believe that the suite of tools and features
that we offer are a key differentiator as we work to grow the scope and depth of engagement from Creators, Brands and users and continue
to expand our ecosystem. We believe our Technology Platform delivers digital distribution tools that enable Creators and Brands to control
how their content reaches a broad audience through multiple social media channels. Together with our analytical capabilities that track
user engagement, we provide the opportunity for Creators and Brands to monetize content across multiple digital platforms including Facebook,
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter and more, which by extension generates revenue opportunities for us.
We believe our investments in AI-powered tools
for content development, moderation, distribution and audience management on our Technology Platform allow us to deliver a robust solution
to attract Creators and Brands. Our suite of tools allows for creative content development and distribution, as well as targeted interaction
by Brands. Sophisticated algorithms based on natural language datasets created through engagement with hundreds of millions of users allow
us to providers users with reach and measurement tools that we consider a key differentiator. On behalf of Brands, our AI-powered tools
and algorithms allow for the creation and execution of immersive brand experiences that leverage the growing power of Creators and reach
across the customer journey, from awareness to purchase to loyalty programs.
We plan to continue to invest and learn from our
experiences to build features designed to separate us from our competition, with the goal of being the go-to platform for Creators seeking
to distribute and monetize their content and for Brands to reach consumers through targeted engagement.
Over time, we believe we can play a key role in
altering the creator economy so more economic return flows directly to the artists, influencers, athletes, celebrities and every-day users
creating content and less flows to the big-tech intermediaries that dominate today.
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Expand Our Experiential Offerings in Ways
That Create Revenue Opportunities, Build Our Brand and Culture and Fuel Our Ecosystem
We have observed that younger demographics are
increasingly prioritizing concerts, sports, and other entertainment options over material goods. According to a study conducted by Expedia
and the Center for Generational Kinetics, LLC, 74% of Americans aged 18-65 polled place more value on experiences than products or things.
Because we deliver live and digital entertainment through our Technology Platform, we believe we are well positioned to take advantage
of these continuing secular trends and create new offerings and investment opportunities.
Other live Events we produce are a source of content
that afford us with opportunities to promote and leverage our Technology Platform and build our brand, in addition to being revenue generative
in and of themselves. We believe these Events, featuring well-known names in music and athletics, attract individuals and businesses to
our ecosystem and drive user engagement, and position us where we believe consumer interest is trending. We believe that these Events
are exciting to our users, offer sponsorship and engagement opportunities for Brands, and provide inspiration to Creators. Combined with
our suite of tools to market these Events on the Triller app, TrillerTV, and other social media platforms, we intend to continue to seek
to monetize the interest in these Events and related content.
We also seek to position ourselves to take advantage
of the growing demand for content. Through our owned and licensed entertainment and media products, our distribution platforms and our
integration with third-party platforms, we believe we are positioned at the center of this demand. As new distribution models and technologies
have broadened access and enhanced the consumer experience, premium content values have increased. Through our Technology Platform, Events
and content and distribution properties, we seek to foster value creation, for us and both the artists and influencers that use our Technology
Platform.
Invest in Adjacent High Growth Industry
Segments
Our global Technology Platform has enabled us
to enter new, fast-growing industry segments where we are able to leverage long-standing business partnerships and relevant commercial
insights to accelerate scale. Our Technology Platform allows us to identify areas of growth early and benefit from constant technological
disruption. Our existing footprint helps to facilitate organic investment in new adjacent industry segments. We plan to execute upon these
opportunities as they emerge in the future.
Emphasize Strategic Growth Through Mergers
and Acquisitions on Our Technology Platform
Our mergers and acquisitions strategy has been
focused on investing in intellectual property and acquiring capabilities for our Technology Platform. We will continue to invest in mergers
and acquisitions to complement our internal capabilities and enhance the value of our Technology Platform. We believe that owning a highly
curated intellectual property asset base and global capabilities set further enhance the ecosystem connectivity that makes our Technology
Platform the ideal home for numerous future acquisition targets that fit the profile of our investment strategy. We also will opportunistically
seek to monetize and or dispose of certain assets, if needed. We also believe that the insights that we have gained from our position
in the content ecosystem, social media landscape and e-commerce business give us access to a vast amount of information that informs our
investment activities and has the potential to provide access to proprietary acquisition and investment opportunities.
Our management team also has the combined experience
of executing more than $50 billion in transactional value in content and technology mergers and acquisitions. Collectively, we believe
these insights and experience position us well to evaluate targets and identify synergies and growth potential. We seek to leverage the
experience and relationships of our management team, creative incentive structures to our partners and our portfolio of assets to attract
Brands and Creators to our Technology Platform. This experience, together with learnings from our acquisitions to date and insights gained
from our position in the content ecosystem, give us access to a vast amount of information that can help us assess acquisition targets.
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Creating an Ecosystem Empowered by Fintech
Hong Kong’s Fintech Landscape
In July 2018, the HKMA introduced the “Open
API Framework” to facilitate the development and wider adoption of application programming interfaces or APIs by the banking sector.
The Open API functions include product information, customer acquisition, account information and transactions. The HKMA also launched
the Faster Payment System in September 2018 to facilitate real-time payments and fund transfers between banks and stored value
facility operators with the use of a recipient’s mobile number or email address as an account proxy. We believes that, with the
on-going business integration with the GBA, Hong Kong is likely to see further liberalization in the financial services sector
in the coming years, especially in relation to the use of financial technologies.
In July 2018, the HKMA introduced the “Open
API Framework” to facilitate the development and wider adoption of application programming interfaces or APIs by the banking sector.
The Open API functions include product information, customer acquisition, account information and transactions. The HKMA also launched
the Faster Payment System in September 2018 to facilitate real-time payments and fund transfers between banks and stored value
facility operators with the use of a recipient’s mobile number or email address as an account proxy. We believes that, with the
on-going business integration with the GBA, Hong Kong is likely to see further liberalization in the financial services sector
in the coming years, especially in relation to the use of financial technologies.
Group Synergy to be Realized Leveraging
on Existing Infrastructure and Partners
To provide a seamless customer journey, increase
customers’ stickiness and deepen their share wallet, Our future strategic focus intends to create an integrated digital ecosystem
by leveraging existing infrastructure, customers and partners.
We intend to realize synergies across different business units by:
●
focusing on product portfolio enhancements, including endowment insurance and investment fund savings plans;
●
leveraging the flexibility offered by different financing options, including insurance premium financing, point-of-sale consumer credit, personal credit facility or mortgage financing; and
●
using the IFA sales team as a large distribution channel.
Our digital platform is one of its core customer
acquisition engines which we intends to further equip with functionalities including a cash management tool for customers, and a transaction
platform that encompasses insurance and investment products, retail consumption, medical appointments, content marketing and social sharing.
By targeting customers’ needs at various
life stages, we intends to provide a one-stop service to customers while enhancing its cross-selling business opportunities.
Further collaboration will also be sought in the future with its local partners and overseas fintech investments. Fintech will continue
to invest in fintech developments to improve its capabilities and attract local and global business partners.
Our Corporate Information
We were originally incorporated on October 8, 2018 in the British Virgin
Islands as a special purpose acquisition company under the former name of AGBA Acquisition Limited (“AAL”). In connection
with the consummation of the Business Combination (as defined below), we changed our name from “AGBA Acquisition Limited”
to “AGBA Group Inc.”. On October 15, 2024, the Company consummated the merger transaction with Triller Corp., a Delaware corporation,
pursuant to that certain Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 30, 2024, as amended, by and between AGBA,
its wholly owned subsidiary AGBA Social Inc., Triller Corp. and Bobby Sarnevesht, as sole representative of the Triller Corp. stockholders.
Our principal executive office is located at 7119 West Sunset Boulevard, Suite 782 Los Angeles, CA.
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Intellectual Property
We own domain names and trademarks. We are currently
in the process of re-branding our business and as part of this exercise, AGBA is in the process of obtaining domain names and trademark
registrations for its new brands, such as “TAG,” “OnePlatform,”, “AGBA Focus”, “AGBA Perform”
and “AGBA Group,” among others.
Our intellectual property includes the “Triller,”
“Triller Fight Club,” “TrillerFest,” “TrillerTV,” “FITE,” “Cliqz”, “Fangage”,
“Julius” and “Thuzio” Brands in addition to the trademarks and copyrights associated with our content, Events,
and the rights to use the intellectual property of our commercial partners. Substantially all of our IP and owned assets that we acquire
are protected by trademarks and copyright, whether registered or unregistered. To protect its existing and potential, future
intellectual property, we have entered into confidentiality and proprietary rights agreements with employees, consultants, contractors
and business partners; employees and contractors are also subject to invention assignment provisions. As part of its contracting process
with third parties, we use contract terms such as limited licenses, restrictions on use, and confidentiality, as additional measures to
protect its intellectual property.
Facilities
Our headquarters in Hong Kong was originally
located at AGBA Tower, 68 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, which cover approximately 40,000 square feet pursuant to an operating
lease in a term of 6 years that was expired in February, 2026. The headquarters in Hong Kong is located at 20/F. FOYER, 625 King’s
Road, North Point, Hong Kong, which cover approximately 12,000 squares feet pursuant to an operating lease in a term of 4 years that will
expire in November 2029.
The lease agreement for the building, between Island Land Development Limited, as landlord, was executed on December
4, 2025. We believe our current facility is suitable and adequate to meet our current needs.
Employees
As of December 31, 2025, we had 144 full-time and
full-time equivalent employees. None of the employees are represented by a labor union, and we consider our employee relations to be good.
Website Access to Company’s Reports and
Disclosure Information
Our internet website address is https://www.agba.com,
to which we regularly post copies of our press releases as well as additional information about us. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports filed, will be available to you free of charge
through the Investors section of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials have been electronically filed with,
or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The SEC maintains an internet site (http://www.sec.gov)
that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.
We include our web site address in this Annual Report on Form 10-K only as an inactive textual reference. Information contained in our
website does not constitute a part of this report or our other filings with the SEC.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Risks Factors Relating to the Company’s
Hong Kong Operations and Proximity to the PRC
The business, financial condition, results
of operations, and prospects of the Company may be materially and adversely affected if certain laws and regulations of the PRC become
applicable to the Company or its subsidiaries. the Company may be subject to the risks and uncertainties associated with the evolving
laws and regulations in the PRC, their interpretation and implementation, and the legal and regulatory system in the PRC more generally,
including with respect to the enforcement of laws and the possibility of changes of rules and regulations with little or no advance notice.
The Company currently does not have operations
in mainland China. Although the Company and its subsidiaries do service Chinese clients, all sales of financial products offered by the
TAG Business and its subsidiaries occur in Hong Kong. the Company does not sell any financial products in mainland China, and all
of the TAG Business’s customer data is maintained outside of mainland China. Accordingly, none of the Company or its subsidiaries
are regulated by any regulatory authorities in mainland China. Pursuant to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (the “ Basic Law ”), which is a national law of the PRC and the constitutional document for Hong Kong, national
laws of the PRC shall not be applied in Hong Kong except for those listed in Annex III of the Basic Law and applied locally
by promulgation or local legislation. The Basic Law expressly provides that the national laws of the PRC which may be listed in Annex III
of the Basic Law shall be confined to those relating to defense and foreign affairs as well as other matters outside the autonomy of Hong Kong.
While the National People’s Congress of the PRC has the power to amend the Basic Law, the Basic Law also expressly provides that
no amendment to the Basic Law shall contravene the established basic policies of the PRC regarding Hong Kong. As a result, national
laws of the PRC not listed in Annex III of the Basic Law do not apply to Hong Kong-based businesses.
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However, the laws and regulations in the PRC are
evolving, and their enactment timetable, interpretation, and implementation involve significant uncertainties. To the extent that any
PRC laws and regulations become applicable to the Company, the Company may be subject to the risks and uncertainties associated with the
evolving laws and regulations of the PRC, their interpretation and implementation, and the legal and regulatory system in the PRC more
generally, including with respect to the enforcement of laws and the possibility of changes of rules and regulations with little or no
advance notice. If certain PRC laws and regulations, including existing laws and regulations and those enacted or promulgated in the future,
were to become applicable to companies such as the Company or its subsidiaries in the future, the application of such laws and regulations
may have a material adverse impact on the business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects of the Company and its ability
to offer securities to investors, any of which may, in turn, cause the value of ILLR’s securities to significantly decline or become
worthless.
Relevant organs of the PRC government have made
recent statements or recently taken regulatory actions related to data security, anti-monopoly, and overseas listings of mainland China
businesses. For example, in addition to the PRC Data Security Law and the Measures for Cybersecurity Review issued by the Cyberspace Administration
of China which became effective on February 15, 2022 (the “ Measures ”), relevant PRC government agencies have recently
taken anti-trust enforcement action against certain mainland China-based businesses. The management of ILLR understands that
such enforcement action was taken pursuant to the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law which applies to monopolistic activities in domestic economic
activities in mainland China and monopolistic activities outside mainland China which eliminate or restrict market competition in mainland
China. In addition, in July 2021, the PRC government provided new guidance on PRC-based companies raising capital outside of
the PRC, including through arrangements called variable interest entities (“ VIEs ”). In light of such developments,
the SEC has imposed enhanced disclosure requirements on China-based companies seeking to register securities with the SEC.
While the Company currently does not have any
operations in mainland China, there is no guarantee that the recent statements or regulatory actions by the relevant organs of the PRC
government, including statements relating to the PRC Data Security Law, the PRC Personal Information Protection Law, and VIEs as well
as the anti-monopoly enforcement actions will continue not to apply to the Company. Should such statements or regulatory actions
apply to companies such as ILLR or its subsidiaries in the future, it could have a material adverse impact on the business, financial
condition, results of operations, and prospects of ILLR, ILLR’s ability to accept foreign investments, and ILLR’s ability
to offer or continue to offer securities to investors on a U.S. or other international securities exchange, any of which may, in
turn, cause the value of ILLR’s securities to significantly decline or become worthless. ILLR cannot predict the extent of such
impact if such events were to occur.
The Company may also become subject to the laws
and regulations of the PRC to the extent that the TAG Business commences business and customer facing operations in mainland China as
a result of any future partnership, acquisition, expansion, or organic growth.
The PRC government exerts substantial influence,
discretion, oversight, and control over the manner in which companies incorporated under the laws of PRC must conduct their business activities.
The Company has offices in Hong Kong and has no operations in mainland China; however, there can be no guarantee that the PRC government
will not seek to intervene or influence the operations of its business or its subsidiaries at any time.
Because (i) the Company currently does not
have operations in mainland China, (ii) all sales of financial products offered by the Company and its subsidiaries, including those
to PRC citizens, occur in Hong Kong, and (iii) the TAG Business does not sell any financial products in mainland China, the
PRC government currently does not directly govern the manner in which the Company conducts its business activities outside of mainland
China. However, the PRC legal system is evolving quickly, and PRC laws, regulations, and rules may change quickly with little advance
notice, including with respect to Hong Kong-based businesses. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Company will not
be subject to direct influence or discretion over its business from organs of the PRC government in the future, due to changes in laws
or other unforeseeable reasons or due to the Company’s expansion or acquisition of operations in or involving mainland China.
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The PRC government has exercised and continues
to exercise substantial control over many sectors of the PRC economy, including through regulation and/or state ownership. PRC government
actions have had, and may continue to have, a significant effect on economic conditions in the PRC and the businesses which are subject
to them. If the Company became subject to the direct intervention or influence of the PRC government at any time due to changes in laws
or other unforeseeable reasons or as a result of the Company’s development, expansion, or acquisition of operations in the PRC,
the Company may be required to make material changes in its operations, which may result in increased costs necessary to comply with existing
and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply, or both. The Company cannot be assured that the PRC government
will not, in the future, release regulations or policies regarding other industries, which, if applicable to the Company or its subsidiaries,
may adversely affect the business, financial condition and results of operations of the Company.
In addition, the various segments of the Company
are regulated by a number of Hong Kong regulators, including, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority and the Mandatory Provident
Fund Schemes Authority. PRC government influence or oversight over such Hong Kong regulators may have an indirect but material impact
on the Company, including but not limited to with respect to capital requirements, its ability to operate certain businesses, its operations
in certain jurisdictions (including the markets in which the Company or its subsidiaries may operate in the future) and/or the implementation
of certain controls and procedures in relation to risk management or cybersecurity. Furthermore, the market prices and/or liquidity of
the securities of the Company could be adversely affected as a result of anticipated negative impacts of any such government actions,
as well as negative investor sentiment towards Hong Kong-based companies subject to direct PRC government oversight and regulation,
regardless of actual operating performance. There can be no assurance or guarantee that the PRC government would not intervene in or influence
the operations of the Company, directly or indirectly, at any time.
The securities of ILLR may be delisted or
prohibited from being traded “over-the-counter” under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (as amended by the Accelerating
Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act) if the PCAOB were unable to fully inspect the company’s auditor.
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act,
or the HFCA Act, was enacted into U.S. law on December 18, 2020. The HFCA Act states that if the SEC determines that a company
has filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board of the United States (the “ PCAOB ”) for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC
shall prohibit its securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the
U.S. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate
completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (i) China, and (ii) Hong Kong.
On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted final amendments
implementing congressionally mandated submission and disclosure requirements of the HFCA Act. On December 23, 2022 the Accelerating Holding
Foreign Companies Accountable Act (AHFCA Act) was enacted, which amended the HFCA Act by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s
securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead
of three. As a result, the time period before the Company’s securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted has been reduced
accordingly.
Lack of access to PCAOB inspections prevents the
PCAOB from fully evaluating audits and quality control procedures of the accounting firms headquartered in mainland China or Hong Kong.
As a result, investors in companies using such auditors may be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. On December 15, 2022,
the PCAOB announced that it was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered
in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2022, and the PCAOB Board vacated its previous determinations that the PCAOB was unable to inspect
or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. However, whether the PCAOB
will continue to be able to satisfactorily conduct inspections of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China
and Hong Kong is subject to uncertainty and depends on a number of factors out of our, and our auditor’s, control. The PCAOB is
continuing to demand complete access in mainland China and Hong Kong moving forward and is already making plans to resume regular inspections
in early 2023 and beyond, as well as to continue pursuing ongoing investigations and initiate new investigations as needed. The PCAOB
has indicated that it will act immediately to consider the need to issue new determinations with the HFCA Act if needed.
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Our auditor, Enrome LLP, the independent registered public accounting
firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the
United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular
inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. Our auditor is headquartered in Singapore, and is currently
subject to inspection by the PCAOB on a regular basis. As of the date of this annual report, the PCAOB has not yet issued an inspection
report for Enrome LLP.
On December 23, 2022, the Accelerating Holding
Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“ AHFCAA ”) was enacted, which amended the HFCA Act by requiring the SEC to prohibit
an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive
years instead of three. On December 29, 2022, a legislation entitled “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023” (the “ Consolidated
Appropriations Act ”), was signed into law by President Biden. The Consolidated Appropriations Act contained, among other things,
an identical provision to AHFCAA, which reduces the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions
under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act from three years to two. Whether the PCAOB will continue to be able to satisfactorily
conduct inspections of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong is subject to uncertainty
and depends on a number of factors out of our, and our auditor’s, control. The PCAOB is continuing to demand complete access in
mainland China and Hong Kong moving forward and is already making plans to resume regular inspections in early 2023 and beyond, as well
as to continue pursuing ongoing investigations and initiate new investigations as needed. The PCAOB has indicated that it will act immediately
to consider the need to issue new determinations with the HFCA Act if needed, without having to wait another year to reassess its determinations.
In the future, if there is any regulatory change or step taken by PRC regulators that does not permit our auditor to provide audit documentations
located in China or Hong Kong to the PCAOB for inspection or investigation, or the PCAOB expands the scope of the determination so that
we are subject to the HFCA Act, as the same may be amended, you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection which could result
in limitation or restriction to our access to the U.S. capital markets and trading of our securities, including trading on the national
exchange and trading on “over-the-counter” markets, may be prohibited under the HFCA Act. The recent developments would add
uncertainties to our offering and we cannot assure you whether the national securities exchange we apply for listing or regulatory authorities
would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditors’ audit procedures and
quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach, or experience as it relates
to our audit.
Although not currently subject, the Company
may become subject to the PRC laws and regulations regarding offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers,
and any failure to comply with applicable laws and obligations could have a material and adverse effect on the business, financial condition,
results of operations, and the Company’s prospects of the Company and may hinder ILLR’s ability to offer or continue to offer
securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
Recently, the PRC government has initiated a series
of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in certain areas in China with little advance notice, including cracking
down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas using a variable
interest entity structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement.
On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress enacted the PRC Data Security Law, which took effect
on September 1, 2021. The law requires data collection to be conducted in a legitimate and proper manner, and stipulates that, for
the purpose of data protection, data processing activities must be conducted based on data classification and hierarchical protection
system for data security.
25
On July 6, 2021, the General Office of the
Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued a document to crack down on illegal
activities in the securities market and promote the high-quality development of the capital market, which, among other things, requires
the relevant governmental authorities to strengthen cross-border oversight of law-enforcement and judicial cooperation, to enhance
supervision over China-based companies listed overseas, and to establish and improve the system of extraterritorial application of
the PRC securities laws.
On August 20, 2021, the 30 meeting of the
Standing Committee of the 13 National People’s Congress voted and passed the “ Personal Information Protection Law of the
People’s Republic of China ”, or “ PRC Personal Information Protection Law ”, which became effective on
November 1, 2021. The PRC Personal Information Protection Law applies to the processing of personal information of natural persons
within the territory of China that is carried out outside of China where (1) such processing is for the purpose of providing products
or services for natural persons within China, (2) such processing is to analyze or evaluate the behavior of natural persons within
China, or (3) there are any other circumstances stipulated by related laws and administrative regulations.
On December 24, 2021, the China Securities
Regulatory Commission (“ CSRC ”), together with other relevant government authorities in China issued the Provisions
of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments), and
the Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (“ Draft Overseas
Listing Regulations ”). The Draft Overseas Listing Regulations requires that a PRC domestic enterprise seeking to issue and list
its shares overseas (“ Overseas Issuance and Listing ”) shall complete the filing procedures of and submit the relevant
information to CSRC. The Overseas Issuance and Listing includes direct and indirect issuance and listing. Where an enterprise whose
principal business activities are conducted in PRC seeks to issue and list its shares in the name of an overseas enterprise (“ Overseas
Issuer ”) on the basis of the equity, assets, income or other similar rights and interests of the relevant PRC domestic enterprise,
such activities shall be deemed an indirect overseas issuance and listing (“ Indirect Overseas Issuance and Listing ”)
under the Draft Overseas Listing Regulations.
On December 28, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration
of China (“ CAC ”) jointly with the relevant authorities formally published Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) which
took effect on February 15, 2022 and replaced the former Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2020) issued on July 10, 2021.
Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) stipulates that operators of critical information infrastructure purchasing network products
and services, and online platform operator (together with the operators of critical information infrastructure, the “ CII Operators ”)
carrying out data processing activities that affect or may affect national security, shall conduct a cybersecurity review, any online
platform operator who controls more than one million users’ personal information must go through a cybersecurity review by the cybersecurity
review office if it seeks to be listed in a foreign country.
The Company or its subsidiaries may collect and
store certain data (including certain personal information) from their clients, who may be PRC individuals, in connection with their business
and operations and for “ Know Your Customers ” purposes (to combat money laundering). Given that (1) the Company
is incorporated in Delaware and certain of its subsidiaries are incorporated in Hong Kong and are located in and conduct their operations
in Hong Kong, (2) they have no subsidiary, VIE structure, nor any operations in mainland China, and (3) pursuant to the
Basic Law, national laws of the PRC shall not be applied in Hong Kong except for those listed in Annex III of the Basic Law
(which is confined to laws relating to defense and foreign affairs, as well as other matters outside the autonomy of Hong Kong),
the management of the Company does not currently expect the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021), the PRC Personal Information Protection
Law, or the Draft Overseas Listing Regulations to impact the operations of the TAG Business. As of date of this registration statement,
the Company and its subsidiaries have conducted all non-U.S. sales activities in Hong Kong and in aggregate collected and stored
personal information of less than one million users in the PRC, all of the data collected is stored in servers located in Hong Kong,
and none of the Company or its subsidiaries have been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement that it files for
a cybersecurity review or a CSRC review. Accordingly, the management of the Company does not currently expect that the laws and regulations
in the PRC on data security, data protection or cybersecurity apply to the Company or that the oversight of the CAC will be extended to
the TAG Business’s operations in Hong Kong, because (i) the Company is not a “CII Operator” or a “Network
Platform Operator” as defined under the relevant PRC cyberspace laws; (ii) the Company does not harm PRC national security,
public interests, or the legitimate rights and interests of citizens or organizations of the PRC; (iii) the Company is not subject
to PRC government cyberspace scrutiny; and (iv) the Company is compliant with PRC cyberspace laws that have been issued up to the
date of this registration statement.
26
However, since these statements and regulatory
actions are new, it is highly uncertain how soon the legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will act, what existing or
new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and whether any of these
will apply to the Company, if at all. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to comply in all respects with any PRC regulatory
requirements that may become applicable to it in the future. For example, the Company’s current practice of collecting and processing
personal information may be ordered to be rectified or terminated by regulatory authorities. In the event of a failure to comply with
any applicable regulations, the Company may become subject to the consequences of such non-compliance, including fines and other penalties,
which, in turn, may have a material adverse effect on the business, operations, financial condition, and prospects of the Company and
may hinder the ability of the Company to offer or continue to offer securities to investors. Such an impact could, in turn, cause the
value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
The Company is subject to many of the economic
and political risks associated with emerging markets, particularly China, due to its operations in Hong Kong. Adverse changes in
Hong Kong’s or China’s economic, political, and social conditions as well as government policies could adversely affect
the Company’s business and prospects.
The Company currently conducts certain of its
business in Hong Kong and is considering options for expansion of its business in mainland China. Accordingly, the Company is subject
to risks and uncertainties including fluctuations in mainland China’s GDP, unfavorable or unpredictable treatment in relation to
tax matters, expropriation of private assets, exchange controls, restrictions affecting its ability to make cross-border transfer
of funds, regulatory proceedings, inflation, currency fluctuations, or the absence of, or unexpected changes in, regulations and unforeseeable
operational risks. In addition, the Company’s business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations may be significantly
influenced by political, economic, and social conditions in Hong Kong and China generally and by continued economic growth in China.
The Chinese economy differs from the economies
of most developed jurisdictions (such as Hong Kong) in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development,
growth rate, control of foreign exchange, and allocation of resources. Although the PRC government has implemented measures that focus
on accounting for market forces to effect economic reform and aimed at reducing the state ownership of productive assets and establishing
improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of China’s productive assets are still owned by the
government. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating development through industrial policies.
The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through its allocation of resources, control
of payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, monetary policy, and preferential treatment for particular industries or
companies. Many of the economic reforms carried out by the PRC government are unprecedented or experimental and are expected to be refined
and improved over time. This refining and adjustment process may not necessarily have a positive effect on the operations and business
development of the Company. Other political, economic, and social factors may also lead to further adjustments of the reform measures.
For example, the PRC government has in the past implemented a number of measures intended to curtail certain segments of the economy,
including the real estate industry, which the government believed to be overheating. These actions, as well as other actions and policies
of the PRC government, could cause a decrease in the overall level of economic activity in the PRC and, in turn, have an adverse impact
on the business and financial condition of the Company.
While the Chinese economy has experienced significant
growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The PRC government
has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures, which may
benefit the overall Chinese economy, may have a negative effect on the TAG Business. For example, the Company’s financial condition
and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. In addition,
the PRC government has from time to time implemented certain measures, including interest rate changes, to control the pace of economic
growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, as evidenced by the slowing of growth of the Chinese economy since
2012. In addition, COVID-19 had a severe and negative impact on the Chinese economy since the first quarter of 2020. Whether this
will lead to a prolonged downturn in the Chinese economy is still unknown. In addition, any future escalation of the ongoing trade war
between the United States and China, regional or national instability, the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or the armed
conflict between Russia and Ukraine may negatively impact the growth of the Chinese economy. Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy
or adverse changes in the policies of the Chinese government or in the laws and regulations in China could have a material adverse effect
on the overall economic growth of China and may reduce the demand for the Company’s services and solutions among potential Chinese
customers and materially and adversely affect its business and results of operations.
27
National laws of the PRC do not apply in Hong Kong
unless they are listed in Annex III of the Basic Law and applied locally by promulgation or local legislation. National laws that
may be listed in Annex III are currently limited under the Basic Law to those which fall within the scope of defense and foreign
affairs as well as other matters outside the limits of the autonomy of Hong Kong. National laws and regulations relating to data
protection, cybersecurity and the anti-monopoly have not been listed in Annex III and so do not apply directly to Hong Kong.
The laws and regulations in the PRC are evolving, and their enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation involve significant
uncertainties. To the extent any PRC laws and regulations become applicable to the Company, it may be subject to the risks and uncertainties
associated with the legal system in the PRC, including with respect to the enforcement of laws and the possibility of changes of rules
and regulations with little or no advance notice. The TAG Business may also become subject to the laws and regulations of the PRC to the
extent it commences business and customer facing operations in mainland China as a result of any future acquisition, expansion, or organic
growth.
The Company’s potential expansion
of activities in China is subject to various risks.
The Company and certain of its subsidiaries, as
of the date of this registration statement, operate in Hong Kong. The Company has been pursuing and will continue to pursue its growth
strategy in China, particularly in the Greater Bay Area, comprising Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the surrounding area. Currently, the
Company does not have any Chinese operating entities and does not plan to use “variable interest entities,” or VIEs, in the
future to conduct its operations. The management of the Company intends for such expansion to be conducted through customer referrals
and partnerships, with its actual sales activities conducted in Hong Kong. For instance, the Company is currently in active discussions
to establish a strategic partnership with a top asset manager (the “ Potential Partner ”) in China to provide offshore
insurance solutions to its over 20 million customers. Accordingly, the management of the Company expects the main source of revenue
from such expansion in China to be generated from referral income.
Notwithstanding, expansion of China-related activities
may expose the Company to additional risks, including:
●
Changing global environment, including changes in U.S., Chinese, and international trade policies;
●
Challenges associated with relying on local partners in markets that are not as familiar to the Company, including joint venture partners to help the Company establish its business;
●
Difficulties managing operations in new regions, including complying with the various regulatory and legal requirements;
●
Different approval or licensing requirements;
●
Recruiting sufficient suitable personnel in new markets;
●
Challenges in providing services and solutions as well as support in these new markets;
●
Challenges in attracting business partners and customers;
●
Potential adverse tax consequences;
28
●
Foreign exchange losses;
●
Limited protection for intellectual property rights;
● Inability to effectively enforce contractual or legal rights;
and
●
Local political, regulatory, and economic instability or wars, civil unrest, and terrorist incidents.
Moreover, changes in China’s economic, political,
or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s growth plans. If the Company
is unable to effectively avoid or mitigate these risks, its ability to grow its China-related business will be affected, which could
have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
As the Company further expands into the international
market, it is increasingly subject to additional legal and regulatory compliance requirements, including local licensing and periodic
reporting obligations. the Company may inadvertently fail to comply with local laws and regulations, and any such violation could subject
the Company to regulatory penalties, such as revocation of licenses, which would in turn harm its brand, reputation, business operation
and financial results. Although the Company has policies and procedures in place to enhance compliance with local laws and regulations,
there can be no assurance that its employees, contractors, or agents will stay compliant with these policies and procedures.
The Company’s financial services revenues
are highly dependent on macroeconomic conditions as well as Hong Kong, China, and global market conditions. Disruptions in the global
financial markets and economic conditions could adversely affect the Company and its institutional clients and customers.
Given the certain of its business operations concentrated
in Hong Kong, the Company’s success depends on the health of the Hong Kong financial industry, which is affected by changes
in general economic conditions beyond the Company’s control. Economic factors such as increased interest rates, slow economic growth
or recessionary conditions, changes in household debt levels, and increased unemployment or stagnant or declining wages affect the Company’s
customers’ income and thus their ability and willingness to take loans from the Company, invest with the Company, or engage with
the Company’s other financial products. Domestic and global events affect all such macroeconomic conditions. Weak or a significant
deterioration in economic conditions reduce the amount of disposable income both individual and institutional consumers have, which in
turn reduces consumer spending and their willingness to engage with the Company’s financial services. Any or all of the circumstances
described above may lead to further volatility in or disruption of the credit markets at any time and could adversely affect the Company’s
financial condition.
Changes in the condition of Hong Kong’s
and China’s economies generally affect the demand and supply of financial products, which in turn will affect demand for the solutions
that the Company provides. For example, a credit crisis, or prolonged downturn in the credit markets could severely affect the Company’s
operating environment by, for example, causing a tightening in credit guidelines, limited liquidity, deterioration in credit performance,
or increased foreclosures. Since a significant portion of the Company’s revenue is generated from transaction-based fees and
commissions, a decrease in transaction volumes could cause a material decline in the Company’s revenues for the duration of such
crisis.
Global economies could suffer dramatic downturns
as the result of a deterioration in the credit markets and related financial crisis as well as a variety of other factors including, extreme
volatility in security prices, diminished liquidity and credit availability, and ratings downgrades or declining valuations of certain
investments. In past economic downturns, governments have taken unprecedented actions to address and rectify these extreme market and
economic conditions, including by providing liquidity and stability to the financial markets. If these actions are not successful, the
return of adverse economic conditions may significantly affect the businesses of the Company’s customers, which could in turn negatively
affect the Company’s revenues.
29
In addition, there is considerable uncertainty
over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by central banks and financial authorities in
some of the world’s leading economies, including the European Union, the United States, and China. There have been concerns
over unrest and terrorist threats in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. There have also been concerns on the relationship among China
and other Asian countries, which may result in or intensify potential conflicts in relation to territorial disputes, and escalations in
the trade tensions between the United States and China. Starting from 2018, changes in U.S. trade policies have occurred, including
the imposition of tariffs. These types of developments, including a potential trade war, could have a material adverse impact on the Chinese
economy and in turn on the Hong Kong economy. On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the European
Union (commonly referred to as “ Brexit ”). The effects of Brexit on worldwide economic and market conditions remain
uncertain. Brexit could adversely affect European and worldwide economic and market conditions and could contribute to instability in
global financial and foreign exchange markets. Furthermore, protests in Hong Kong in 2019, political instability in the Korean
Peninsula, a slump in commodity prices, uncertainty over interest rates in the United States, the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic,
and the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine have also resulted in instability and volatility in the global financial markets. Recently,
the global stock markets have experienced extreme volatility, in reaction to the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and
governments’ responses thereto. It is unclear whether these challenges and uncertainties will be contained or resolved, and what
effects they may have on the global political and economic conditions in the long term.
Failure to comply with existing or future
laws and regulations related to data protection or data security could lead to liabilities, administrative penalties, or other regulatory
actions, which could negatively affect the Company’s operating results, business, and prospects.
The regulatory framework for the collection, use,
safeguarding, sharing, transfer and other processing of personal data worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain
for the foreseeable future. Regulatory authorities in virtually every jurisdiction in which we have implemented or are considering a number
of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning personal data protection. Our management been monitoring the evolution of this area
of law and intends to take steps to ensure compliance with laws applicable to our current operations in Hong Kong and potential future
operations in China.
While the our management believes that we are
not currently subject to PRC laws relating to the collection, use, sharing, retention, security, and transfer of confidential and private
information, such as personal information and other data, we may be subject to such laws in the future. These laws continue to develop,
and the PRC government may adopt other rules and restrictions in the future. Non-compliance could result in penalties or other significant
legal liabilities.
The PRC may prevent the cash maintained
by the Company in Hong Kong from leaving, or the PRC could restrict deployment of such cash for the Company’s business purposes
or for the payment of dividends.
The Company does not have any business operations
in mainland China or maintain any cash balances in mainland China. However, if the Company were to establish business operations or maintain
cash balances in mainland China, it may become subject to the PRC government’s controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign
currencies and the remittance of currencies out of China to foreign entities or investors. Under the existing PRC foreign exchange regulations,
payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and expenditures from trade-related transactions,
can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) as long
as certain procedural requirements related to foreign exchange control are met. Although generally the PRC government may not impose any
restrictions on international payments or transfers on current account, the PRC government may, at its discretion, impose restrictions
on access to foreign currencies for current account transactions, and there may also exist macro-prudential control in foreign exchange
through position management or know-your-customer (KYC) policies. Approval from appropriate government authorities, including SAFE,
the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce may be required for certain transactions if Renminbi
is converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign
currencies. Furthermore, foreign currency loans or capital contributions may be subject to statutory limits and registration with competent
authorities.
The Hong Kong government has not issued similar
laws or regulations for companies that are incorporated in or conduct businesses in Hong Kong. No cash is or is currently intended
by the management of the Company to be held in the PRC by the Company or any of its subsidiaries. There is no regulatory restriction imposed
by authorities in Hong Kong over the flow of funds among the Company and its subsidiaries, or on any distributions or dividends of
the Company to its investors as of the date of this registration statement, and management of the Company does not expect there will be
regulatory restrictions by authorities in Hong Kong.
30
The Basic Law is the constitutional document for
Hong Kong. Under Article 112 of the Basic Law, no foreign exchange control policies shall be applied in Hong Kong. The
Hong Kong dollar shall be freely convertible, and the Government of Hong Kong shall safeguard the free flow of capital within,
into and out of the region. The power to amend the Basic Law lies in the National People’s Congress of the PRC and the ultimate
power of interpretation of the Basic Law is vested in the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the PRC. Therefore,
the PRC has the power to cause a change in the Basic Law and cause capital controls to be imposed over Hong Kong. If the PRC were
to do so, the PRC may also restrict the ability of the Company’s operating entities to remit currency maintained in Hong Kong
offshore to pay dividends or make other payments, or otherwise to satisfy its foreign-currency-denominated obligations. In such case,
relevant PRC governmental authorities may limit the ability of the Company to purchase foreign currencies in the future to settle transactions.
As the PRC government may continue to strengthen its control over Hong Kong, this may limit the Company’s ability to utilize
such currencies to fund its business activities outside of the PRC, or to pay dividends in foreign currencies.
Risks Factors Relating to the Business and Operations of TAG International
Limited and TAG Asia Capital Limited
The technologies that the Company uses may
contain undetected errors, which could result in customer dissatisfaction, damage to the Company’s reputation, or loss of customers.
Some of the solutions that we offer are built
on large stacks of data, requiring sophisticated and innovative technologies to address our operating needs, predict operating patterns,
and help make decisions in terms of business strategies and implementation plans. We aim to make its operations and solutions more streamlined,
automated, and cost-effective by using advanced technologies which are currently under development. We may encounter technical obstacles,
and it may discover problems that prevent such technologies from operating properly, or at all, which could adversely affect our information
infrastructure and other aspects of its business where such technologies are applied. If our solutions do not function reliably or fail
to achieve its customers’ expectations for performance, we may lose existing customers or fail to attract new ones, which may damage
its reputation and adversely affect its business, financial condition, and results of operations. Material performance problems, defects,
or errors in our existing or new software, applications, and solutions may arise and may result from the interface between solutions and
systems and data that it did not develop, the function of which is beyond its control, or defects and errors that were undetected in internal
testing. These types of defects and errors, and any failure by us to identify and address them, could result in a loss of revenue or market
share, diversion of development resources, harm to our reputation and increased service and maintenance costs. Defects or errors may discourage
existing or potential customers from utilizing our solutions. Correcting these types of defects or errors could prove to be impossible
or impracticable. The costs incurred in correcting any defects or errors may be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on
our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We rely on our business relationships with
product issuers and the success of those product issuers, and the future development depends, in part, on the growth of such product issuers
and their continued collaboration.
The Platform Business relies, in part, on financial
products provided by certain banks, insurance companies, or other companies that offer financial products (product issuers). Our management
team believes that establishment of business relationships with major product issuers such as MassMutual Asia Limited, Prudential Hong Kong
Limited, and Zurich International Life Limited, which facilitates our ability to provide a wide variety of products to satisfy customers’
needs and enables it to negotiate favorable terms with such product issuers, to the benefit of its customers, contributes to its current
success. The long-term business relationships that the Platform Business has established with major product issuers are formed on
the basis of the terms of business, broker contracts, and/or conditions issued by the product issuer(s) setting out the terms and
conditions upon which product issuer(s) are prepared to accept business referred or introduced to them. However, there is no assurance
that the Platform Business will succeed in maintaining existing and/or establishing new, strategic relationships with product issuers.
If the Platform Business cannot maintain and/or establish such relationships, it and its subsidiaries’ access to similar financial
products may be restricted, and their business, operations, and financial position may, in turn, be adversely affected.
31
The Platform Business’s future development
depends, in part, on the growth of such product issuers, on their continued development of new financial products, and on their continued
collaboration. Failure by such product issues to continue to sell new financial products may, in turn, limit our ability to offer such
products to their customers. There can be no assurance that if any product issuer discontinued its business or ceased to collaborate with
us could find replacement products on comparable terms, or at all. If the Platform Business cannot maintain its current pipeline of products
from product issuers, it and its subsidiaries’ access to similar financial products may be restricted, and their business, operations,
and financial position may, in turn, be adversely affected.
The property agency segment of the Platform
Business has historically operated on thin margins, which expose it to risk of non-profitability and recent trends have caused the segment
to be loss-making.
The property agency segment of the Platform Business,
run by OnePlatform International Property Limited (“ OIP ”), has historically operated with thin profit margins. In accordance
with its contracts with property developers and agreements with its own staff, commission income from OIP’s operations is dispersed
broadly among both the consultancy force and salespersons, often equaling up to 50% of the commission. This significant split of commission
income has historically resulted in marginal profit for OIP.
In recent years, the segment has been loss-making
and was supported by intercompany loans. While our management intends to generate sufficient cash flows from the segment to repay such
intercompany loans and create positive profit margins, there can be no assurance that the property agency segment of the Platform Business
will be able to generate such cash flows now or in the future. Without a change in the commission sharing mechanism or optimization of
the segment’s operating costs, the property agency segment’s ability to achieve additional profits may be limited. There can
be no assurance that OIP will be able to achieve changes in commission sharing or optimization of operating costs to sufficient levels,
or at all. In addition, given the competitive environment in which OIP operates, there also can be no guarantee that such changes would
not create a loss of engagement with property developers and salespersons. Such disruptions to the property agency segment of the Platform
Business could have negative effects on its business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
The Company relies on third parties for
various aspects of its business and the services and solutions that it offers. The Company’s business, results of operations, financial
condition, and reputation may be materially and adversely affected if these third parties do not continue to maintain or expand their
relationship with the Company, or if they fail to perform in accordance with the terms of their relevant contracts.
We rely on third parties for various aspects of
its business and the solutions they offer. For example, we rely on computer hardware, software, and cloud services, internet and telecommunication
services, and third-party supplied data. We expect to continue to rely on these third parties to supplement its capabilities for
a significant period, if not indefinitely. Therefore, we need all of these parties to function in a flawless and timely manner in order
to conduct its business. However, there can be no assurance that these third parties will provide their support properly or in a cost-effective manner
or that the third party-supplied data we rely on will be complete, accurate, or reliable. In the event of problems with any of these
third-party providers, transitioning to new providers may disrupt our business and increase costs.
If any of the third-party service providers fail
to perform properly, there can be no assurance that we would be able to find suitable replacement suppliers on commercially reasonable
terms on a timely basis, or at all. The third-party service providers may carry out their business in an inappropriate manner or in violation
of regulations or laws. Any of such occurrences could diminish our ability to operate or damage its business reputation, or cause it regulatory
or financial harm, any of which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
A number of our business partners are commercial
banks and other financial institutions that are highly regulated, and the tightening of laws, regulations, or standards in the financial
services industry could harm its business.
A number of our business partners are commercial
banks and other financial institutions that are highly regulated and must comply with complex and changing government regulations and
industry standards, which are subject to significant changes, in the various jurisdictions in which they operate. Global, regional, or
local regulatory developments, including those in respect of consumer protection, credit availability, risk management, and data privacy,
could adversely affect our customers or otherwise result in a reduction in the volume and frequency of its business transactions.
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Our financial institution partners must sometimes
include restrictive provisions in their contracts with service providers, with respect to security and privacy, ongoing monitoring, risk
management, and other limitations. These provisions may increase our costs, limit the scope of the solutions we offer, or otherwise restrict
customer access. In addition, our customers may have less capacity or incentive to purchase solutions from us, may pass on their increased
costs to us, or may cease to use certain of our solutions. As aspects of our business employ a broker-based model, any reduction
of transactions by our partners may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
As a result of such laws and regulations, certain
of our business partners have had, or will have, to adjust their business practices in ways that reduce their use of our solutions, and
these types of changes in response to regulatory developments may adversely affect our business, result of operations, and financial conditions.
Significant increases and decreases in the
number of transactions by the Company’s clients can have a material negative effect on the Company’s profitability and its
ability to efficiently process and settle transactions.
Significant volatility in the number of client
transactions and rebalancing activity may result in operational problems such as a higher incidence of failures to deliver services and
errors in processing transactions, and such volatility may also result in increased personnel and related processing costs. We may experience
adverse effects on its profitability resulting from significant reductions in product sales and may encounter operational problems arising
from unanticipated high transaction volume because we are not able to control such fluctuations.
In addition, significant transaction volume could
result in inaccurate books and records, which would expose us to disciplinary action by governmental agencies and other relevant regulators.
We operate in a variety of heavily regulated
industries in Hong Kong and globally, which expose its business activities to risks of noncompliance with an increasing body of complex
laws and regulations.
Due to the heavily regulated nature of the industries
in which we operate, primarily the insurance, Mandatory Provident Fund (“ MPF ”), asset management and money lending
industries, we are required to comply with a wide array of Hong Kong laws and regulations that regulate, among other things, the
manner in which they conduct their businesses, which of our operating entities can provide certain services, and the fees that they may
charge. Governmental authorities and various Hong Kong agencies, including, among others, the Insurance Authority, the Mandatory
Provident Fund Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission, and the Inland Revenue Department, have broad oversight and supervisory
authority over us.
Because of the financial services that we offer
and deliver, we engage in the relevant service must be licensed in Hong Kong as well as all relevant jurisdictions that require licensure
and must comply with each such jurisdiction’s respective laws and regulations, as well as with judicial and administrative decisions
applicable to it. Presently, in Hong Kong, we maintain Insurance Broker Licenses, HKSFC Licenses, and Money Lenders Licenses, in
addition to their business registrations with the Hong Kong Companies Registry. In addition, these companies are currently subject
to a variety of, and may in the future become subject to additional, laws that are continuously evolving and developing, including laws
on advertising as well as privacy laws.
These licensing requirements and other regulations
directly impact our business and require ongoing compliance, monitoring, and internal and external audits as they continue to evolve and
may result in ever-increasing public scrutiny and escalating levels of enforcement and sanctions. Subsequent changes to data protection
and privacy laws, for instance, could impact how we process personal information, and therefore limit the effectiveness of its products
or services or its ability to operate or expand its business, including limiting strategic partnerships that may involve the sharing of
personal information.
33
Both the scope of the laws and regulations and
the intensity of the supervision to which we are subject have increased over time, in response to financial crises as well as other factors
such as technological and market changes. Regulatory enforcement and fines have also increased across the financial services sector in
Hong Kong and the other markets where we operate. Our management expects that its business will remain subject to extensive regulation
and supervision. These regulatory changes could result in an increase in our regulatory compliance burden and associated costs and place
restrictions on its operations. Our failure to comply with applicable licensing requirements and relevant laws and regulations could lead
to, among other things:
●
loss of its licenses and approvals to engage in its businesses;
●
damage to its reputation in the industry;
●
governmental investigations and enforcement actions;
●
administrative fines and penalties and litigation;
●
civil and criminal liability, including class action lawsuits;
●
increased costs of doing business;
●
diminished ability to sell financial products;
●
inability to raise capital; and
●
inability to execute on its business strategy, including its growth plans.
As applicable licensing requirements and laws
evolve, it may be more difficult for our management to identify these developments comprehensively, to interpret changes accurately, and
to train our employees effectively with respect to these laws and regulations. These difficulties potentially increase our exposure to
the risks of noncompliance with these licensing requirements, laws, and regulations, which could be detrimental to its business. In addition,
a failure to adequately vet and supervise our clients, service providers and vendors, to the extent they are covered by such licensing
requirements, laws, and regulations, may also have these negative results.
To resolve issues raised in examinations or other
governmental actions, we or certain of our subsidiaries may be required to take various corrective actions, including changing certain
business practices, making refunds or taking other actions that could be financially or competitively detrimental to it. Our management
expects to continue to incur costs to comply with governmental regulations. In addition, certain legislative actions and judicial decisions
can give rise to the initiation of lawsuits against us for activities that it has conducted in the past. We have been, and its management
expects it to continue to be, subject to regulatory enforcement actions and private causes of action from time to time with respect to
its compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Although we have systems and procedures directed
to comply with these legal and regulatory requirements, there can be no assurance that more restrictive laws and regulations will not
be adopted in the future, or that governmental bodies or courts will not interpret existing laws or regulations in a more restrictive
manner, which could render its current business practices non-compliant or which could make compliance more difficult or expensive. Any
of these, or other, changes in laws or regulations could have a detrimental effect on us and its results of operations.
We are subject to evolving regulatory requirements,
and failure to comply with these regulations or to adapt to regulatory changes could materially and adversely affect its operations, business,
and prospects.
Many of our aspects, including brokerage and technology
services to individual investors, banks, and insurance companies, insurance loss adjustment services, online publication services relating
to financial product information, facilitating consumer lending products for banks and online small loan companies, managing and distributing
various asset management products, and electronic certification services are subject to supervision and regulation by various governmental
authorities in Hong Kong or in other jurisdictions where we operate. As we continue to expand its solutions and product offerings, the
group may be subject to new and more complex regulatory requirements.
We are also required to comply with applicable
laws and regulations in relevant jurisdictions to protect the privacy and security of its customers’ information. Legal and regulatory
restrictions may delay, or possibly prevent, some of our solutions or services from being offered, which may have a material adverse effect
on its business, financial condition, and results of operations. Violation of laws and regulations may also result in severe penalties,
confiscation of illegal income, revocation of licenses and, under certain circumstances, criminal prosecution.
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For example, the regulatory framework governing
financial technology services is unclear and evolving. New laws or regulations may be promulgated, which could impose new requirements
or prohibitions that render our current operations or technologies non-compliant. In addition, due to uncertainties and complexities of
the regulatory environment, it cannot be assured that regulators will interpret laws and regulations the same way as we do, or that we
will always be in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. To remedy any violations, we may be required to modify its business
models, solutions, and technologies in ways that render its solutions less appealing to potential customers. We may also become subject
to fines or other penalties, or, if we determine that the requirements to operate in compliance are overly burdensome, it may elect to
terminate potentially non-compliant operations. In each such case, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be
materially and adversely affected.
We may be adversely affected by the complexity,
uncertainties, and changes in regulation of internet-related businesses and companies, and any lack of requisite approvals, licenses,
or permits applicable to our business may have a material adverse effect on its business and results of operations.
The Hong Kong government extensively regulates
the internet industry, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the industry.
These internet-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant
uncertainties. As a result, in certain circumstances it may be difficult to determine what actions or omissions may be deemed to be in
violation of applicable laws and regulations.
The interpretation and application of existing
Hong Kong laws, regulations and policies, and possible new laws, regulations, or policies, including those relating to the internet
industry, have created substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign investments in, and our businesses
and activities. There can be no assurance that we have obtained all the permits or licenses required for conducting its business
or that it will be able to maintain or update its existing licenses or obtain new ones. If a government authority considers that we were
operating without the proper approvals, licenses, or permits or promulgates new laws and regulations that require additional approvals
or licenses or imposes additional restrictions on the operation of any part of its business, it may levy fines, confiscate our income,
revoke its business licenses, and/or require us to discontinue its relevant business or impose restrictions on the affected portion of
its business. Any of these actions may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Uncertainties in the interpretation and
enforcement of Hong Kong laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to us and our investors.
Hong Kong laws and regulations concerning
the internet-related and financial services industries are developing and evolving. Although we have taken measures to comply with
the laws and regulations applicable to its business operations and to avoid conducting any non-compliant activities under these laws
and regulations, governmental authorities may promulgate new laws and regulations regulating the internet-related and financial services
industries. There can be no assurance that our operations would not be deemed to violate any such new laws or regulations. Moreover, developments
in the internet-related industries and financial services industry may lead to changes in existing laws, regulations, and policies
in Hong Kong, or in the interpretation and application of existing laws, regulations, and policies, which in turn may limit or restrict
us and could materially and adversely affect its business and operations.
Risks Factors Relating to the Business and Operations of Triller
Corp.
Triller has a limited operating history
and has experienced fluctuations in its results of operations due to the nature of its business and a number of factors, which makes it
difficult to forecast its revenue and evaluate its business and future prospects.
Triller’s ability
to forecast its future results of operations and plan for and model future growth is limited. Triller has a limited operating history
which makes it difficult to predict its results of operations. In addition, Triller’s results of operations may fluctuate from quarter
to quarter as a result of the nature of its business and a number of factors, many of which are outside of Triller’s control and
may be difficult to predict. For example, Triller hosts Events under its Bareknuckle Fighting Championships (“ BKFC ”)
offerings which may lead to outsized revenue for one quarter compared to other quarters. Some additional factors that affect our results
include, but are not limited to:
●
the level of demand for Triller’s Technology Platform and Events;
●
its ability to retain existing or add new Creators and Brands;
35
●
its ability to successfully integrate companies and assets it has acquired and in the future may acquire into its business;
●
the timing and success of new features, integrations, capabilities and enhancements by Triller to its products or by its competitors to their products;
●
changes in the competitive landscape of Triller’s market;
●
Triller’s ability to achieve widespread acceptance and use of its Technology Platform;
●
errors in Triller’s forecasting of the demand for its Triller app, Technology Platform offerings and Events, which could lead to lower revenue, increased costs or both;
●
the amount and timing of operating expenses and capital expenditures, as well as entry into operating leases, that Triller may incur to maintain and expand its business and operations and to remain competitive;
●
the timing of expenses and recognition of revenue;
●
security breaches, technical difficulties or interruptions to its Technology Platform resulting in service level agreement credits;
●
adverse litigation judgments, other dispute-related settlement payments or other litigation-related costs;
●
regulatory fines;
●
changes in, and continuing uncertainty in relation to, the legislative or regulatory environment;
●
legal and regulatory compliance costs in new and existing markets;
●
the number of new employees added and employee turnover;
●
the timing of the grant or vesting or settlement of equity awards to employees, directors or consultants;
●
the timing of the conversion of Triller’s outstanding convertible securities or when our outstanding debt may become due or payable;
●
the availability of content for licensing for use by Creators on its Technology Platform;
●
pricing pressure as a result of competition or otherwise;
●
costs and timing of expenses related to the acquisition of businesses, talent, technologies or intellectual property, including potentially significant amortization costs and possible write-downs; and
●
general economic conditions in either domestic or international markets, including geopolitical uncertainty and instability.
Any one or more of the
factors above may result in significant fluctuations in Triller’s quarterly results of operations. You should not rely on Triller’s
past results as an indicator of our future performance. The variability and unpredictability of Triller’s quarterly results of operations
or other operating metrics could result in its failure to meet its expectations or those of analysts that cover it or investors with respect
to revenue or other key metrics for a particular period. If Triller fails to meet or exceed such expectations for these or any other reasons,
Triller could face costly lawsuits, including securities class action suits.
In addition, there has
been historically a high failure rate among early-stage companies. Early-stage companies face a number of risks, including, among others,
the ability to effectively implement a growth strategy, counter and respond to actions by competitors, maintain adequate control of expenses
and achieve market acceptance. Triller’s future performance will depend upon a number of factors, including its ability to successfully
implement, launch, and achieve market acceptance of its Technology Platform and offerings to anticipate and manage the risks associated
therewith. Triller has encountered and expects to continue to encounter risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies
in rapidly evolving industries, such as the risks and uncertainties described herein. We cannot assure you that we will successfully address
any of these factors, and our failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations
and future prospects.
36
Triller has an
unproven and evolving business model and the Company cannot provide any assurance that Triller will generate significant revenues or operating
profit.
Triller’s current business model is unproven
and evolving and the scale and profit potential, if any, is unknown at this time. Management has spent significant time developing and
refining its business model in an effort to increase revenue and gain market share. To date Triller’s efforts to create a profitable
business model have not succeeded and there is no guarantee that it will achieve scale or profitability. Triller is subject to all of
the risks inherent in the creation of a new business. Its ability to achieve scale and profitability is dependent, among other things,
its ability to retain or add new users, Creators and Brands to our Technology Platform, its ability to gain acceptance of our Technology
Platform and on Triller’s ability to successfully integrate companies it has acquired and in the future may acquire into its business.
Triller has various
financial obligations which have come due in the past six months and are coming due over the next twelve months and it may not be able
to meet its cash obligations as those amounts come due.
Triller has various financial obligations which
have come due in the past six months and are coming due over the next twelve months. Triller may not have sufficient cash on hand to satisfy
these obligations or may be unable to meet its cash obligations as they become due, which would materially harm Triller’s financial
condition and liquidity as well as its reputation.
Triller has material weakness in internal
control over financial reporting
We have identified a material weakness in our
internal control over financial reporting relating to the accounting treatment for our investment in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships,
Inc. (“BKFC”). Specifically, we lacked accounting personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge and experience to assess
whether the Company continued to exercise significant influence over BKFC following certain changes in our ownership interest, resulting
in the incorrect consolidation of BKFC’s results in our financial statements rather than accounting for the investment at cost less
impairment under ASC 321.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination
of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement
of our annual or quarterly financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. While management has initiated remediation
efforts, including engaging external subject matter experts and implementing additional training and review procedures, there can be no
assurance that these measures will be sufficient to remediate the material weakness or prevent future material weaknesses from being identified.
If we are unable to remediate the material weakness,
or if additional material weaknesses are identified in the future, it could adversely affect our ability to comply with our reporting
obligations under the Exchange Act, result in restatements of previously issued financial statements, impair investor confidence, and
limit our ability to access the capital markets.
Auditor Transition Risk
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025,
we transitioned our independent registered public accounting firm from WWC, P.C. (PCAOB ID 1171) to Enrome LLP (PCAOB ID 6907). Transitions
between audit firms require the new auditor to perform onboarding procedures, develop an understanding of the company’s accounting
policies, internal controls and business operations, and perform its own independent audit procedures. These requirements may result in
compressed audit timelines, increased audit fees, and potential delays in the filing of periodic reports with the SEC.
The Company has previously experienced significant
delays in its periodic filings, and the auditor transition has contributed to compressed timelines for the completion of the FY2025 audit.
There can be no assurance that the transition will not result in further filing delays or that issues may not be identified during the
new auditor’s review that were not previously flagged by the predecessor auditor.
Inability to Adequately Fund Legal Defence
We are party to multiple significant litigation matters, as described
in Item 3 and Note 21 to the consolidated financial statements, involving aggregate claimed damages substantially in excess of our current
liquid resources. These matters include, among others, claims by Yorkville (approximately $38.1 million), outstanding music licensing
obligations ($30.0 million), and numerous other claims from former officers, vendors and counterparties.
Our current liquidity
position may limit our ability to adequately fund the defence of these matters. If we are unable to retain or compensate legal counsel,
we face an increased risk of default judgments, adverse rulings on procedural motions, and unfavourable settlements. Any such outcomes
could materially increase our liabilities and further impair our financial condition.
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Non-compliance
with the objective and subjective criteria for the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan could have a material adverse
effect on Triller’s business.
On April 10, 2020,
Triller Inc. received a PPP Loan from First Choice Bank, in the aggregate amount of $1,556,000, pursuant to the PPP under Division A,
Title I of the CARES Act, which was enacted March 27, 2020. The PPP Loan, which was in the form of a note dated April 10, 2020
issued by First Choice Bank, which matured on April 13, 2022, and bore interest at a rate of 1% per annum, payable monthly commencing
on the fifth calendar day of the seventh month following the date of first disbursement. The PPP Loan permitted prepayment by Triller
at any time prior to maturity with no prepayment penalties. Funds from the PPP Loan could only be used for payroll costs, any payment
of interest on a covered mortgage obligation, any payment on a covered rent obligation, or any covered utility incurred during the 8-week
period beginning on the date of first disbursement of this loan. Triller used the entire PPP Loan amount for what it considered to be
qualifying expenses, under the current guidance as promulgated by the U.S. Small Business Administration (the “ SBA ”).
Under the terms of the PPP, certain amounts of the PPP Loan may be forgiven if they are used for qualifying expenses as described in the
CARES Act. The PPP Loan was forgiven by the First Choice Bank on July 28, 2021. In January 2025, the SBA made a final loan review
decision. After review of the documentation provided, the SBA has recalculated Triller Inc.’s maximum eligible PPP loan amount and
limited forgiveness to the eligible amount to $407,251.77.
In order to apply for
the PPP Loan, Triller were required to certify, among other things, that the current economic uncertainty made the PPP Loan request necessary
to support Triller’s ongoing operations. If the SBA determines that Triller were ineligible to receive the PPP Loan or determines
that Triller did not comply with requirements after receiving the PPP Loan, Triller may be required to repay the PPP Loan in its entirety
and/or be subject to additional penalties and adverse publicity, which could have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business,
results of operations, and financial condition.
If the Company’s
goodwill or intangible assets become impaired, the Company may be required to record an additional significant charge to earnings.
A significant decline
in the Company’s expected future cash flows, a significant adverse change in the business climate, slower economic growth or a significant
and sustained decline in the value of Triller’s common stock, any or all of which could be materially impacted by many of the risk
factors discussed herein, may necessitate Triller’s taking charges in the future related to the impairment of its goodwill. Future
regulatory actions could also have a material impact on assessments of goodwill for impairment. If Triller were to conclude that
a future write-down of its goodwill is necessary, Triller would record the appropriate charge, which could have a material adverse
effect on its results of operations. Triller reviews its goodwill for impairment annually and at any time upon the occurrence of certain
events or substantive changes in circumstances that indicate the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. If such goodwill
or intangible assets are deemed to be impaired, an impairment loss equal to the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value
of the assets would be recognized. Any impacts to Triller’s business, including macroeconomic conditions such as rising interest
rates and fluctuations in markets, could result in impairments and significant charges to earnings.
Triller is not
in compliance with the payment obligations of a significant number of its significant music licensing agreements and agreements with other
vendors and counterparties.
Triller is not in compliance
with the payment obligations of a significant number of its contracts with certain of its counterparties, including with respect to its
music licenses, as a result of its inability to make certain fee payments required pursuant to such agreements or its failure to make
such payments on time. In addition to being behind on payments to music licensing counterparties, Triller is overdue on payments to other
parties and vendors, including but not limited to those providing Triller with engineering, marketing and legal services. These amounts
currently exceed Triller’s cash balance and Triller currently has obligations, that could impact its ability to obtain financing
in the future. If Triller is not able to obtain sufficient financing to satisfy these obligations it may be unable to pay its obligations
when they come due. Triller also has payments due to certain of its landlords at its rented facilities. This may further affect Triller’s
ability to remain solvent and pay its obligations when they come due, including under existing litigation settlement obligations and new
adverse judgments.
While Triller is currently
working with its partners and counterparties and/or negotiating the terms of these various agreements, if Triller is unsuccessful in renegotiating
these agreements or receiving waivers of the due date of payments required thereunder, its partners and vendors could terminate these
agreements and require Triller to make these fee payments in their entirety. Further, if Triller’s music licensing partners terminate
Triller’s agreements, it will also lose the right to include their content on Triller’s platform. Such counterparties have
in the past and may in the future look to file litigation against Triller seeking such overdue payment, which could have an adverse effect
on Triller’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
38
We may in the future
be adversely affected by natural disasters, the physical effects of climate change, and other catastrophic events, and by man-made problems such
as geo-political conflicts and events, including acts of war and terrorism, that could disrupt Triller’s business operations
and adversely affect Triller’s financial condition and results of operations.
We have been, and may
in the future be, adversely affected by significant natural disasters, the physical effects of climate change, or other catastrophic events,
such as the COVID-19 pandemic, earthquakes, blizzards, tsunamis, hurricanes, droughts, fires, or floods, or other catastrophic
events, such as terrorism, the military conflict involving Russia and Ukraine and economic sanctions imposed on Russia, extended outages
of critical utilities, power loss, telecommunications failure, or any critical resource shortages affecting us, Triller’s users
or partners. In the event of a natural disaster or other catastrophic event, Triller and its third-party providers may be unable to continue
operations, may endure system interruptions, any of which could result in reputational harm, delays in development or interruptions of
Triller’s Technology Platform, breaches of data security, and loss of critical data, all of which could have an adverse effect on
Triller’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
In addition, although
Triller is not directly impacted by the war between Russia and Ukraine, conflict in Ukraine has further disrupted trade, intensified problems
in the global supply chain, and contributed to inflationary pressures. Financial markets around the world experienced volatility following
the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In response to the invasion, the United States, United Kingdom and EU, along with others, imposed
significant new sanctions and export controls against Russia, Russian banks and certain Russian individuals and may implement additional
sanctions or take further punitive actions in the future. The full economic and social impact of the sanctions imposed on Russia (as well
as possible future punitive measures that may be implemented), as well as the counter measures imposed by Russia, in addition to the ongoing
military conflict between Ukraine and Russia and related sanctions, which could conceivably expand into the surrounding region, remains
uncertain; however, both the conflict and related sanctions have resulted and could continue to result in disruptions to trade, commerce,
pricing stability, credit availability, supply chain continuity and reduced access to liquidity in both Europe and globally, and has introduced
significant uncertainty into global markets. In particular, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and related sanctions has contributed
to rapidly rising costs of living (driven largely by higher energy prices) in Europe and other advanced economies. Further, a weak or
declining economy could strain Triller’s suppliers and manufacturers. As a result, Triller’s business and results of operations
may be adversely affected by the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia and related sanctions, particularly to the extent it escalates
to involve additional countries, further economic sanctions or wider military conflict.
Generally, during times
of war and other major conflicts, Triller, the third parties on which Triller relies, and Triller’s partners may be vulnerable to
a heightened risk of cyberattacks, including retaliatory cyberattacks, that could seriously disrupt Triller’s business. Triller
has experienced an increase in attempted cyberattacks on its products, systems, and networks, which Triller believes are related to the
conflict. Triller may also face retaliatory attacks by governments, entities, or individuals who do not agree with its public expressions
of support for Ukraine and its Ukrainian team members. Any such attack could cause disruption to Triller’s platform, systems, and
networks, result in security breaches or data loss, damage Triller’s brand, or reduce demand for Triller’s services or advertising
products. In addition, Triller may face significant costs (including legal and litigation costs) to prevent, correct, or remediate any
such breaches. Triller may also be forced to expend additional resources monitoring its platform for evidence of disinformation or misuse
in connection with the ongoing conflict.
Unfavorable macroeconomic conditions,
including those caused by inflation or reductions in customers’ spending, could limit Triller’s ability to grow its business
and negatively affect its results of operations.
Triller’s business
is also impacted by macroeconomic factors. General business and economic conditions that could affect Triller’s business, financial
condition or results of operations include fluctuations in economic growth, debt and equity capital markets, liquidity of the global financial
markets, access to Triller’s liquidity within the U.S. banking system, the availability and cost of credit, investor and consumer
confidence, and the strength of the economies in which Triller, its manufacturers and its suppliers operate. Triller’s products
and services may be considered discretionary items for consumers. Factors affecting the level of consumer spending for such discretionary
items include general economic conditions and other factors, such as consumer confidence in future economic conditions, recessionary forces,
rising and fluctuating interest rates, the availability and cost of consumer credit, levels of unemployment and tax rates. In recent years,
the United States and other significant economic markets have experienced cyclical downturns and worldwide economic conditions remain
uncertain. As global economic conditions continue to be volatile or economic uncertainty remains, trends in consumer discretionary spending
also remain unpredictable and subject to reductions and, therefore, Triller cannot be sure the extent to which Triller may be affected
by recessionary conditions. Unfavorable economic conditions may lead consumers to delay or reduce purchases of Triller’s products
and consumer demand for its products may not grow as Triller expects. Triller’s sensitivity to economic cycles and any related fluctuation
in consumer demand for its products and services could materially adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition, and
results of operations. In addition, political instability or adverse political developments could harm Triller’s business, financial
condition and results of operations.
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In addition, market volatility,
the high inflationary environment and economic uncertainty make it potentially very difficult for Triller’s customers, its Brands,
Creators and Triller to accurately forecast and plan future business activities. During challenging economic times, Creators, Brands and
users may have difficulty gaining timely access to sufficient credit or obtaining credit on reasonable terms and may face increased costs
or other negative financial impacts, each of which could impair their ability to make timely payments to Triller and adversely affect
Triller’s revenue. If that were to occur, Triller’s financial results could be harmed. Further, challenging economic conditions
may impair the ability of Triller’s Creators, Brands and users partners to pay for the applications and services Triller offers,
which may impact demand for its products. In addition, a weak or declining economy could also strain Triller’s suppliers and manufacturers,
possibly resulting in supply disruption. Any of the foregoing could harm Triller’s business and Triller cannot anticipate all of
the ways in which the current economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact Triller’s business.
Triller’s
financial performance in certain quarters and years may fluctuate and may not be indicative of, or comparable to, its financial performance
in subsequent financial quarters or years due to economic conditions and operational factors.
Triller’s business
is impacted geopolitical events, the overall macro-economy, Brands’ marketing budgets and expenditures and other factors such as
interest rates. For example, when Brands have higher marketing expenditures or budgets, which often correspond to broader economic factors,
Triller benefits from these trends. In addition, Triller may generate less revenue during reporting periods that have fewer major public
or civic engagement on social media, which would have otherwise generated marketing dollars, resulting in lower marketing spend by Brands.
Triller’s intention is to continue to diversify its client base such that any one of these factors or events would have a less significant
impact on its overall revenue and operating results. If Triller is unsuccessful in diversifying its client base, Triller would continue
to be subject to significant fluctuation in its annual and quarterly results, and this may materially adversely affect Triller’s
business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Triller’s
recent acquisitions have caused Triller to grow rapidly, and Triller will need to continue to make changes to operate at its current size
and scale. Triller has in the past faced and may in the future face, difficulty in integrating the operations of the businesses acquired
in its recent transactions, and Triller may never realize the anticipated benefits and cost synergies from all of these transactions.
If Triller is unable to manage its current operations or any future growth effectively, its business could be adversely affected.
Triller’s recent
acquisitions have caused Triller to grow rapidly, and Triller may need to continue to make changes to operate at its current size and
scale. If Triller fails to realize the anticipated benefits and cost synergies from its recent acquisitions, or if it experiences any
unanticipated or unidentified effects in connection with these transactions, including write-offs of goodwill, accelerated amortization
expenses of other intangible assets or any unanticipated disruptions with important third-party relationships, Triller’s business,
financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Moreover, Triller’s recent acquisitions involve risks
and uncertainties including those associated with the integration of operations, financial reporting, technologies and personnel and the
potential loss of key employees, customers or strategic partners. The integration of Triller’s acquired businesses has and will
require significant time and resources. For example, Triller currently manually closes the books across its various subsidiaries and business
units, and manually consolidate and roll up such subsidiary financials into Triller’s consolidated financial statements. Triller
does not currently utilize a consolidated ERP system to manage the closing of Triller’s books or the roll up of financials into
Triller’s consolidated financials. This process creates a risk of errors, is time intensive and costly. Triller may not be able
to manage the integration of acquired businesses successfully or achieve the strategic, financial or operating objectives of the acquisition
or integration, any of which could adversely affect Triller’s business, results of operations or the value of Triller’s acquisitions,
and these acquisitions may not be accretive to its earnings and may negatively impact its results of operations. If Triller’s operations
continue to grow, Triller will be required, among other things, to upgrade its information systems and other processes and to obtain more
space for its expanding administrative support and other personnel. Triller’s continued growth could strain its resources, and Triller
could experience operating difficulties, including difficulties in hiring, training and managing an increasing number of employees. These
difficulties could result in the erosion of Triller’s brand image and reputation and could have an adverse effect on its business,
financial condition, and operating results.
40
If the Company
acquires, combines with or invests in other businesses, it will face risks inherent in such transactions.
The Company has in the
past considered and will continue, from time to time, to consider, opportunistic strategic or transformative transactions, which could
involve acquisitions, combinations or dispositions of businesses or assets, or strategic alliances or joint ventures with companies engaged
in music entertainment, entertainment or other businesses. Any such combination could be material, be difficult to implement, disrupt
the Company’s business or change its business profile, focus or strategy significantly.
The Company entered into
multiple strategic alliances in the past and later recognized related impairment losses on investments and goodwill. The Company may incur
debts in the future upon an acquisition or suffer losses related to impairment of these investments. The Company will continue to examine
the merits, risks and feasibility of potential transactions, and expect to explore additional acquisition opportunities in the future.
Such examination and exploration efforts, and any related discussions with third parties, may or may not lead to future acquisitions and
investments. The Company may not be able to complete acquiring or investing transactions that the Company initiates. The Company’s
ability to grow through such acquisitions and investments will depend on many factors, including the availability of suitable acquisition
candidates at an acceptable cost, the Company’s ability to reach agreement with acquisition candidates or investee companies on
commercially reasonable terms, the availability of financing to complete transactions and the Company’s ability to obtain any required
governmental approvals.
Any future transaction
could involve numerous risks, including:
●
potential disruption of the Company’s ongoing business and distraction of management;
●
potential loss of Creators and Brands (e.g. musicians, athletes, and influencers);
●
difficulty integrating the acquired businesses or segregating assets to be disposed of;
●
exposure to unknown and/or contingent or other liabilities, including litigation arising in connection with the acquisition, disposition and/or against any businesses the Company may acquire;
●
reputational or other damages to the Company’s business as a result of a failure to consummate such a transaction for, among other reasons, failure to gain antitrust approval;
●
difficulty in realizing synergies between acquired businesses and the Company’s current businesses, including the Company’s ability to achieve the customer synergies that motivated the acquisition;
●
acquired businesses having different users or customers than the Company’s current businesses, including resulting increased administrative burdens and need for additional personnel; and
●
changing the Company’s business profile in ways that could have unintended consequences.
If the Company enters
into significant transactions in the future, related accounting charges may affect its business, results of operations and financial condition,
particularly in the case of any acquisitions. In addition, the financing of any significant acquisition may result in changes in the Company’s
capital structure, including the incurrence of additional indebtedness, which may be substantial. Conversely, any material disposition
could reduce the Company’s indebtedness or require the amendment or refinancing of the Company’s outstanding indebtedness
or a portion thereof. the Company may not be successful in addressing these risks or any other problems encountered in connection with
any strategic or transformative transactions. The Company cannot assure you that if it makes any future acquisitions, investments, strategic
alliances or joint ventures or enter into any business combination that they will be completed in a timely manner, or at all, that they
will be structured or financed in a way that will enhance the Company’s creditworthiness or that they will meet the Company’s
strategic objectives or otherwise be successful. The Company also may not be successful in implementing appropriate operational, financial
and management systems and controls to achieve the benefits expected to result from these transactions. Failure to effectively manage
any of these transactions could result in material increases in costs or reductions in expected revenues, or both. In addition, if any
new business in which the Company invests or which it attempts to develop does not progress as planned, it may not recover the funds and
resources the Company has expended and this could have a negative impact on the Company’s businesses or the Company’s company
as a whole.
41
Triller is involved
in lawsuits and other litigation matters that are expensive and time consuming, and, if resolved adversely, could harm Triller’s
business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Triller is involved in
numerous lawsuits, many of which claim statutory damages and/or seek significant changes to Triller’s business operations, and Triller
anticipates that it will continue to be involved in numerous lawsuits in the future. Triller has faced, currently face, and will continue
to face additional lawsuits based on claims related to, among other things, advertising, privacy, security, content intellectual property
infringement, employment or performance of services, activities on Triller’s Technology Platform, consumer protection, or product
performance or other claims related to the use of consumer hardware and software, music used on Triller’s platform or related to
Triller’s acquisitions. For example, Triller is currently the subject of various litigation proceedings, including a class action
lawsuit alleging unpaid wages for production workers, a lawsuit to collect all fees due by Universal Music Publishing Group amongst other
claims, a class action against one of Triller’s subsidiaries over the use of consumer personal identifying information and a lawsuit
by two social media influencers claiming they are entitled to equity based on services, some of which are entering mediation and/or settlement
discussions.
There can be no assurances
that a favorable final outcome will be obtained in all Triller’s cases, and defending any lawsuit is costly and can impose a significant
burden on management and employees. Any litigation to which Triller is a party may result in an onerous or unfavorable judgment that may
not be reversed upon appeal or in payments of substantial monetary damages or fines, or Triller may decide to settle lawsuits on similarly
unfavorable terms, which has occurred in the past and which could adversely affect Triller’s business, financial conditions, or
results of operations.
If these lawsuits are
not resolved in its favor, Triller would not have enough cash on hand to meet these obligations unless it is able to raise additional
capital in an amount sufficient to satisfy them. This may affect Triller’s ability to remain solvent and pay its obligations when
they come due, including under existing litigation settlement obligations and new litigation adverse judgments.
In the past, securities
class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk
is especially relevant for Triller because technology companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If
Triller faces such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which
could harm Triller’s business.
42
Improper or illegal use of Triller’s
Technology Platform could seriously harm Triller’s business and reputation.
Triller cannot be certain
that the technologies that Triller has developed to repel spamming attacks will be able to eliminate all spam messages from its products.
Spammers attempt to use Triller’s products to send targeted and untargeted spam messages to users, which may embarrass or annoy
users and make Triller’s products less user friendly. Triller does not currently have procedures or processes in place to accurately
estimate the number of bots or spammers on Triller’s Technology Platform, but are actively working to prevent bots and spammers
from engaging on Triller’s platform. Triller’s actions to combat spam may also divert significant time and focus from improving
its products. As a result of spamming activities, Triller’s users may use its products less or stop using them altogether, and result
in continuing operational costs to Triller. Triller may also be subject to liability or claims related to such spamming activity.
Similarly, terrorists,
criminals, and other bad actors may use Triller’s Technology Platform to promote their goals and encourage users to engage in terror
and other illegal activities. Triller expects that as more people use its Technology Platform, these bad actors will increasingly seek
to misuse Triller’s products. Although Triller invests resources to combat these activities, including by suspending or terminating
accounts Triller believes are violating its Terms of Service, it expects these bad actors will continue to seek ways to act inappropriately
and illegally on its Technology Platform. Combating these bad actors requires Triller’s teams to divert significant time and focus
from improving its products. In addition, Triller may not be able to control or stop its Technology Platform from becoming the preferred
application of use by these bad actors, which may become public knowledge and seriously harm Triller’s reputation or lead to lawsuits
or attention from regulators. If these activities increase on Triller’s Technology Platform, Triller’s reputation, user growth
and user engagement, and operational cost structure could be seriously harmed.
Triller tracks
certain performance metrics with internal tools and do not independently verify such metrics. Certain of Triller’s performance metrics
are subject to inherent challenges in measurement, and real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm Triller’s reputation
and negatively affect its business.
Triller calculates Consumer
Accounts using internal company data that has not been independently verified. These numbers are based on what Triller believes to be
reasonable calculations for the applicable period of measurement, but there are inherent challenges in measuring Consumer Accounts. For
example, while Triller endeavors to accurately capture its Consumer Accounts, from time to time certain bot and/or duplicate accounts
are created and appear on its Technology Platform which may impact the number of Consumer Accounts. As a result, Triller’s reported
Consumer Accounts may include bot and duplicative accounts, thereby overstating Triller’s actual Consumer Accounts. While Triller
has recently undergone a robust process to purge as many of the duplicate and bot accounts as practical given Triller’s resources
and Triller regularly monitors and reviews these figures and have put in place controls designed to prevent bot users and or duplicates,
there can be no assurance that these controls will be effective in eliminating all bot or duplicate accounts. The inclusion of duplicate
and/or bot accounts in the Consumer Accounts reported at any given time may lead to an inaccurate assessment of the total number of Consumer
Accounts on Triller’s Technology Platform. If Creators, Brands and users do not perceive Triller’s metrics to be accurate
representations, or if Triller discovers material inaccuracies in its metrics, Triller’s reputation may be harmed and Creators,
Brands and users may be less willing to utilize Triller’s Technology Platform or to allocate their budgets or resources to Triller’s
products and services, which could negatively affect Triller’s business and operating results. In addition, if investors, analysts
or customers do not believe Triller’s reported measures, such as Consumer Accounts, are sufficient or accurately reflect Triller’s
business, Triller may receive negative publicity and its operating results may be adversely impacted.
If Triller’s efforts to attract
Creators, users, consumers and Brands are not successful, Triller’s revenues will be adversely affected.
Triller generates revenue
through Brands and consumers, with the majority of its revenue coming from Brands. To succeed, Triller must continue to attract and retain
Creators, users and consumers who have traditionally engaged with internet and social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and
TikTok, as well as well as with video games, cable television, pay-per-view and video-on-demand services for entertainment.
With additional Creators and consumers, Triller will attract more Brands which will improve its revenue. Triller’s ability to attract
and retain Creators and users and consumers and have them regularly engage with Triller’s Technology Platform depends in part on
Triller’s ability to consistently provide its Creators, users and consumers a high-quality experience. Triller must also continue
to attract and retain influential Creators such as celebrities, athletes, journalists, sports leagues and teams, media outlets and Brands
to leverage its Technology Platform to disseminate content and interact and transact with their followers, and users and consumers. Typically,
Triller’s agreements with Creators may be terminated by Creators at any time. If Creators and consumers in either category do not
perceive Triller’s products to be of high quality, if Triller introduces new products or features that are not favorably received
by them or if Triller fails to introduce products and features that they desire, it may not be able to attract or retain Creators and
users and consumers. Triller also cannot guarantee that it will be able to continue to identify these Creators in the future. Additionally,
throughout Triller’s history, Creators from time to time have stopped participating on Triller’s Technology Platform and in
Triller’s Events for any number of reasons, and Triller cannot guarantee that it will be able to retain current Creators. Additionally,
many of Triller’s Creators users and consumers originate from word-of-mouth and referrals from existing Creators users
and consumers. If Triller’s efforts to satisfy its existing Creators, users and consumers are not successful, Triller may not be
able to attract new Creators, users and consumers, and as a result, it may fail to attract or retain Brands and its revenue may be affected
adversely.
43
Triller’s success
depends on its ability to attract Brands to its Technology Platform and provide users and consumers with engaging content, which in part
depends on Creator contributed content. If Triller or Creators, including influential Creators, such as celebrities, athletes, journalists,
sports leagues and teams, media outlets and Brands, do not continue to contribute engaging content to Triller’s Technology Platform,
Triller’s consumer growth, retention and engagement may decline. That, in turn, may impair Triller’s ability to maintain good
relationships with Brands that utilize Triller’s Technology Platform or attract new Brands, which may seriously harm Triller’s
business and financial performance.
Use of social media
by Triller’s Creators, Brands and users may materially and adversely affect Triller’s reputation or subject Triller to fines
or other penalties.
Triller integrates third-party
social media platforms into its Technology Platform. For example, in addition to Triller’s own content on its website and Triller
app, Triller’s Creators can share content on social-media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. As laws and
regulations rapidly evolve to govern the use of these platforms and devices, the failure by us, Triller’s employees, Triller’s
network of Creators, Triller’s Brands, Triller’s users or third parties acting at Triller’s direction to abide by applicable
laws and regulations in the use of these platforms and devices or otherwise could subject Triller to regulatory investigations, class
action lawsuits, liability, fines or other penalties and have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business, financial condition
and results of operations.
In addition, any use
of social media for marketing may increase the burden on Triller to monitor compliance of such materials, and increase the risk that such
materials could contain problematic product or marketing claims in violation of applicable regulations. For example, in some cases, the
Federal Trade Commission (“ FTC ”) has sought enforcement action where an endorsement has failed to clearly and conspicuously
disclose a material relationship between an influencer and an advertiser. While Triller asks Creators to comply with FTC regulations and
Triller’s guidelines, Triller does not regularly monitor what its Creators post, and if Triller were held responsible for the content
of their posts, it could be forced to alter its practices, which could have material adverse effect on Triller’s business, financial
condition, and results of operations.
Negative commentary regarding
us, Triller’s products or Creators or Brands, Triller’s users and other third parties who are affiliated with Triller may
also be posted on social media platforms and may be adverse to Triller’s reputation or business. Creators with whom Triller maintains
relationships could engage in behavior or use their platform to communicate directly with Triller’s users and consumers in a manner
that reflects poorly on Triller’s brand and may be attributed to Triller or otherwise adversely affect Triller. It is not possible
to prevent such behavior, and the precautions Triller takes to detect this activity may not be effective in all cases. The harm may be
immediate, without affording Triller an opportunity for redress or correction.
Triller may not
be successful in its efforts to further monetize its Technology Platform, which may harm Triller’s business.
Triller’s Technology
Platform generates revenue through Brands and consumers, with most of Triller’s revenue generated from Brands through revenue sharing
and service fee arrangements. When Triller enables the consumption of content by individuals in the form of Triller branded live Events,
Triller creates an ecosphere of content across its Technology Platform offerings and it also generates revenue in the form of live-event
ticket sales, pay-per-view fees, subscriptions and merchandise sales. Triller’s partnerships with high-profile Creators and Brands
enable Triller to host live Events that receive massive viewership. As such, Triller is seeking to expand its relationships with Brands,
its Creator and consumer base and increase the number of hours that consumers spend on Triller’s Technology Platform and the volume
of content that is published across and from Triller’s Technology Platform in an effort to create additional revenue opportunities.
Triller has made, and are continuing to make, significant investments to enable users, Brands, Creators, and advertisers to create compelling
content and deliver advertising to Triller’s users.
44
Triller’s ability
to deliver more relevant content to its users and consumers and to increase its Technology Platform’s value to Brands and Creators
depends on the collection of engagement data, which may be restricted or prevented by a number of factors. Consumers may decide to opt
out or restrict some of Triller’s ability to collect personal data or to provide them with more relevant and sponsored content.
Creators could refuse to allow Triller to collect data regarding engagement or refuse to implement mechanisms Triller requests to ensure
compliance with Triller’s legal obligations or technical requirements in some instances. If these possible scenarios occur to a
large enough extent, Triller may not be able to achieve its expected growth in revenue or gross profit. Triller may not be able to compete
effectively or adapt to any such changes or trends, which would harm Triller’s ability to grow its advertising revenue and harm
its business.
Further, Triller may
not be successful in further monetizing its Technology Platform. Most of the revenue from Triller’s Technology Platform is generated
from Brands through revenue sharing and service fee arrangements. Revenue share comes from advertising, premium content, Events, pay-per-view fees,
subscription fees or merchandise sales that are transacted via Triller’s Technology Platform. As a result, Triller’s financial
performance and ability to grow revenue could be seriously harmed if:
●
Triller does not expand or retain its relationships with Brands and Creators;
●
Triller’s reputation is harmed;
●
there is a decline in Triller’s available content or a decrease in the perceived quantity, quality, usefulness or relevance of the content provided by Triller and Triller’s Creators;
●
competitive developments result in Triller’s competitors possessing various competitive advantages, whether technological or otherwise;
●
Triller does not adjust to changes to the industry landscape;
●
Triller does not continue to invest in and strengthen Triller’s Technology Platform, including Triller’s suite of Creator offerings and Triller’s Events and Events-related services;
●
Triller fails to identify attractive opportunities to enhance existing businesses or grow its portfolio of assets;
●
Triller fails to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and Events;
●
macroeconomic conditions, including changes in corporate spending and discretionary consumer spending, divert Brand and consumer expenditures away from the markets Triller serves; and
●
Triller fails to produce and/or distribute premier Events throughout the year, including BKFC and TrillerTV programming.
If Triller is unable to maintain adequate
content on its Technology Platform, its business may be harmed.
Triller may fail to attract
Creators that generate sufficient content hours on its Technology Platform and for its Brands. Triller’s business model depends
on its ability to connect its Brands with content Creators. If Triller is unable to grow and maintain spend from its Brands, either through
revenue sharing relationships or fee sharing arrangements, its results of operations may be harmed.
Triller operates in a
highly competitive industry, and Triller competes for Brands with other social media outlets and streaming services, as well as traditional
media, such as radio, broadcast, cable and satellite TV and satellite and internet radio. Triller may not be successful in maintaining
or improving the number of its Brand partners who utilize Triller’s Technology Platform for advertising, premium content, Events, pay-per-view fees,
subscription fees or merchandise sales that are transacted via Triller’s Technology Platform.
45
Triller’s competitors
offer content and other platforms that may be more attractive to advertisers than Triller’s Technology Platform. If Triller is unable
to increase its revenue by, among other things, continuing to improve its Technology Platform’s data to further optimize and measure
its Brand partners’ campaigns, increase revenue from fee sharing arrangements or the completion of successful campaigns for its
Brands, Triller’s business and its growth prospects may be harmed. Triller may not be able to compete effectively or adapt to any
such changes or trends, which would harm its ability to grow its advertising revenue and harm its business.
Triller’s
success and revenue growth are dependent on adding new Creators, users, consumers and Brands, effectively educating and training Triller’s
existing Creators and Brands on how to make full use of Triller’s Technology Platform and increasing usage of Triller’s Technology
Platform by Triller’s consumers.
Triller’s success
is dependent on regularly adding new Creators and Brands and increasing Triller’s consumers’ usage of Triller’s platform
and Triller faces competition from a variety of other domestic and foreign companies. Triller faces competition from alternative providers
of the entertainment, content, live Events and sports industries. Triller’s contracts and relationships with Creators and Brands
generally do not include long-term or exclusive obligations requiring them to use Triller’s platform or maintain or increase their
use of Triller’s platform. Creators can also terminate their agreements with Triller for convenience.
Triller’s Creators
and Brands typically have relationships with numerous providers and can use both Triller’s platform and those of Triller’s
competitors without incurring significant costs or disruption. Triller’s Brands may also choose to decrease their use of revenue
sharing and service fee arrangements. Accordingly, Triller must continually work to win new Brands and Creators and retain existing Brands
and Creators, increase their usage of Triller’s platform and increase Triller’s users. Given the number of products on Triller’s
Technology Platform, Triller may not be successful at educating and training Creators and Brands on how to use Triller’s platform
and products in order for Triller’s Creators and Brands to get the most benefit from Triller’s Technology Platform and increase
their usage. If these efforts are unsuccessful or Creators or Brands decide not to continue to maintain or increase their usage of Triller’s
Technology Platform for any other reason, or if Triller fails to attract new Creators or Brands, Triller’s revenue could fail to
grow or decline, which would materially and adversely harm Triller’s business, operating results and financial condition. Any increased
competition, which may not be foreseeable, or Triller’s failure to adequately address any competitive factors, could result in reduced
demand for its content, live Events, or brands, which could have an adverse effect on Triller’s business, financial condition, and
results of operations. Triller cannot assure you that its Creators, Brands and consumers will continue to use and increase their spend
on Triller’s platform or that it will be able to attract a sufficient number of new Creators, Brands, users and consumers to continue
to grow Triller’s business and revenue. If Brands representing a significant portion of Triller’s business decide to materially
reduce their use of Triller’s Technology Platform or cease using Triller’s Technology Platform altogether, Triller’s
revenue could be significantly reduced, which could have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business, operating results and
financial condition.
Triller generates
substantially all of its revenue from Brands. If the content and services provided on Triller’s Technology Platform are not relevant
to Brands, fail to attract new Brands or result in a loss of Brands using Triller’s Technology Platform, Triller’s growth
may be adversely impacted.
Triller generates substantially
all of its revenue from Brands through revenue sharing and service fee (including SaaS) arrangements. Revenue share comes from advertising,
premium content, Events, pay-per-view fees, subscription fees or merchandise sales that are transacted via Triller’s Technology
Platform. Service fees come from Brands that utilize Triller’s platform to reach consumers via a combination of campaign fees, sponsorship
fees and transaction fees or SaaS fees, including monthly subscription fees. Even though Triller also generates revenue from consumers
in the form of Creator-driven live-event ticket sales, pay-per-view fees, subscriptions and merchandise sales, Triller still
expects to continue to generate substantially all its revenue from Brands for the foreseeable future.
Most Brands do not have
long-term commitments with us, and Triller’s efforts to establish long-term commitments may not succeed. Because most Brands do
not have long-term commitments with us, they may terminate their contracts and relationships with Triller and may instead pursue relationships
with competitors. Since Triller does not have long-term contractual commitments with its Brand partners, maintaining and enhancing relationships
with its Brand partners will require Triller to make substantial investments and these investments may not be successful.
46
The Brands with whom
Triller partners vary from small businesses to well-known Fortune 500 companies. Due to Triller’s limited operating history, many
Brands only recently started working with Triller’s Technology Platform solutions and spend a relatively small portion of their
overall advertising budget with Triller In addition, some Brands may view some of Triller’s Technology Platform offerings as experimental
and unproven or prefer certain of Triller’s products over others.
Triller has made, and
are continuing to make, investments to enable Creators and Brands to deliver relevant content to consumers on Triller’s Technology
Platform. If Triller fails to continue to innovate and improve on its Technology Platform, its business may be harmed. New technologies,
products and services are driving rapid changes in consumer behavior as consumers seek more control over when, where and how they consume
content and access communications services. These technological advancements and changes in consumer behavior and/or Triller’s failure
to effectively anticipate or adapt to such changes, could reduce Triller’s subscriber activations and increase Triller’s user
churn rate, and could have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business, results of operations, financial condition and cash
flow.
Moreover, Triller relies
heavily on its ability to collect and disclose data and metrics to its Brands so Triller can attract new Brands and retain existing Brands.
Any restriction or inability, whether by law, regulation, policy, or other reason, to collect and disclose data and metrics which Triller’s
Brands find useful would impede Triller’s ability to attract and retain Brands. Regulators around the world are increasingly scrutinizing
and regulating the collection, use, and sharing of personal data related to advertising, which could materially impact Triller’s
revenue and seriously harm Triller’s business. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“ EU
GDPR ”) and the United Kingdom’s GDPR (“ UK GDPR ”) expanded the rights of individuals to control how
their personal data is collected and processed, and placed restrictions on the use of personal data of younger minors. The processing
of personal data for personalized advertising under EU GDPR and UK GDPR continues to be under increased scrutiny from European regulators,
which includes ongoing regulatory action against large technology companies like Triller’s, the outcomes of which may be uncertain
and subject to appeal. The European Digital Services Act (“ DSA ”) prohibits targeted advertising to minors based on
the profiling of personal information in the European Union. Other European legislative proposals and present laws and regulations may
also apply to Triller’s or Triller’s advertisers’ activities and require significant operational changes to Triller’s
business. For example, it is anticipated that the ePrivacy Regulation and national implementing laws will replace the current national
laws implementing the ePrivacy Directive, which could have a material impact on the availability of data Triller relies on to improve
and personalize its products and features. Outside of Europe, other laws further regulate behavioral, interest-based, or targeted advertising,
making certain online advertising activities more difficult and subject to additional scrutiny. For example, in the United States, the
California Consumer Privacy Act (“ CCPA ”) and the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“ CPRA ”)
place additional requirements on the handling of personal data for us, Triller’s partners, and Triller’s advertisers, such
as granting California residents the right to opt-out of a company’s sharing of personal data for certain advertising
purposes in exchange for money or other valuable consideration. Other states are considering similar legislation. Moreover, individuals
are also becoming increasingly aware of and resistant to the collection, use, and sharing of personal data in connection with advertising.
Individuals are becoming more aware of options related to consent and other options to opt-out of such data processing, including
through media attention about privacy and data protection.
Further, Triller may
experience media, legislative, or regulatory scrutiny of its actions or decisions regarding user privacy, encryption, content, advertising
and other issues, which may materially adversely affect Triller’s reputation and Triller’s relationship with its Brands.
Triller believes that
a positive reputation concerning its Technology Platform is important in attracting and retaining Brands. In addition, Triller may fail
to respond expeditiously or appropriately to objectionable practices by Creators users, or consumers, or to otherwise address user concerns
or suffer reputational harm, which could erode confidence in Triller’s Brand partners. To the extent the content Triller produces,
distribute or otherwise make available is perceived as low quality, offensive, harmful or otherwise not compelling to consumers and Brands,
Triller’s ability to establish and maintain a positive reputation may be adversely impacted and Triller may lose Brand relationships
or fail to attract new Brands to its business. Similarly, other companies with similar technologies and platforms may fail to respond
expeditiously or appropriately to objectionable practices on their respective platforms and may not otherwise address concerns from users,
family members of those users, or the broader public audience. If such other companies suffer public ridicule or reputational harm, such
negative views could erode confidence in Triller’s Brand partners.
47
Triller’s
user growth, engagement, and monetization on mobile devices depend upon effective operation with mobile operating systems, networks, technologies,
products, and standards that Triller does not control.
There is no guarantee
that popular mobile devices will continue to feature Triller’s products, or that mobile device users will continue to use Triller’s
products rather than competing products. Triller is dependent on the interoperability of its products with popular mobile operating systems,
networks, technologies, products, and standards that Triller does not control, such as the Android and iOS operating systems and mobile
browsers. Changes, bugs, or technical issues in such systems, or changes in Triller’s relationships with mobile operating system
partners, handset manufacturers, browser developers, or mobile carriers, or in the content or application of their terms of service or
policies (which they have made in the past and continue to seek to implement) that degrade Triller’s products’ functionality,
reduce or eliminate Triller’s ability to update or distribute its products, give preferential treatment to competitive products,
limit its ability to deliver, target, or measure the effectiveness of advertisements, or charge fees related to the distribution of its
products or its delivery of advertisements have in the past adversely affected, and could in the future adversely affect, the usage of
its products and monetization on mobile devices. Additionally, in order to deliver high quality mobile products, it is important that
Triller’s products work well with a range of mobile technologies, products, systems, networks, and standards that Triller does not
control, and that Triller has good relationships with handset manufacturers, mobile carriers, and browser developers. Triller may not
be successful in maintaining or developing relationships with key participants in the mobile ecosystem or in developing products that
operate effectively with these technologies, products, systems, networks, or standards. In the event that it is more difficult for Triller’s
users to access and use Triller’s products on their mobile devices, or if Triller’s users choose not to access or use Triller’s
products on their mobile devices or use mobile products that do not offer access to Triller’s products, Triller’s user growth
and user engagement could be harmed. From time to time, Triller may also take actions regarding the distribution of its products or the
operation of its business based on what Triller believes to be in its long-term best interests. Such actions may adversely affect Triller’s
users and Triller’s relationships with the operators of mobile operating systems, handset manufacturers, mobile carriers, browser
developers, other business partners, or advertisers, and there is no assurance that these actions will result in the anticipated long-term benefits.
In the event that Triller’s users are adversely affected by these actions or if Triller’s relationships with such third parties
deteriorate, Triller’s user growth, engagement, and monetization could be adversely affected and Triller’s business could
be harmed. Triller has in the past experienced challenges in operating with mobile operating systems, networks, technologies, products,
and standards that Triller does not control, and any such occurrences in the future may negatively impact Triller’s user growth,
engagement, and monetization on mobile devices, which may in turn materially and adversely affect Triller’s business and financial
results.
Unfavorable media
coverage has in the past and could in the future materially adversely affect Triller’s business, brand image or reputation.
Triller receives a high
degree of media coverage. Unfavorable publicity and/or false media reports regarding us, Triller’s privacy practices, data security
compromises or breaches, product changes, product quality, litigation or regulatory activity, including any intellectual property proceeding,
or regarding the actions of Triller’s partners, Triller’s Creators, Triller’s Brands or consumers, Triller’s employees
or other companies in Triller’s industry, has in the past and could in the future adversely affect Triller’s brand image or
reputation. For example, there have been news articles discussing allegations against Triller for Triller’s nonpayment of fees,
including articles discussing Triller’s litigation with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Publishing Group, which may
adversely affect Triller’s brand image or reputation. For more information, see discussion of the Sony Music Litigation under “ Description
of Triller’s Business — Legal Proceedings. ”
If Triller fails to protect
its brand image or reputation, Triller may experience material adverse effects to the size, demographics, engagement, and loyalty of Triller’s
Creator and user base or Brand relationships, resulting in decreased revenue, fewer app installs (or increased app uninstalls), or slower
user growth rates. In addition, if securities analysts or investors perceive any media coverage of us, or other companies with similar
technologies and platforms, to be negative, the value of Triller’s Series A common stock (and, after the closing of the Merger,
of Triller Common Stock) may be materially adversely affected. Any of the foregoing could materially adversely affect Triller’s
business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Triller’s
market is competitive and dynamic. Triller faces and will continue to face significant competition for Creators, Brands and consumers,
which could result in reduced profit margins and loss of market share.
Triller faces robust
and rapidly evolving competition in all aspects of its business, including from companies that allow users to share and discover content
and/or that enable Creators and Brands to use content platforms to reach customers, such as Apple, Alphabet (including Google and YouTube),
Amazon, Snapchat, Facebook (including Instagram), ByteDance (including TikTok), ESPN+, BT Sport, Kayo Sports, Klaviyo and Showtime, among
others.
Triller competes to attract,
engage and retain users against current and potential competitors, both globally and in particular geographic regions where it operates.
These competitive risks are heightened because some of Triller’s competitors have more extensive hardware, software, and service
offerings, longer histories, larger user bases, increased brand recognition, more experience in the markets in which Triller competes
and greater overall resources than Triller. These advantages enable them to devote more financial resources to technology, infrastructure,
fulfillment and marketing, which in turn enables them to offer competitive services at little or no profit or even at a loss. For example,
prominent, well-funded competitors like Apple, Google, and Amazon have a competitive advantage because they can leverage the substantially
broader product offerings in their ecosystem to gain subscribers through bundled offers and to monetize users. Additionally, Triller’s
current and future competitors have engaged and will continue to engage in mergers or acquisitions with each other to combine and leverage
their broad audiences, content and capabilities.
Relatedly, Triller competes
for users based on its presence and visibility as compared with other businesses and platforms that deliver audio and video content through
the internet and connected devices. Triller faces significant competition for users from companies promoting their own digital content
online or through application stores, including large, well-funded, and seasoned participants in the digital media market.
Triller also faces increasing
competition because of new or emerging technologies and changes in market conditions. Triller’s current and future competitors have
introduced, and may continue to introduce, new ways of consuming or engaging with content, such as ByteDance, that cause Triller’s
users, especially the younger demographic, to switch to another product, which would negatively affect Triller’s user retention,
growth, and engagement. As the market for on-demand video on the internet and mobile and connected devices increases, new competitors,
business models and solutions are likely to emerge. Triller believes that companies with a combination of technical expertise, brand recognition,
financial resources and digital media experience pose a significant threat of developing competing on-demand distribution technologies.
Additionally, Triller
competes for a share of advertisers’ overall marketing budgets with other content providers on a variety of factors, including perceived
return on investment, effectiveness and relevance of Triller’s advertising products and content offering, pricing structure, and
ability to deliver large volumes or precise types of advertisements to targeted user demographic pools. Triller also competes for advertisers
with a range of internet companies, including major internet portals, search engine companies, social media sites and mobile applications,
as well as traditional advertising channels such as terrestrial radio and television.
Most of Triller’s
competitors in this market have substantially greater financial and other resources, larger research and development staffs, and more
experience and capabilities in developing, marketing and distributing products. Ongoing pricing pressure could result in significant price
erosion, reduced profit margins and loss of market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business,
results of operations, financial position and liquidity. Large internet companies with strong brand recognition, such as TikTok, Facebook,
Google, Amazon and Twitter, have significant numbers of sales personnel, substantial advertising inventory, proprietary advertising technology
solutions and traffic that provide a significant competitive advantage and have a significant impact on pricing for reaching these user
bases. Failure to compete successfully against Triller’s current or future competitors could result in the loss of current or potential
advertisers, a reduced share of Triller’s advertisers’ overall marketing budget, the loss of existing or potential users,
or diminished brand strength, which could adversely affect Triller’s pricing and margins, lower Triller’s revenue, increase
Triller’s research and development and marketing expenses and prevent Triller from achieving or maintaining profitability.
Moreover, Triller competes
with other forms of entertainment and leisure activities. While Triller monitors general market conditions, significant shifts in consumer
demands that could materially alter public preferences for different forms of entertainment and leisure activities are difficult to predict.
Failure to adequately identify and adapt to these competitive pressures could have a negative impact on Triller’s business.
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Access to certain
of Triller’s products depends on mobile app stores and other third parties such as data center service providers, hosted web service
providers, internet transit providers and other communications systems service providers. If third parties such as the Apple App Store
or Google Play Store adopt and enforce policies that limit, prohibit or eliminate Triller’s ability to distribute or update its
applications through their stores, or increase the costs to do so, it could materially adversely affect Triller’s business, financial
condition and results of operations.
Triller’s products
and services mainly depend on mobile application stores and the continued services and performance of other third parties such as data
center service providers, third party computer systems, internet transit providers, and other communications systems and service providers.
Triller’s mobile applications are almost exclusively accessed through and depend on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
While Triller’s mobile applications are generally free to download from these stores, Triller offers its users the opportunity to
purchase subscriptions and certain à la carte features through these applications. Triller determines the prices at which these
subscriptions and features are sold, subject to approval by Apple or Google, as relevant. Purchases of these subscriptions and features
via Triller’s mobile applications are mainly processed through the in-app payment systems provided by Apple and Google. Triller
pays Apple and Google, as applicable, a meaningful share (up to 30%) of the revenue it receives from transactions processed through in-app
payment systems If the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store were to experience an outage, or if either decided to exit a market, many
of Triller’s users may be unable to access Triller’s apps, which could materially adversely affect Triller’s business,
financial condition and results of operations. Any deterioration in Triller’s relationships with these and other third-party suppliers,
vendors, and business partners, or any adverse change in the terms and conditions governing these relationships, could have a negative
impact on Triller’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Furthermore, application
stores and other third party providers such as Apple and Google have broad discretion to make changes to their operating systems or payment
services or change the manner in which their mobile operating systems function and their respective terms and conditions applicable to
the distribution of Triller’s Technology Platform, including the amount of, and requirement to pay, certain fees associated with
purchases required to be facilitated by such third parties through Triller’s applications, and to interpret their respective terms
and conditions in ways that may limit, eliminate, or otherwise interfere with Triller’s products and services, Triller’s ability
to distribute its Technology Platform through their stores, Triller’s ability to update its applications, including to make bug
fixes or other feature updates or upgrades, the features Triller provides, the manner in which Triller markets its in-app products
and services, its ability to access native functionality or other aspects of mobile devices, and its ability to access information about
its users that they collect. There can be no assurance that Apple or Google, or any other similar third party, will not limit, delay,
eliminate, or otherwise interfere with the distribution of Triller’s Technology Platform, or that Triller will not be limited or
prohibited from using certain current or prospective distribution or marketing channels in the future. To the extent any of them do so,
Triller’s business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
In addition, the websites
and apps of Triller’s competitors may rank higher than offerings from Triller’s Technology Platform and Triller’s Triller
app in search engines and or app stores, and/or Triller’s application may be difficult to locate in device application stores, which
could draw potential users away from Triller’s service and toward those of Triller’s competitors. Device application stores
often offer users the ability to browse applications by various criteria, such as the number of downloads in a given time period, the
length of time since an application was released or updated, or the category in which the application is placed. If Triller is unable
to compete successfully for users against other digital media providers by maintaining and increasing its presence, ease of use, and visibility
and the amount of content streamed on Triller’s Technology Platform may fail to increase or may decline and Triller’s subscription
fees and advertising sales may suffer.
In operating its
Technology Platform, Triller may fail to launch new products or features according to its timetable, and its new products or features
may not be commercially successful.
In order for Triller’s
integrated global platform to succeed over time, Triller will need to license, acquire or develop new products or features that can generate
additional revenue and further diversify Triller’s revenue sources. A number of factors, including technical difficulties, government
approvals and licenses of intellectual property rights required for launching new products, lack of sufficient development personnel and
other resources, and adverse developments in Triller’s relationship with the licensors of Triller’s new licensed products
could result in delay in launching Triller’s new products. Therefore, Triller cannot assure you that it will be able to meet its
timetable for new launches.
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Additionally, Triller’s
operations and revenues are affected by consumer tastes and entertainment trends, including consumer use of Triller’s Technology
Platform and other applications such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Netflix and YouTube, and various other social media apps and short-
and long- form streaming services, as well as the market demand for live sports and music Events, user-generated content generally, and
internet-based Brand engagement, each of which are unpredictable and may be affected by changes in the economic, social, cultural and
political climate or global issues such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in consumers’ tastes or perceptions of Triller’s
Technology Platform, content or business partners, whether as a result of the economic, social, cultural or political climate or otherwise,
could adversely affect Triller’s operating results. Triller’s failure to avoid a negative perception among consumers or anticipate
and respond to changes in consumer preferences, including in the form of content creation or distribution, could result in reduced demand
for Triller’s services and content offerings or those of Triller’s partners and owned assets across Triller’s Technology
Platform, which could have an adverse effect on Triller’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
There are many factors
that may adversely affect the popularity of Triller’s new products. For example, Triller may fail to anticipate and adapt to future
technical trends and new business models, fail to satisfy consumer preferences and requirements, fail to effectively plan and organize
marketing and promotion activities, fail to effectively detect and prevent programming errors or defects in the products, and fail to
operate Triller’s new products at acceptable costs. Triller cannot assure you that its new products will gain market acceptance
and become commercially successful. If Triller is not able to license, develop or acquire additional digital entertainment products that
are commercially successful, Triller’s future revenues and profitability may decline.
The use of Automatic Content Recognition
(“ACR”) technology to collect viewing behavior data is emerging and may not be successful.
The utilization of viewing
behavior data collected using ACR technology to inform digital advertising and content delivery is an emerging industry, and future demand
and market acceptance for this type of data is uncertain. If the market for the use of this data does not develop or develops more slowly
than Triller expects, or if Triller is unable to successfully develop and monetize its Brands, Creators, or offerings off of the viewing
behavior data it collects, its growth prospects may be harmed.
Payment methods used on Triller’s
Technology Platform subject Triller to third party payment processing-related risks.
Triller accepts payments
from its users through a variety of methods, including online payments with credit cards and debit cards issued by major banks, payments
made with gift cards processed by third-party providers and payment through third-party online payment platforms such as PayPal, Stripe,
Afterpay, and Apple Pay. Triller also relies on third parties to provide payment processing services. For certain payment methods, including
credit and debit cards, Triller pays interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise its operating costs and lower
its profit margins. Triller may also be subject to fraud and other illegal activities in connection with the various payment methods Triller
offers, including online payment options and gift cards. Transactions on Triller’s Technology Platform and mobile applications are
“card-not-present” transactions, so they present a greater risk of fraud. Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods
to engage in illegal activities such as unauthorized use of credit or debit cards and bank account information. Requirements relating
to consumer authentication and fraud detection with respect to online sales are complex. Triller may ultimately be held liable for the
unauthorized use of a cardholder’s card number in an illegal activity and be required by card issuers to pay charge-back fees. Charge-backs
result not only in Triller’s loss of fees earned with respect to the payment, but also leave Triller liable for the underlying money
transfer amount. If Triller’s charge-back rate becomes excessive, card associations also may require Triller to pay fines or refuse
to process Triller’s transactions. In addition, Triller may be subject to additional fraud risk if third-party service providers
or its employees fraudulently use consumer information for their own gain or facilitate the fraudulent use of such information. Overall,
Triller may have little recourse if it processes a criminally fraudulent transaction.
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Triller or a third party
may experience a data security breach involving credit card information and when this occurs, affected cardholders will often cancel their
credit cards. In the case of a breach experienced by a third party, the more sizable the third party’s customer base and the greater
the number of credit card accounts impacted, the more likely it is that Triller’s users would be impacted by such a breach. To the
extent Triller’s users are ever affected by such a breach experienced by Triller or a third party, affected users would need to
be contacted to obtain new credit card information and process any pending transactions. It is likely that Triller would not be able to
reach all affected users, and even if Triller could, some users’ new credit card information may not be obtained and some pending
transactions may not be processed, which could materially adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition and results of
operations. Even if Triller’s users are not directly impacted by a given data security breach, they may lose confidence in the ability
of service providers to protect their personal information generally, which could cause them to stop using their credit cards online and
choose alternative payment methods that are not as convenient for Triller or restrict Triller’s ability to process payments without
significant cost or user effort. Additionally, if Triller fails to adequately prevent fraudulent credit card transactions, it may face
litigation, fines, governmental enforcement action, civil liability, diminished public perception of Triller’s security measures,
significantly higher credit card-related costs and substantial remediation costs, or refusal by credit card processors to continue to
process payments on Triller’s behalf, any of which could materially adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition
and results of operations.
Triller is subject to
payment card association operating rules, certification requirements and various rules, regulations and requirements governing electronic
funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for Triller to comply. As Triller’s business
changes, Triller may also be subject to different rules under existing standards, which may require new assessments that involve costs
above what Triller currently pay for compliance. If Triller fails to comply with the rules or requirements of any provider of a payment
method it accepts, or if the volume of fraud in Triller’s transactions limits or terminates Triller’s rights to use payment
methods it currently accepts, or if a data breach occurs relating to Triller’s payment systems, among other things, Triller may
be subject to fines and higher transaction fees and lose its ability to accept credit and debit card payments from its consumers, process
electronic funds transfers or facilitate other types of online payments, and its reputation and its business, financial condition and
results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
The validity, enforceability
and scope of protection of intellectual property in internet-related industries are evolving, and therefore, uncertain. Triller may have
to engage in litigation or other legal proceedings to enforce and protect its intellectual property rights, which could result in substantial
costs and diversion of its resources, and have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations.
Triller’s
Technology Platform depends on the reliability of the network infrastructure and related services provided by itself and third parties,
which is subject to physical, technological, security and other risks. Triller could suffer a loss of revenue and increased costs, exposure
to significant liability, reputational harm and other serious negative consequences if Triller sustains damages, cyber-attacks or other
data security breaches that disrupt its operations or result in the dissemination of proprietary or confidential information about Triller
or its customers or other third parties.
The development and operation
of Triller’s Technology Platform is subject to physical, technological, security and other risks which may result in interruption
in service or reduced capacity. These risks include physical damage, power loss, telecommunications failure, capacity limitation, hardware
or software failures or defects and breaches of physical and cybersecurity by computer viruses, system break-ins or otherwise.
An increase in the volume of usage of Triller’s Technology Platform could strain the capacity of the software and hardware employed
to prevent and identify such failures, breaches and attacks, which could result in slower response time or system failures. In particular,
Triller’s industry has witnessed an increase in the number, intensity and sophistication of cybersecurity incidents caused by hackers
and other malicious actors such as foreign governments, criminals, hacktivists, terrorists and insider threats. Hackers and other malicious
actors may be able to penetrate Triller’s network security and misappropriate or compromise Triller’s confidential, sensitive,
personal or proprietary information, or that of third parties, and engage in the unauthorized use or dissemination of such information.
They may be able to create system disruptions, or cause shutdowns. Hackers and other malicious actors may be able to develop and deploy
viruses, worms, ransomware and other malicious software programs that attack Triller’s products or otherwise exploit any security
vulnerabilities of Triller’s systems. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that Triller
procures from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including “bugs,” cybersecurity vulnerabilities
and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation or security of its systems. For example, in 2022, as a result
of a bug introduced in the application, Triller estimated that potentially 504 accounts may have been compromised.
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The occurrence of any
of these events could result in interruptions, delays or cessation in service to users of Triller’s online services, which could
have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business and results of operations. Triller may be required to expend significant capital
or other resources to protect against the threat of security breaches and attacks or to alleviate problems caused by such actions, including
the following:
●
expenses to rectify the consequences of the damage, security breach or cyber-attack;
●
liability for stolen assets or leaked information;
●
costs of repairing damage to Triller’s systems;
●
lost revenue and income resulting from any system downtime caused by such breach or attack;
●
loss of competitive advantage if Triller’s proprietary information is obtained by competitors as a result of such breach or attack;
●
increased costs of cyber security protection;
●
costs of incentives Triller may be required to offer to its customers or business partners to retain their business; and
●
damage to Triller’s reputation.
In addition, any compromise
of security from a security breach or cyber-attack could deter customers or business partners from entering into transactions that involve
providing confidential information to Triller. As a result, any compromise to the security of Triller’s systems could have a material
adverse effect on its business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results.
While Triller has implemented
industry-standard physical and cybersecurity measures, Triller’s network may still be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer
viruses, denial of service and other disruptive problems. Triller has experienced in the past, and may experience in the future, security
breaches or attacks. There can be no assurance that any measures implemented will not be circumvented in the future.
Triller’s business
is also vulnerable to delays or interruptions due to Triller’s reliance on infrastructure and related services provided by third
parties. End-users of Triller’s offerings depend on Internet Service Providers (“ ISPs ”) and Triller’s
system infrastructure for access to the internet games and services Triller offers. Some of these services have experienced service outages
in the past and could experience service outages, delays and other difficulties due to system failures, stability or interruption. Triller
may lose Creators or consumers as a result of delays or interruption in service, including delays or interruptions relating to high volumes
of traffic or technological problems, which may prevent the use of Triller’s Technology Platform for a period of time and could
materially adversely affect Triller’s business, revenues, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition to all of
the foregoing, in the event that Triller’s service agreements are terminated or expire with network infrastructure providers, Triller
could experience interruptions in access to Triller’s Technology Platform as well as significant delays and additional expense in
arranging for or creating new facilities or re-architecting Triller’s Technology Platform for deployment on a different network
infrastructure service provider, which would adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
Triller may experience
losses due to subscriber fraud and theft of service.
Subscribers may in the
future obtain access to the subscription services on Triller’s Technology Platform without paying for service by unlawfully using
Triller’s authorization codes, engaging in otherwise illegal activity or by submitting fraudulent credit card information. To date,
no material losses from unauthorized credit card transactions and theft of service have occurred. Triller has implemented anti-fraud procedures
in order to control losses relating to these practices, but these procedures may not be adequate to effectively limit all of Triller’s
exposure in the future from fraud. If Triller’s procedures are not effective, consumer fraud and theft of service could significantly
decrease Triller’s revenue and have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business, financial condition and operating results.
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If TV streaming
develops more slowly than Triller expects, Triller’s operating results and growth prospects could be harmed.
TV streaming is a continuously
evolving, making it difficult to evaluate the prospects for Triller’s TV streaming offerings. The level of demand and market acceptance
for Triller’s streaming offerings are subject to a high degree of uncertainty. Triller believes that the growth and success of its
streaming offerings, such as Triller TV, and BKFC, will depend on the availability of quality content, the quality and reliability of
new devices and technology and the cost for subscribers relative to other sources of content. These technologies, products and content
offerings continue to emerge and evolve. Users, Creators or Brands may find TV streaming platforms to be less attractive than traditional
TV, which would harm Triller’s business. If new technologies render the TV streaming market obsolete or Triller is unable to successfully
compete with current and new competitors and technologies, its business may be harmed. The future growth of Triller’s business depends
in part on the growth of TV streaming advertising, and on advertisers increasing spend on such advertising.
Changes to Triller’s
existing products and apps, or the introduction of new products and brand names that Triller develops, could fail to attract or retain
Creators users, consumers or Brand partners, or generate revenue and profits.
Triller’s ability
to retain, increase and engage its Creators, consumers or Brand partners and to increase its revenue depends heavily on its ability to
continue to evolve its Technology Platform and to create successful new products and develop new brands for Triller, both independently
and in conjunction with developers or other third parties. Triller may introduce significant changes to its existing products, or acquire
or introduce new and unproven third-party products, and product extensions, including using technologies with which Triller has little
or no prior development or operating experience. Triller has also invested, and expect to continue to invest, significant resources in
growing its products to support increasing usage as well as new lines of business, new products, new product extensions and other initiatives
to generate revenue. For example, Triller acquired Julius, which operates a marketplace that connects Brands with Creators with whom they
may desire to partner. There is no guarantee that investing in new lines of business, new products, new product extensions and other initiatives
will succeed. If Triller’s new or enhanced brands, products or product extensions fail to engage users, marketers, or developers,
or if Triller’s business plans are unsuccessful, Triller may fail to attract or retain users or to generate sufficient revenue,
operating margin or other value to justify its investments, and its business may be materially adversely affected.
Triller may also introduce
new products, features or terms of service or policies, and seek to find new, effective ways to show its community new and existing products
and alert them to events and meaningful opportunities to connect, that users do not like, which may negatively affect its reputation and
usage of the offerings on its Technology Platform. New products may provide temporary increases in engagement that may ultimately fail
to attract and retain users such that they may not produce the long-term benefits that Triller expects.
Triller’s
ability to introduce new features, capabilities and enhancements is dependent on adequate research and development resources. If Triller
does not adequately fund its research and development efforts, or if its research and development investments do not translate into material
enhancements to us, it may not be able to compete effectively and its business, results of operations and financial condition may be harmed.
To remain competitive,
Triller must continue to develop new features, capabilities and enhancements to its Technology Platform, including all of its services
and technology offerings. This is particularly true as Triller further expands and diversifies its capabilities to address additional
markets. Maintaining adequate research and development resources, such as the appropriate personnel and development technology, to meet
the demands of the market is essential. The development of new features, services, or products for Triller’s Technology Platform
depends on a number of factors, including Triller’s ability to:
●
spend its development budget efficiently or effectively on commercially successful and innovative technologies;
●
realize the expected benefits of its strategy;
●
develop products that are competitive in relation to its competitors;
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●
develop technology in a timely and cost-effective manner;
●
anticipate user, Creator and Brand demand for an offering Triller is developing; and
●
fund and recoup costs incurred.
If Triller is unable
to develop features and capabilities internally due to certain constraints, such as employee turnover, lack of management ability or a
lack of other research and development resources, which may be exacerbated by Triller’s current negative working capital and low
cash balance, Triller’s business will be harmed. Moreover, research and development projects can be technically challenging and
expensive. The nature of these research and development cycles may cause Triller to experience delays between the time Triller incurs
expenses associated with research and development and the time it is able to offer compelling features, capabilities, and enhancements
and generate revenue, if any, from such investment. Additionally, anticipated demand for a feature, integration, capability or enhancement
Triller is developing could decrease after the development cycle has commenced, and Triller would nonetheless be unable to avoid substantial
costs associated with the development of any such feature, integration, capability or enhancement. If Triller expends a significant amount
of resources on research and development and its efforts do not lead to the successful introduction or improvement of features, integrations
and capabilities that are competitive, it would harm its business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Further, many of Triller’s
competitors expend a considerably greater amount of funds on their respective research and development programs, and those that do not
may be acquired by larger companies that would allocate greater resources to Triller’s competitors’ research and development
programs. Triller’s failure to maintain adequate research and development resources or to compete effectively with the research
and development programs of Triller’s competitors would give an advantage to such competitors and may harm Triller’s business,
results of operations, and financial condition.
In 2021, Triller launched
subscription packages to bring its collection of virtual and live Events and other content in its library to paid subscribers. Triller’s
assessments are based on prior experience and market competition and may not be accurate and Triller could be underpricing or overpricing
its subscription services, which may require Triller to continue to adjust its pricing packages and incorrect pricing could result in
harm to its business. Furthermore, subscriber price sensitivity may vary by location, and as Triller expands into different countries,
its pricing packages may not enable Triller to compete effectively in these countries. In addition, if Triller’s Technology Platform
or services change, then Triller may need to, or Triller may choose to, revise its pricing. Such changes to Triller’s pricing model
or its ability to efficiently price its Brand services offerings, digital and in-person event tickets, or content library could
harm its business.
Triller must increase
the scale and efficiency of its technology infrastructure to support its growth.
Triller’s technology
must scale to process the potential increased usage of its Technology Platform. Triller must continue to increase the capacity of its
Technology Platform to support its high-volume strategy, to cope with increased data volumes, increased use by Creators, Brands and users
and an increasing variety of advertising formats and platforms, and to maintain a stable service infrastructure and reliable service delivery.
To the extent Triller is unable, for cost or other reasons, to effectively increase the capacity of its Technology Platform or support
emerging advertising formats or services preferred by users, consumers, Creators and Brands, its revenue will suffer. Triller expects
to continue to invest in its Technology Platform to meet increasing demand. Such investment may negatively affect its profitability and
results of operations.
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If there are interruptions
or performance problems associated with the technology or infrastructure of Triller’s Technology Platform, including interruptions
that impact Triller’s third-party service providers, users may experience service outages, new users may be reluctant to adopt Triller’s
product offerings, users may leave Triller’s Technology Platform, and Triller’s reputation could be harmed.
Triller’s business
and continued growth rely, in part, on the ability of existing and potential users to access Triller’s Technology Platform without
interruption or degradation of performance. Triller’s products and systems rely on software and hardware that is highly technical
and complex, and depend on the ability of such software and hardware to store, retrieve, process and manage immense amounts of data. Triller
has in the past and may in the future experience disruptions, outages, and other performance problems with its technology due to factors
such as infrastructure changes, introductions of new functionalities, human or software errors, capacity constraints, or attacks by malicious
third parties.
Despite internal testing,
particularly when first introduced or when new versions or enhancements are released, Triller’s software may contain serious errors
or defects, security vulnerabilities, or software bugs that are difficult to detect and correct, which Triller may be unable to successfully
correct in a timely manner or at all. In some instances, Triller may not be able to identify the cause or causes of these performance
problems immediately or in short order. Triller may not be able to maintain the level of service uptime and performance required by customers,
especially during peak usage times and as Triller’s user traffic and number of integrations increase. If Triller’s Technology
Platform is unavailable or if users are unable to access these platforms within a reasonable amount of time (especially during live Events),
or at all, Triller’s business would be harmed. Since users rely on Triller’s Technology Platform to create and share social
media content and experience live event and other programming, any outage would negatively impact Triller’s brand, reputation and
customer satisfaction, and could give rise to legal liability under Triller’s service level agreements with paid customers.
Moreover, Triller depends
on services from various third parties to maintain its infrastructure, including cloud-based infrastructure services. Triller currently
hosts its Technology Platform primarily using Amazon Web Services (“ AWS ”) and Google. Triller’s operations depend
on protecting the virtual cloud infrastructure hosted in AWS and Google by maintaining its configuration, architecture, features and interconnection
specifications, as well as the information stored in these virtual data centers and which third-party internet service providers transmit.
If a service provider fails to provide sufficient capacity to support Triller or otherwise experiences service outages, such failure could
interrupt access to Triller’s Technology Platform by users and organizations, which could adversely affect their perception of Triller’s
reliability and Triller’s revenue. Any disruptions in these services, including as a result of actions outside of Triller’s
control, would significantly impact the continued performance of Triller’s Technology Platform. A prolonged AWS service disruption
affecting Triller’s Technology Platform would negatively impact Triller’s ability to serve its consumers and partners, and
could damage its reputation with current and potential consumers and partners, expose Triller to liability, cause Triller to lose consumers
or partners or otherwise harm Triller’s business. Triller may also incur significant costs for using alternative equipment or taking
other actions in preparation for, or in reaction to, events that damage the AWS services Triller use.
In the future, these
services may not be available to Triller on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Any loss of the right to use any of these services
could result in Triller’s decreased functionality until equivalent technology is either developed by Triller or, if available from
another provider, is identified, obtained, and integrated into Triller’s infrastructure. Triller may also be unable to effectively
address capacity constraints, upgrade its systems as needed, and continually develop its technology and network architecture to accommodate
actual and anticipated changes in technology.
Triller’s Technology
Platform, services and technologies are vulnerable to malicious attacks and security breaches. Such attacks are of ever-increasing levels
of sophistication and are made by groups and individuals with a wide range of motives and expertise, including organized criminal groups,
and others. The techniques used to breach security safeguards evolve rapidly, and they may be difficult to detect for an extended period
of time, and the measures Triller takes to safeguard its technology may not adequately prevent such incidents.
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While Triller has taken
steps to protect its confidential and personal information and that of its users and other business relationships and have invested in
information technology, there can be no assurance that Triller’s efforts will prevent service interruptions or security breaches
in Triller’s systems or the unauthorized or inadvertent wrongful use or disclosure of such confidential information. Such incidents
could adversely affect Triller’s business operations, reputation, and client relationships. Any such breach would require Triller
to expend significant resources to mitigate the breach of security and to address matters related to any such breach, including the payment
of fines. Although Triller maintains an insurance policy that covers data security, privacy liability, and cyber-attacks, Triller’s
insurance may not be adequate to cover losses arising from breaches or attacks on Triller’s systems. Triller also may be required
to notify regulators about any actual or perceived personal data breach as well as the individuals who are affected by the incident within
strict time periods.
Triller is also in the
process of integrating the technology of its acquired companies. The resulting size and diversity of Triller’s technology systems,
as well as the systems of third-party vendors with whom Triller contracts, increase the vulnerability of such systems to breakdowns and
security breaches. In addition, Triller relies on technology at live Events, the failure or unavailability of which, for any significant
period of time, could affect Triller’s business, Triller’s reputation and the success of Triller’s live Events. Triller
also relies on technology to provide its digital offerings, live streaming and virtual Events, which may be vulnerable to hacking, denial
of service attacks, human error and other unanticipated problems or events that could result in interruptions in Triller’s service
and unauthorized access to, or alteration of, the content and data contained on Triller’s systems and those of Triller’s third-
party vendors. Any significant interruption or failure of the technology upon which Triller relies, or any significant breach of security,
could result in decreased performance and increased operating costs, adversely affecting Triller’s business, financial condition
and results of operations. Implementation of changes in Triller’s technology may cost more or take longer than originally expected
and may require more testing than initially anticipated. Any failure to update and enhance Triller’s technology in a timely and
cost-effective manner could materially adversely affect Triller’s users’ experience with Triller’s various products
and thereby negatively impact the demand for Triller’s products, and could increase Triller’s costs, either of which could
materially adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition and results of operations. Implementation of changes in Triller’s
technology may cost more or take longer than originally expected and may require more testing than initially anticipated. Any failure
to update and enhance Triller’s technology in a timely and cost-effective manner could materially adversely affect Triller’s
users’ experience with Triller’s various products and thereby negatively impact the demand for Triller’s products, and
could increase Triller’s costs, either of which could materially adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition
and results of operations.
In addition, the delivery
of Triller’s products and services through Triller’s Technology Platform presents the potential for further vulnerabilities.
For instance, Triller may be subject to boycotts, spam, spyware, ransomware, phishing and social engineering, viruses, worms, malware,
DDOS attacks, password attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, cybersquatting, impersonation of employees or officers, abuse of
comments and message boards, fake reviews, doxing and swatting. While Triller has internal policies in place to protect against these
vulnerabilities, Triller can make no assurances that it will not be adversely affected should one of these events occur. Additionally,
there is an increased risk that Triller may experience cybersecurity-related events and other security challenges, as a result of its
hybrid and remote employees and service providers working from non-corporate-managed networks.
Furthermore, Triller’s
future success will depend on its ability to adapt to emerging technologies such as tokenization, new authentication technologies, such
as blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual and augmented reality, and cloud technologies. Additionally,
Triller’s efforts to adapt to emerging technologies may not always be successful and Triller may not make appropriate investments
in new technologies, which could materially adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. For example,
the use of AI and ML is becoming increasingly prevalent in Triller’s industry, and, although Triller intends to continue developing
its Technology Platform’s AI and ML capabilities to meet the needs of its customers, Triller may be unable to accurately or efficiently
integrate machine learning and artificial intelligence features or functionalities of the quality or type sought by Triller’s customers
or offered by Triller’s competitors. These development efforts may also require significant engineering, sales, and marketing resources,
all of which could require significant capital and management investment. If Triller is unable to enhance its Technology Platform and
product offerings to keep pace with rapid technological and regulatory change, or if new technologies, including AI and ML solutions,
emerge that are able to deliver competitive products at aggressive or alternative prices, more efficiently, more conveniently or more
securely than Triller’s Technology Platform, demand for Triller’s Technology Platform and product offerings may decline, and
Triller’s business, financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely affected.
Any of the above circumstances
or events may adversely impact the user experience, harm Triller’s reputation, cause organizations to terminate Triller’s
agreements, impair Triller’s ability to obtain license renewals from organizations, impair Triller’s ability to grow its user
base, subject Triller to financial penalties and otherwise harm Triller’s business, results of operations and financial condition.
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If Triller is unable
to ensure that its Technology Platform interoperates with a variety of software applications that are developed by others, including its
partners, Triller may become less competitive and its results of operations may be harmed.
Triller’s Technology
Platform must integrate with a variety of network, hardware, and software platforms, and Triller needs to continuously modify and enhance
the platform to adapt to changes in hardware, software, networking, browser, and database technologies. In particular, Triller has developed
its Technology Platform to be able to integrate with third-party applications, including the applications of its competitors as well as
its partners, through the interaction of APIs. In general, Triller relies on the providers of such software systems to allow Triller access
to their APIs to enable these integrations. Triller is typically subject to standard terms and conditions that govern the distribution,
operation, and fees of such third-party systems and platforms which are subject to modification by such providers from time to time. Triller’s
business may be harmed if any provider of such platforms or systems:
●
discontinues or limits Triller’s access to its software or APIs;
●
modifies its terms of service or other policies, including fees charged to, or other restrictions on Triller or other application developers;
●
changes how information is accessed by Triller or Triller’s users;
●
establishes more favorable relationships with one or more of Triller’s competitors; or
●
develops or otherwise favors its own competitive offerings over Triller’s.
Third-party services
and products are constantly evolving, and Triller may not be able to modify its Technology Platform apps to ensure their compatibility
with that of other third parties following development changes. In addition, some of Triller’s competitors may be able to disrupt
the operation or compatibility of Triller’s Technology Platform on or with their products or services or exert strong business influence
on Triller’s ability to operate and terms upon which Triller do so. Should any of Triller’s competitors modify their products,
standards or terms in a manner that degrades the functionality of Triller’s Technology Platform or gives preferential treatment
to competitive products or services, whether to enhance their competitive position or for any other reason, the interoperability of Triller’s
Technology Platform with these products could decrease and Triller’s business, results of operations, and financial condition could
be harmed. If Triller is not permitted or able to integrate with these and other third-party applications in the future, demand for Triller’s
Technology Platform would be harmed and Triller’s business, results of operations, and financial condition would be harmed.
Triller has created mobile
versions of its websites and the various offerings that comprise its Technology Platform to respond to the increasing number of people
who access Triller’s products and services through mobile devices. If these mobile applications and websites do not perform well,
Triller’s business may suffer. Triller is also dependent on third-party application stores (such as those managed by Apple and Google)
that may prevent Triller from timely updating its product offerings, building new features, integrations, and capabilities, or charging
for access. Certain of these third parties are now, and others may in the future become, competitors of us, and could stop allowing or
supporting access to the platform or the apps that comprise the platform through their products, could allow access to the platform or
such apps only at an unsustainable cost, or could make changes to the terms of access in order to make Triller’s Technology Platform
and applications less desirable or harder to access, for competitive reasons. In addition, Triller’s Technology Platform and applications
interoperate with servers, mobile devices, and software applications predominantly through the use of protocols, many of which are created
and maintained by third parties. Triller therefore depends on the interoperability of its applications with such third-party services,
mobile devices, and mobile operating systems, as well as cloud-enabled hardware, software, networking, browsers, database technologies,
and protocols that Triller does not control. Any changes in such technologies that degrade the functionality of Triller’s apps or give
preferential treatment to competitive services could adversely affect adoption and usage of Triller’s apps. Also, Triller may not
be successful in developing or maintaining relationships with key participants in the mobile industry or in ensuring that Triller’s
apps operate effectively with a range of operating systems, networks, devices, browsers, protocols and standards. If Triller is unable
to effectively anticipate and manage these risks, or if it is difficult for users to access and use Triller’s apps, Triller’s
business, results of operations and financial condition may be harmed.
Triller relies
on software and services from other parties. Defects in, or the loss of access to, software or services from third parties could increase
Triller’s costs and adversely affect the quality of Triller’s business.
Triller relies on technologies
from third parties, such as AWS and Google, to operate critical functions of its business, including cloud infrastructure services and
customer relationship management services. Triller’s business would be disrupted if any of the third-party software or services
Triller utilizes and relies upon, such as AWS and Google, or functional equivalents thereof, were unavailable due to extended outages
or interruptions, or because they are no longer available on commercially reasonable terms or prices. In each case, Triller would be required
to either seek licenses to software or services from other parties and redesign the Triller app or certain aspects of Triller’s
Technology Platform to function with such software or services or develop these components itself, which would result in increased costs
and could result in delays in launches and releases of new features, integrations, capabilities or enhancements until equivalent technology
can be identified, licensed, or developed, and integrated into the Triller app. Furthermore, Triller might be forced to limit the features
available in its Technology Platform. These delays and feature limitations, if they occur, could harm Triller’s business, results
of operations, and financial condition.
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Triller incorporates
software and services from third parties into its Technology Platform, and its inability to maintain rights to such software and services
would harm its business and results of operations.
Triller licenses patents,
software, technology and procure services from third parties that it incorporates into or integrate with its Technology Platform. Some
of the foregoing licenses and services are material and important to the functionality and operation of Triller’s Technology Platform
and would be difficult to replace. For example, Triller licenses music and video editing technology from a third party licensor which
is a material component of its Technology Platform. Some of Triller’s agreements with its licensors provide for a limited term.
Although Triller has taken steps to protect its rights in certain technology, and identify alternatives where applicable, if Triller is
unable to continue to license any of this intellectual property for any reason, its ability to develop and sell access to its Technology
Platform containing such technology could be harmed. Similarly, if Triller is unable to license necessary intellectual property from third
parties now, or in the future, on commercially reasonable terms or at all, Triller may be forced to acquire or develop alternative technology,
which Triller may be unable to do in a commercially feasible manner, or at all, and Triller may be required to use alternative technology
of lower quality or performance standards, which would adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
Triller also cannot be
certain that its licensors are not infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties or that its licensors have sufficient
rights to the licensed intellectual property in all jurisdictions in which Triller may sell access to its Technology Platform. In addition,
many licenses are non-exclusive, and therefore Triller’s competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to Triller.
Certain of Triller’s
products contain third-party open source software components, and failure to comply with the terms of the underlying open source software
licenses could restrict Triller’s ability to sell its products.
Certain of Triller’s
products contain components that are licensed under so-called “open source,” “free” or other similar
licenses. Open source software is made available to the general public on an “as-is” basis under the terms of a non-negotiable license.
Triller currently combines its proprietary software with open source software, but not in a manner that Triller believes requires the
release of the source code of its proprietary software to the public. Triller does not plan to integrate its proprietary software with
open source software in ways that would require the release of the source code of its proprietary software to the public. Although Triller
has certain processes in place to monitor and manage its use of open source software to avoid subjecting its platform to conditions Triller
does not intend, the terms of many open source licenses have not been interpreted by U.S. or foreign courts, and there is a risk that
these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on Triller’s ability to provide
or distribute Triller’s platform.
Triller’s use and
distribution of open source software may entail greater risks than use of third-party commercial software. Open source licensors generally
do not provide support, warranties, indemnification, or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of
the code. In addition, if Triller combines its proprietary software with open source software in a certain manner, Triller could, under
certain open source licenses, be required to release to the public or remove the source code of Triller’s proprietary software.
Triller may also face claims alleging noncompliance with open source license terms or infringement or misappropriation of proprietary
software. These claims could result in litigation, require Triller to purchase a costly license or remove the software. In addition, if
the license terms for open source software that Triller uses change, it may be forced to re-engineer its solutions, incur additional
costs or discontinue the sale of its offerings if re-engineering could not be accomplished on a timely basis or at all. Although
Triller monitors its use of open source software to avoid subjecting its offerings to unintended conditions, Triller cannot assure you
that its processes for monitoring and managing its use of open source software in its platform will be effective and there is a risk that
these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on its ability to commercialize
its offerings. Triller cannot guarantee that it has incorporated open source software in its software in a manner that will not subject
Triller to liability or in a manner that is consistent with its current policies and procedures.
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The failure to
maintain or renew Triller’s agreements with producers or distributors of free, freemium and pay-per-view content could
adversely impact Triller’s business.
Triller enters into long-term
contracts for both the acquisition and the distribution of media content, including contracts for the acquisition of content rights for
sporting events and other programs. As these contracts expire, Triller must renew or renegotiate the contracts, and if Triller is unable
to renew them on acceptable terms, Triller may lose content rights or distribution rights. Even if these contracts are renewed, the cost
of obtaining content rights may increase (or increase at faster rates than Triller’s historical experience). Moreover, Triller’s
ability to renew these contracts on favorable terms may be affected by consolidation in the market for content distribution and the entrance
of new participants in the market for distribution of content on digital platforms. With respect to the acquisition of content rights,
particularly sports content rights, the impact of these long-term contracts on Triller’s results over the term of the contracts
depends on a number of factors, including the strength of advertising markets, subscription levels and rates for content, effectiveness
of marketing efforts and the size of viewer audiences. There can be no assurance that revenues from content based on these rights will
exceed the cost of the rights plus the other costs of producing and distributing the content.
Triller’s ability
to provide its subscribers with content also depends on content providers and other rights holders licensing rights, including distribution
rights, to such content and certain related elements thereof, such as the public performance of music contained within the content Triller
distributes. The license periods and the terms and conditions of such licenses vary, and Triller is currently operating outside the terms
of some of its current licenses. If the content providers and other rights holders are not or are no longer willing or able to license
Triller content upon terms acceptable to us, Triller’s ability to stream content to its subscribers may be adversely affected and/or
its costs could increase. Because of these provisions as well as other actions Triller may take, content available through its service
can be withdrawn on short notice. As competition increases, Triller has seen the cost of certain programming increase.
Triller’s
business depends on its ability to send consumer engagement messages, including emails, SMS, and mobile and web notifications, and any
significant disruption in service with Triller’s third-party providers or on mobile operating systems could result in a loss of
customers or less effective consumer-brand engagement, which could harm Triller’s business, financial condition, and results of
operations.
Triller’s brand,
reputation, and ability to attract new customers depend on the reliable performance of Triller’s technology infrastructure and content
delivery. Triller’s Technology Platform engages with consumers through emails, SMS and push notifications, and Triller depends on
third-party services for delivery of such notifications. Any incident broadly affecting the interaction of third-party devices with Triller’s
platform, including any delays or interruptions in these services that could cause delays to emails, SMS, or mobile and web notifications,
could adversely affect Triller’s business. Similarly, cybersecurity events could result in a disruption to such third-party’s
services, including regulatory investigations, reputational damage, and a loss of sales and customers, which could in turn impact Triller’s
business. A prolonged disruption, cybersecurity event or any other negative event affecting a third-party service could lead to customer
dissatisfaction and could in turn damage Triller’s reputation with current and potential customers, result in a breach under Triller’s
agreements with its customers, and cause Triller to lose customers or otherwise harm its business, financial condition, and results of
operations.
Triller depends in part
on mobile operating systems and their respective infrastructures to send notifications through various applications that utilize its platform.
As new email, mobile devices, and mobile and web platforms are released, existing email, mobile devices, and platforms may cease to support
Triller’s platform or effectively roll out updates to Triller’s customers’ applications. Any changes in these systems
or platforms that negatively impact the functionality of Triller’s platform could adversely affect Triller’s ability to interact
with consumers in a timely and effective fashion, which could adversely affect Triller’s ability to retain and attract new customers.
The parties that control the operating systems for mobile devices and mobile, web, and email platforms have no obligation to test the
interoperability of new mobile devices or platforms with Triller’s platform, and third parties may produce new products that are
incompatible with or not optimal for the operation of Triller’s platform. Additionally, in order to deliver high-quality consumer
engagement, Triller needs to ensure that its platform is designed to work effectively with a range of mobile technologies, systems, networks,
and standards. If consumers choose to use products or platforms that do not support Triller’s platform, or if Triller does not ensure
its platform can work effectively with such products or platforms, Triller’s business and growth could be harmed. Triller also may
not be successful in developing or maintaining relationships with key participants in the email or mobile industries that permit such
interoperability. If Triller is unable to adapt to changes in popular operating systems and platforms, it expects that its customer retention
and customer growth would be adversely affected.
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Triller’s
business may be adversely affected if Triller’s access to music rights is limited or delayed. The concentration of control of content
by major music licensors means that even one entity, or a small number of entities working together, may unilaterally affect Triller’s
access to music and other content. Triller depends upon third-party licenses for the use of music on Triller’s platform and in Triller’s
content. An adverse change to, loss of, or claim that Triller does not hold necessary licenses may have an adverse effect on its business,
operating results, and financial condition.
Music is an important
element of the overall content that Triller makes available on the Triller app. Triller relies on licensors that hold rights to sound
recordings and musical compositions, over whom Triller has no control, for the music related content Triller makes available on the Triller
app. To secure the rights to use music in Triller’s content and on the Triller app, Triller enters into agreements to obtain licenses
from rights holders such as performing rights organizations, record labels, music publishers, collecting societies, artists and songwriters,
and other copyright owners (or their agents). Triller pays royalties to such parties or their agents around the world. Triller cannot
guarantee that these parties will always choose to license to Triller.
The process of obtaining
licenses involves identifying and negotiating with many rights holders, some of whom are unknown, or difficult to identify, or for whom
Triller may have conflicting ownership information, and implicates a myriad of complex and evolving legal issues across many jurisdictions,
including open questions of law as to when and whether particular licenses are needed with respect to the use of musical compositions
and sound recordings.
The music industry is
highly concentrated, which means that one or a small number of entities may, on their own, take actions that adversely affect Triller’s
business. For example, the music rights licensed to Triller under Triller’s agreements with major record labels and major publishing
companies are necessary for Triller to exploit the majority of music consumed on the Triller app. Triller’s business may be adversely
affected if Triller’s access to music is limited or delayed, or if any of the various rights to such music are no longer licensed
to us, if Triller’s relationships deteriorate with one or more of these rights holders, or if they choose not to license to Triller
for any other reason. Rights holders also may attempt to take advantage of their market power by seeking onerous financial terms from
Triller. Triller may elect not to renew certain agreements with rights holders for any number of reasons, or Triller may decide to explore
different licensing schemes or economic structures with certain or all rights holders. Artists and/or songwriters may object and may exert
public or private pressure on rights holders to discontinue or to modify license terms, or Triller may elect to discontinue use of an
artist or songwriter’s catalog based on a number of factors, including actual or perceived reputational damage. Additionally, there
is a risk that aspiring rights holders, their agents, or legislative or regulatory bodies will create or attempt to create new rights
that could require Triller to enter into new license agreements with, and pay royalties to, newly defined groups of rights holders, some
of which may be difficult or impossible to identify.
Even if Triller is able
to secure music rights from record labels, music publishers and other copyright owners, artists and/or artist groups may object and may
exert public or private pressure on third parties to discontinue licensing rights to us, hold back content from us, or increase royalty
rates. As a result, Triller’s ability to continue to license rights to music is subject to convincing a broad range of stakeholders
of the value and quality of Triller’s service. In addition, Triller’s music licenses from record labels, music publishers
and other copyright owners may not contemplate some of the features and content that Triller may wish to add to its service, or new service
offerings or revenue models that Triller may wish to launch. To the extent that Triller is unable to license or continue to license a
large amount of music rights or the music rights related to the music written or performed by certain popular artists, Triller’s
business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially harmed.
With respect to musical
compositions, in addition to obtaining the synchronization, distribution and reproduction rights, Triller also needs to obtain public
performance or communication to the public rights, and this needs to be accomplished on a territory basis. At times, while Triller may
hold sufficient license rights for certain music in a territory such as the United States, it may be difficult to obtain the license for
the same music rights from the applicable rights holders outside of such territory.
In the United States,
public performance rights are typically obtained separately through intermediaries known as performing rights organizations (“ PROs ”)
which (a) issue blanket licenses with copyright users for the public performance of musical compositions in their repertory, (b) collect
royalties under those licenses, and (c) distribute such royalties to copyright owners. Triller has, or are in some instances in the
process of obtaining licenses, for public performance of musical compositions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and other territories,
through local collecting societies representing songwriters and publishers, and from certain publishers directly, or a combination thereof.
The royalty rates available to Triller from the PROs today may not be available to Triller in the future. The royalty rates under licenses
provided by American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ ASCAP ”) and Broadcast Music Inc. (“ BMI ”)
currently are governed by consent decrees, which were issued by the U.S. Department of Justice in an effort to curb anti-competitive conduct.
Removal of or changes to the terms or interpretation of these agreements could affect Triller’s ability to obtain licenses from
these PROs on current and/or otherwise favorable terms, which could harm Triller’s business, operating results, and financial condition.
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In other parts of the
world, including in Canada and Europe, Triller has or are in some instances in the process of obtaining licenses for public performance
of musical compositions through local collecting societies representing songwriters and publishers, and from certain publishers directly,
or a combination thereof. Given the licensing landscape in other territories for public performance rights, Triller cannot guarantee that
it will be able to finalize and enter into licensing agreements in such territories, or that Triller’s licenses with collecting
societies and Triller’s direct licenses with publishers provide full coverage for all of the musical compositions it uses in its
service in the countries in which it operates, or that Triller may enter in the future. Publishers, songwriters, and other rights holders
who choose not to be represented by major or independent publishing companies or collecting societies have, and could in the future, adversely
impact Triller’s ability to secure licensing arrangements in connection with musical compositions that such rights holders own or
control, and could increase the risk of liability for copyright infringement.
Although Triller expends
significant resources to seek to comply with applicable contractual, statutory, regulatory, and judicial frameworks, it cannot guarantee
that it currently holds, or will always hold, every necessary right to use all of the music that is used on Triller’s service now
or that may be used in Triller’s products and services in the future, and Triller cannot assure you that Triller is not infringing
or violating any third-party intellectual property rights, or that Triller will not do so in the future. These challenges, and others
concerning the licensing of music on Triller’s platform, may subject Triller to significant liability for copyright infringement,
breach of contract, or other claims.
Triller is a party
to many music license agreements that are complex and impose numerous obligations upon Triller that may make it difficult to operate Triller’s
business, and a breach, or perceived breach, of such agreements could adversely affect Triller’s business, operating results, and
financial condition.
Triller’s license
agreements are complex and impose numerous obligations on us, including obligations to, among other things:
●
calculate and make payments based on complex royalty structures, which requires tracking usage of content in Triller’s service that may have inaccurate or incomplete metadata necessary for such calculation;
●
provide periodic reports in specified formats on the exploitation of the content;
●
represent that Triller will obtain all necessary licenses and consents and pay all associated fees, royalties, and other amounts due for the licensing of sound recordings and musical compositions;
●
comply with certain marketing and advertising restrictions;
●
grant the licensor the right to audit Triller’s compliance with the terms of such agreements; and
●
comply with certain security and technical specifications.
Certain of Triller’s
license agreements may also contain minimum guarantees or require that Triller makes minimum guarantee or advance payments, which are
not always tied to Triller’s number of users or stream counts for music used in Triller’s service. Accordingly, Triller’s
ability to achieve and sustain profitability and operating leverage in part depends on Triller’s ability to increase its revenue
through increased sales of subscriptions on terms that maintain an adequate gross margin. Triller’s license agreements that contain
minimum guarantees typically have terms of between one and three years, but Triller’s users may cancel their subscriptions at any
time. Triller relies on estimates to forecast whether such minimum guarantees and advances against royalties could be recouped against
Triller’s actual content costs incurred over the term of the license agreement. To the extent that Triller’s estimates underperform
relative to Triller’s expectations, and Triller’s content costs do not exceed such minimum guarantees and advance payments,
Triller’s margins may be adversely affected.
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Some of Triller’s
license agreements may also include so-called “most-favored nations” provisions, which require that certain terms (including
material financial terms) are no less favorable than those provided to any similarly situated licensor. If agreements are amended or new
agreements are entered into on more favorable terms, these most-favored nations provisions could cause Triller’s payment or other
obligations to escalate substantially. Additionally, some of Triller’s license agreements require consent to undertake new business
initiatives utilizing the licensed content (e.g., alternative distribution models), and without such consent, Triller’s ability
to undertake new business initiatives may be limited and Triller’s competitive position could be impacted.
If Triller breaches any
obligations in any of its license agreements, or if it uses content in ways that are found to exceed the scope of such agreements, Triller
could be subject to monetary penalties or claims of infringement, and its rights under such agreements could be terminated. Furthermore,
certain of Triller’s licenses are currently expired by their terms, and Triller is relying on ordinary course of dealing extensions
with such licensors. Additionally, Triller is not current on payments under all of its licenses, which may increase the risk of litigation
with certain of its licensors. Triller also runs the risk of such licensors making copyright infringement claims against us, which could
have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business, financial condition, and operating results.
In the past, Triller
has entered into agreements that required Triller to make substantial payments to licensors to resolve instances of past use at the same
time that Triller enters into go-forward licenses. These agreements may also include most-favored nations provisions. If triggered, these
most favored nations provisions could cause Triller’s payments or other obligations under those agreements to escalate substantially.
If Triller needs to enter into additional similar agreements in the future, it could have a material adverse effect on its business, financial
condition, and operating results.
Triller faces risks,
such as unforeseen costs and potential liability, in connection with content Triller produces, licenses, and distributes through Triller’s
Technology Platform.
As a producer and distributor
of content, Triller faces potential liability for negligence, copyright and trademark infringement, claims for violation of the right
of publicity or privacy, or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that Triller produces, license, and distribute,
such as content from its live Events. Triller also may face potential liability for content used in promoting its Technology Platform
and Events, including marketing materials or its community-related content. Triller may decide to remove content from its Technology Platform,
not to place certain content on its Technology Platforms, or to discontinue or alter its production of certain types of content if Triller
believes such content might not be well received by its consumers and partners or could be damaging to its brand and business.
To the extent Triller
does not accurately anticipate costs or mitigate risks, including for content that it obtains but ultimately does not appear on or is
removed from its Technology Platforms, or if Triller become liable for content it produces, licenses or distributes, its business may
suffer. Litigation to defend these claims could be costly and the expenses and damages arising from any liability could harm its business
and reputation. Triller may not be indemnified against claims or costs of these types and Triller cannot guarantee that it is adequately
insured to indemnify Triller for all liability that may be imposed on Triller.
Triller’s
ability to generate revenue from discretionary consumer and corporate spending on entertainment and sports events, such as ticket sales,
corporate sponsorships and advertising, is subject to many factors, including many that are beyond Triller’s control, such as general
macroeconomic conditions and catastrophic events.
Triller’s business
depends on discretionary consumer and corporate spending. Many factors related to discretionary consumer and corporate spending, including
economic conditions affecting disposable consumer income such as inflation, including the current persistent inflationary environment,
unemployment levels, fuel prices and prices for other goods and services, interest rates, including the current environment of rapidly
rising interest rates, changes in tax rates, tax laws that impact companies or individuals, and inflation can significantly impact Triller’s
operating results. Declines in advertising, sponsorship and other Brand partnership revenue can also be caused by the economic prospects
of specific advertisers or industries, by increased competition for the leisure time of audiences and audience fragmentation, by the growing
use of new technologies causing advertisers to alter their spending priorities based on these or other factors. In addition, Brands’
willingness to purchase advertising or to sponsor Triller’s live Events may be adversely affected by lower audience ratings for
Triller’s programming content. While consumer and corporate spending may decline at any time for reasons beyond Triller’s
control, such as economic recessions or other economic conditions, natural disasters, severe weather, pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic,
wars, acts of terrorism, power loss, telecommunications failure or other catastrophic events, the risks associated with Triller’s
businesses become more acute in periods of a slowing economy or recession, which may be accompanied by reductions in corporate sponsorship
and advertising and decreases in attendance at live entertainment and sports events, among other things. There can be no assurance that
consumer and corporate spending will not be adversely impacted by current economic conditions, or by any future deterioration in economic
conditions, thereby possibly impacting Triller’s operating results and growth. A prolonged period of reduced consumer or corporate
spending, as occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, could have an adverse effect on Triller’s business, financial condition
and results of operations.
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Owning and managing
certain Events for which Triller sells media and sponsorship rights and ticketing exposes Triller to greater financial risk than market
participants who are not vertically integrated. If the live Events that Triller owns and manages are not financially successful, Triller’s
business could be adversely affected.
Triller acts as a principal
by owning and managing certain live Events for which it sells media and sponsorship rights and ticketing, such as BKFC. Organizing and
operating a live event involves significant financial risks as Triller bears all or most event costs, including a significant amount of up-front costs.
In addition, Triller typically books its live Events many months in advance of holding the event and often agree to pay various third
parties fixed guaranteed amounts prior to receiving any related revenue. Accordingly, if a planned event fails to occur or there is any
disruption in Triller’s ability to live stream or otherwise distribute an event, whether as a result of technical difficulties or
otherwise, Triller could lose a substantial amount of these up-front costs, fail to generate anticipated revenue and be forced
to issue refunds for media and sponsorship rights, advertising fees, and ticket sales. There can be no assurance that Triller will not
suffer financial harm or adverse impacts to its business operations if Triller is required to cancel and/or reschedule any live Events.
Triller could be compelled to cancel or postpone all or part of an event for many reasons, including poor weather, issues with obtaining
permits or government regulation or performers failing to participate, as well as operational challenges caused by extraordinary incidents
such as terrorist or other security incidents, mass-casualty incidents, natural disasters, public health concerns including pandemics
such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic or similar events. Such incidents have been shown to cause a nationwide disruption of commercial
and leisure activities. For example, in 2021 and 2022 Triller had to cancel a total of four Events due to key participants contracting COVID-19. These
cancelations resulted in Triller’s being unable to recoup or avoid payment for various nonrefundable expenses Triller had paid and/or
incurred in connection with such Events. Triller often has cancellation insurance policies in place to cover a portion of its losses if
it is compelled to cancel an event, but its coverage may not be sufficient and is subject to deductibles. If the live Events that Triller
owns and manages are not financially successful, it could suffer an adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of
operations.
The failure to
continue creating and partnering with those who create popular live events and pay-per-view programming could adversely impact
Triller’s business.
The creation, marketing
and distribution of Triller’s media entertainment programming, including Triller’s pay-per-view and digital live
Events, is critical to Triller’s business and to Triller’s ability to generate revenues. A failure to continue developing
or partnering with those who develop creative and entertaining programs and events would likely lead to a decline in the popularity of
Triller’s brand of entertainment and would adversely affect Triller’s ability to generate revenues and could have a material
adverse effect on Triller’s business, operating results and financial condition.
Triller may pay
upfront expenses when planning live Events, entering into exclusive agreements for video series, or licensing rights to distribute and
publicly perform music, and if these arrangements do not perform as Triller expects, its business, results of operations and financial
condition may be harmed.
Triller may pay one-time, upfront non-recoupable or
recoupable signing fees or advances to certain entertainers (e.g. musicians, athletes, and influencers) or event venues in order to produce
high-quality live and virtual entertainment, or gain exclusive ticketing or streaming video rights. Triller may also pay upfront fees
for access to song catalogs by music labels. If the party does not comply with the terms of the contract or perform an event, such fees
are refundable to Triller. Triller pay these upfront fees based on the expectations to generate revenue on ticket sales, sponsorships,
advertising and on-demand payments by users. Triller makes the decision to make these payments based on its assessment of the
past success of the entertainers, past event data, and other financial information. Triller includes commercial and legal protections
in its contracts that include upfront fees, such as requiring certain performance obligations, to mitigate the financial risk of making
these payments. However, live and virtual Events may vary greatly from year-to-year and from event to event as a result of external
factors, including event planning and budgeting commitments as well as other competing events, streaming platform commitments, etc. If
Triller’s assumptions and expectations prove wrong, or a counterparty defaults, resulting in an unsuccessful event, Triller’s
return on these signing fees will not be realized and Triller’s business and results of operations will be harmed.
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Further, Triller has
in the past, and may in the future, face legal claims from Creators or vendors who did not receive advanced payout payments, which may
harm Triller’s business, results of operation and financial condition. Triller has in the past, and may in the future, also face
legal claims from Creators who did not meet contractual minimums or other contractual provisions to receive payments, which may harm Triller’s
business, results of operation or financial condition.
Participants and
spectators in connection with Triller’s live entertainment and sports Events are subject to potential injuries and accidents, which
could subject Triller to personal injury or other claims and increase Triller’s expenses (for which Triller’s insurance may
not provide adequate coverage), as well as reduce attendance at Triller’s live entertainment and sports Events, causing a decrease
in Triller’s revenue.
Triller holds numerous
live Events each year. This schedule exposes Triller’s performers, athletes and Triller’s employees who are involved in the
production of those Events to the risk of travel and performance-related accidents, the consequences of which are not fully covered by
insurance. The physical nature of Triller’s Events exposes Triller’s performers and athletes to the risk of serious injury
or death. There are inherent risks to participants and spectators involved with producing, attending or participating in live entertainment
and sports events including the risk of an actual or threatened terrorist act, fire, explosion, protests, riots, and other safety or security
issues, any one of which could result in injury or death to attendees and/or damage to the facilities at which such an event is hosted.
Injuries and accidents may occur from time to time in the future, which could subject Triller to substantial claims and liabilities for
injuries. Incidents in connection with Triller’s entertainment and sports Events at any of Triller’s venues or venues that
Triller rents could also result in claims, reducing operating income or reducing attendance at Triller’s Events, causing a decrease
in Triller’s revenues. There can be no assurance that the insurance Triller maintains will be adequate to cover any potential losses.
The physical nature of many of Triller’s live sports Events exposes the athletes that participate to the risk of serious injury
or death. For example, participants in BKFC do not wear any padding or gloves, which may result in increased numbers of injuries, including,
among others, maxillofacial fractures and dental avulsions. These injuries could also include concussions or more serious injuries, and
many sports leagues and organizations have been sued by athletes over alleged long-term neurocognitive impairment arising from concussions.
Although the participants in certain of Triller’s live sports Events, as independent contractors, are responsible for maintaining
their own health, disability and life insurance, Triller may seek coverage under its accident insurance policies or its general liability
insurance policies, for injuries that athletes incur while competing. To the extent such injuries are not covered by its policies, Triller
may self-insure medical costs for athletes for such injuries. Liability to Triller resulting from any death or serious injury, including
concussions, sustained by athletes while competing, could adversely affect its business, financial condition, and operating results.
Triller’s live
Events will entail other risks inherent in public live events, including air and land travel interruption or accidents, the spread of
illness, injuries resulting from building problems, equipment malfunction, terrorism or other violence, local labor strikes
and other “force majeure” type events. If an event Triller hosts or in which Triller participates experiences an internet
or power outage, the event may be delayed or canceled, and Triller’s reputation may be harmed. These circumstances could result
in personal injuries or deaths, including to Triller’s employees and contractors, canceled Events and other disruptions
to Triller’s business or result in liability to third parties. Triller cannot guarantee its insurance policies will provide Triller
coverage for these incidents or that any coverage Triller obtain will be adequate to cover its liabilities. Moreover, if there were a
public perception that the safety or security measures are inadequate at the Events Triller hosts, whether or not that is the case, it
could result in reputational damage and a decline in future attendance at Events hosted by Triller. In addition, Triller streams a number
of live Events every year, and if an event Triller hosts or participates in experiences an internet or power outage, the event may be
delayed or canceled, and Triller’s reputation may be harmed and Triller may incur additional financial expense. The occurrence of
any of these circumstances could adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
A decline in the
popularity of Triller’s brand of sports entertainment, including as a result of changes in the social and political climate, could
adversely affect Triller’s business.
Triller’s operations
are affected by consumer tastes and entertainment trends, which are unpredictable and subject to change and may be affected by changes
in the social and political climate. Some of live event programming is created to evoke a passionate response from consumers. For example,
BKFC live Events may be negatively perceived by some parts of the public and negative events or publicity related to such Events may result
in a decline in the popularity of such events.
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A determination
that independent contractors are employees could expose Triller to various liabilities and additional costs.
In certain states, notably
California and New York, legislative changes have been enacted or are contemplated that draw into question Triller’s ability to
treat performers and athletes as independent contractors in those states. The impact of these initiatives on Triller is unknown. If Triller
is required to reclassify independent contractors as employees, Triller may incur additional costs and taxes which could adversely affect
Triller’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Regulations that govern
the status and classification of independent contractors are subject to changes and divergent interpretations by various authorities,
which can create uncertainty and unpredictability for Triller. For example, in 2020 California passed a worker classification statute
(“ AB 5 ”), which effectively narrowed the definition of an independent contractor by requiring hiring entities to use
a stricter test to determine a given worker’s classification. In addition, AB 5 places the burden of proof for classifying workers
as independent contractors on hiring entities and provides enforcement powers to the state and certain cities. Legislative proposals concerning
worker classification are being considered by various other states, including New York and New Jersey. Additionally, any requirement to
reclassify independent contractors as employees may require Triller to significantly alter Triller’s existing business model or
operations, including suspending or ceasing operations in impacted jurisdictions, increase Triller’s costs and impact Triller’s
ability to add new talent and grow Triller’s business. For instance, existing talent may decide not to partner with Triller and
new talent may not join given the loss of flexibility under an employment model. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on
Triller’s business, financial condition, and results of operations and Triller’s ability to achieve or maintain profitability.
If ultimately required, worker’s compensation insurance for Triller’s talent or other aspects of their treatment as employees
in those states could add expense to, or otherwise alter, Triller’s operations, which could affect Triller’s business, financial
condition and/or results of operations. Liability to Triller resulting from any death or serious injury sustained by one of Triller’s
performers or athletes while performing could adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition and operating results.
The Company’s
insurance may not be adequate.
Triller plans to hold
numerous live Events each year. This schedule exposes Triller’s performers and Triller’s employees who are involved in the
production of those Events to the risk of travel and performance-related accidents, the consequences of which may not be fully covered
by insurance. The physical nature of the Company’s Events exposes the Company’s performers to the risk of serious injury or
death. Although the Company has general liability insurance and umbrella insurance policies, and although the Company’s performers
are responsible for obtaining their own health, disability and life insurance, the Company cannot assure you that the consequences of
any accident or injury will be fully covered by insurance. the Company’s liability resulting from any accident or injury not covered
by the Company’s insurance could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, operating results and financial
condition.
Triller may be
prohibited from promoting and conducting Triller’s live Events if it does not comply with applicable regulations.
In various states in
the United States, athletic commissions and other applicable regulatory agencies require Triller to comply with their regulations, which
may include obtaining promoters licenses, performers licenses, medical licenses and/or event permits in order for Triller to promote and
conduct Triller’s live events. In the event that Triller fails to comply with the regulations of a particular jurisdiction, Triller
may be prohibited from promoting and conducting live events in that jurisdiction. The inability to present Triller’s live Events
over an extended period of time or in a number of jurisdictions could have a material adverse effect on Triller’s business, operating
results and financial condition.
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Labor disputes,
whether involving Triller’s own employees or sports leagues, creative talent or broadcast partners may disrupt Triller’s operations
and adversely affect Triller’s results of operations.
Some of the performers
and vendors Triller uses for its live Events and content production, including music and athletic talent and production crews, may be
covered by collective bargaining agreements or works councils. If the parties Triller has contracts with are unable to reach agreements
with labor unions before the expiration of their collective bargaining agreements, the individuals who were covered by those agreements
may have a right to strike or take other actions that could adversely affect Triller. Moreover, many collective bargaining agreements
are industry-wide agreements, and Triller lacks control over the negotiations and terms of the agreements. A labor dispute involving Triller’s
contracted parties may result in work stoppages or disrupt Triller’s operations and reduce Triller’s revenue, and resolution
of disputes may increase Triller’s costs.
Labor disputes in sports
leagues or associations could have an adverse impact on Triller’s business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition,
any labor disputes that occur in any sports league or association for which Triller has the rights to broadcast live games or events may
preclude Triller from airing or otherwise distributing scheduled games or events, which could have a negative effect on Triller’s
business, financial condition and results of operations.
The sales cycle
for live events programming varies and may negatively affect Triller’s ability to prepare accurate financial forecasts.
The sales cycle related
to Triller’s live Events programming and the related revenue streams, which typically ranges from a single week to multiple months,
may also cause Triller to experience a delay between increasing operating expenses and the generation of corresponding revenue, if any.
Accordingly, Triller may be unable to prepare accurate internal financial forecasts or replace anticipated revenue that Triller does not
receive as a result of delays arising from these factors, and Triller’s results of operations in future reporting periods may be
below the expectations of investors. If Triller does not address these risks successfully, Triller’s results of operations could
differ materially from Triller’s estimates and forecasts or the expectations of investors, causing Triller’s business to suffer.
Triller has no assurance
that the substantial time and money spent on its sales efforts will generate significant revenue. If conditions in the marketplace, generally
or with specific Brands, Creators or consumers, change negatively, it is possible that Triller will be unable to recover any of these
expenses. Triller’s sales efforts involve educating Triller’s Brands, Creators or consumers about the use, technical capabilities
and benefits of Triller’s Technology Platform. Some of Triller’s Brands, Creators or consumers undertake an evaluation process
that frequently involves not only Triller’s Technology Platform but also the offerings of Triller’s competitors. As a result,
it is difficult to predict when Triller will obtain new Brands, Creators or consumers and begin generating revenue from these new Brands,
Creators or consumers. Even if Triller’s sales efforts result in obtaining a new Brand, Creator or user, it may not sufficiently
justify the expenses incurred to acquire the Brand, Creator or user and the related training support. As a result, Triller may not be
able to add Brands, Creators or consumers, or generate revenue, as quickly as Triller may expect, which could harm Triller’s growth
prospects.
A significant slowdown
in the growth of AI and AI-related markets could affect Triller’s business and earnings. Even if the market does grow,
there is a possibility that Triller may not be able to grow at a similar pace.
AI and AI-related markets
are still in their infancy in comparison to other widely used software types, it is unclear whether AI and AI-related markets
will continue to grow. The success of Triller’s Technology Platform will depend on the willingness of Creators and Brands to increase
their use of AI. If Creators and Brands do not perceive the benefits of AI products and services, then AI and AI-related markets
could experience a significant slowdown in growth, which would diminish the market for Triller’s Technology Platform and have a
negative effect on Triller’s business, operating results, and financial condition. Additionally, if market growth falls short of
Triller’s expectations Triller may not be able to adjust its Technology Platform quickly enough to maintain and grow its operations.
Even if AI-related markets do grow, Triller may not be able to adjust its spending quickly enough to keep pace or grow at a
similar or steady pace with such growth, and Triller may misjudge market and business trends, which would harm its business, operating
results, and financial condition.
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AI services and
products developed by Triller may become obsolete due to fast growing technological innovations or the entry of competitors with more
financial and brand power.
AI is a fast growing
industry and Triller must successfully adapt and manage technological advances in AI and AI-related markets, as well as effectively
compete with the emergence of additional competitors in the industry in order to maintain and grow Triller’s AI business and AI
services. Thus, the success of Triller’s AI services and business depends in large part on Triller’s ability to keep pace
with rapid technological changes in the development and implementation of AI products and services. For example, the development of groundbreaking
technological innovations in AI, or innovations that would render AI obsolete, would harm Triller’s AI related business and make
Triller’s AI services less durable. Further, the entry of competitors into the AI market that have more financial and brand power,
could cause Triller’s share of the market to be significantly reduced thereby negatively affecting Triller’s business, operating
results, and financial condition. For example, both Google and Microsoft have announced near term AI products and services. Any one of
which may be a direct competitor with Triller’s Amplify conversation AI services. There is a risk that these or other competitors
could cause significant disruptions to Triller’s AI business model, and that Triller will be unprepared to compete effectively.
Failure to attract
and retain additional qualified personnel could prevent the Company from executing the Company’s business strategy and growth plans.
To execute the Company’s
business strategy, the Company must attract and retain highly qualified personnel, including in the areas of AI and ML. Competition for
executive officers, software developers, compliance and risk management personnel and other key employees in the Company’s industry
and location is intense. The Company competes with many other companies for software developers with high levels of experience in designing,
developing, and managing cloud-based software, as well as for skilled legal and compliance and risk operations professionals. Many of
the companies with which the Company competes for experienced personnel have greater resources than the Company does and can frequently
offer such personnel substantially greater compensation than the Company can offer. If the Company fails to identify, attract, develop
and integrate new personnel, or fail to retain and motivate its current personnel, its growth prospects would be adversely affected.
The information
that Triller’s AI learns may include highly confidential information. In the unlikely event of a leakage of such confidential information,
Triller’s credibility may be negatively impacted, which may affect Triller’s business, operating results, and financial condition.
Triller’s AI may
come to learn sensitive and confidential information. When accumulating such information the risks of a data breach or inadvertent disclosure
of such information is of paramount concern. The information Triller’s AI obtains may become released due to a hack or data breach
by third-parties as well as accidently released by Triller. Any unauthorized disclosure of such information could damage Triller’s
reputation, interrupt Triller’s operations, and may result in a violation of applicable laws. If such information is released, it
could cause Creators and Brands to not trust Triller’s AI services and reduce the number of customers Triller attracts. Further,
if such a leak were to occur Triller may also have to cease its AI operations to install additional security measures to prevent the further
occurrence of leaks, which may be time consuming and expensive. Accordingly, if there is a leak of sensitive or confidential information
by Triller’s AI, whether as a result of third-parties, or caused by us, it would seriously harm Triller’s business, operating
results, and financial condition.
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Use of new and
emerging AI applications, such as genAI content creation, may require additional investment and costs, and pose risks to Triller’s
business and could subject Triller to legal liability.
Uncertainty around new
and emerging AI applications, such as genAI content creation, may require additional investment in the development of proprietary datasets
and ML models, development of new approaches and processes to provide attribution or remuneration to content creators and building systems
that enable creatives to have greater control over the use of their work in the development of AI, which may be costly and could impact
Triller’s profit margin. Developing, testing, and deploying AI systems may also increase the cost profile of Triller’s offerings
due to the nature of the computing costs involved in such systems.
Triller may use generative
AI tools in its business. GenAI is a broad label describing any type of AI that can produce new text, images, video, or audio clips. Technically,
this type of AI learns patterns from training data and generates new, unique outputs with similar properties. GenAI tools producing content
which can be indistinguishable from that generated by humans is a relatively novel development, with benefits, risks, and liabilities
still unknown. Recent decisions of the U.S. Copyright Office suggest that Triller would not be able to claim copyright ownership in any
source code, text, images, or other materials, which Triller develops through use of genAI tools, and the availability of such protections
in other countries is unclear. As a result, Triller could have no remedy if third parties reused those same materials, or similar materials
also generated by AI tools. Triller also face risks to any confidential or proprietary information of the Company which it may include
in any prompts or inputs into any genAI tools, as the providers of the genAI tools may use these inputs or prompts to further train the
tools. Not all providers offer an option to opt-out of such usage, and, even where Triller does opt-out, it cannot guarantee that the
opt-out will be fully effective. In addition, Triller has little or no insight into the third-party content and materials used to train
these genAI tools, or the extent of the original works which remain in the outputs. As a result, Triller may face claims from third parties
claiming infringement of their intellectual property rights, or mandatory compliance with open source software or other license terms,
with respect to software, or other materials or content Triller believed to be available for use, and not subject to license terms or
other third party proprietary rights. Triller could also be subject to claims from the providers of the genAI tools, if Triller uses any
of the generated materials in a manner inconsistent with their terms of use. Any of these claims could result in legal proceedings and
could require Triller to purchase a costly license, comply with the requirement of open source software license terms, or limit or cease
using the implicated software, or other materials or content unless and until Triller can re-engineer such software, materials, or content
to avoid infringement or change the use of, or remove, the implicated third party materials, which could reduce or eliminate the value
of its technologies and services. Any of these risks could be difficult to eliminate or manage, and, if not addressed, could have a material
adverse effect on Triller’s business, results of operations, financial condition, and future prospects.
Issues relating
to the responsible use of our technologies may result in reputational or financial harm and liability.
As with many new emerging
technologies, AI presents risks and challenges and increases ethical and legal concerns relating to its responsible use that could affect
the adoption of AI, and thus our business. Concerns relating to the responsible use of new and evolving technologies in our products and
services may also result in reputational or financial harm and liability and may cause us to incur costs to resolve such issues. We may
not have insight into, or control over, how our customers and other third parties use or deploy the AI models that we trained or assisted
in training, or that were trained using our computing solutions, or that we otherwise make available to customers. We do not control how
others, including customers, use AI models that we develop or make available. We also cannot fully control how users interact with our
inference solution, including whether they may violate our terms of use or that of third-party models with which we integrate. If we enable
or offer AI models that draw controversy due to their perceived or actual impact on society, including, for example, AI models that have
unintended consequences, infringe intellectual property rights or rights of publicity, disseminate illegal, inaccurate, defamatory, or
harmful content, or are controversial because of their impact on human rights, privacy, cybersecurity, employment or other social, economic
or political issues, or if we are unable to develop effective internal policies and frameworks relating to the responsible development
and use of AI models, we may experience brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, financial harm, or legal liability. Complying with
multiple laws, statutes, regulations, self-regulatory frameworks, and industry standards from different jurisdictions related to AI could
increase our cost of doing business, may change the way that we operate in certain jurisdictions, or may impede our ability to offer certain
products and services in certain jurisdictions if we are unable to comply with applicable legal requirements. Compliance with existing
and proposed government regulation of AI, including in jurisdictions such as the European Union (the “ EU ”), as well
as under any U.S. regulation adopted in response to the Biden Administration’s October 2023 executive order on the Safe, Secure,
and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (“ 2023 AI Order ”), may also increase the cost of related
research and development and compliance, and create additional reporting or transparency requirements. In addition, unfavorable developments
with evolving laws and regulations worldwide related to AI, such as those laws that may pause or inhibit continued development or adoption
of AI, may limit global adoption, reduce demand for our products and services, increase our costs to provide our products and services,
impede our strategy, and negatively impact our long-term expectations in this area. For example, given the adoption of the EU AI Act (the
“ AI Act ”) in 2024, we anticipate that there will continue to be significant developing laws and regulations with respect
to AI as the AI industry continues to develop. Changes in AI-related regulation may disproportionately impact and disadvantage us and
require us to change our business practices, which may harm our results of operations. Our, our customers, or others’ failure to
adequately address any of the foregoing concerns or regulations relating to the responsible use of AI may undermine public confidence
in AI and slow adoption of our products and services or harm our reputation or business, financial condition, results of operations, and
prospects.
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Triller may be
unable to protect its patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights, and others may allege that Triller infringes upon their
intellectual property rights.
Triller has invested
significant resources in brands associated with its business such as “Triller,” “Triller Fight Club,” “TrillerFest,”
and “TrillerTV” in an attempt to obtain and protect its public recognition. These brands are essential to Triller’s
success and competitive position. Triller has also invested significant resources in the premium content that it produces.
Triller’s intellectual
property portfolio primarily consists of patents, patent applications, copyrights, registered and unregistered trademarks, trademark applications,
domain names, know-how, and trade secrets. Triller’s trademarks and other intellectual property rights are critical to
Triller’s success and Triller’s competitive position. Triller’s intellectual property rights may be challenged and invalidated
by third parties and may not be strong enough to provide meaningful commercial competitive advantage. While Triller has been issued patents
and have additional patent applications pending, there can be no assurance that Triller’s issued patents will not be limited in
scope or invalidated, or that Triller’s patent applications will result in issued patents. Triller has not registered its intellectual
property in all jurisdictions in which it operates or has plans to operate. If Triller fails to maintain its intellectual property, its
competitors might be able to enter the market, which would harm its business.
Moreover, a portion of
Triller’s intellectual property has been acquired from one or more third parties. While Triller has conducted diligence with respect
to such acquisitions, because Triller did not participate in the development or prosecution of much of the acquired intellectual property,
Triller cannot guarantee that its diligence efforts identified and/or remedied all issues related to such intellectual property, including
potential ownership errors, potential errors during prosecution of such intellectual property, and potential encumbrances or issues arising
through the acquisition that could limit Triller’s ability to enforce such intellectual property rights.
Further, policing unauthorized
use and other violations of Triller’s intellectual property is difficult, particularly given Triller’s international scope,
so Triller is susceptible to others infringing, diluting or misappropriating its intellectual property rights. If Triller is unable to
maintain and protect its intellectual property rights adequately, Triller may lose an important advantage in the markets in which it competes.
In particular, the laws of certain foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights in the same manner as do the laws of
the United States and, accordingly, Triller’s intellectual property is at greater risk in those countries even where Triller takes
steps to protect such intellectual property. For example, some license provisions protecting against unauthorized use, copying, transfer,
and disclosure of Triller’s products, or certain aspects of Triller’s Technology Platform or products may be unenforceable
under the laws of certain jurisdictions. Further, competitors, foreign governments, foreign government-backed actors, criminals, or other
third parties may gain unauthorized access to Triller’s proprietary information and technology. Additionally, certain unauthorized
use of Triller’s intellectual property may go undetected, or Triller may face legal or practical barriers to enforcing its legal
rights even where unauthorized use is detected. Triller has not actively monitored trademark filings by third parties. The disclosure
to, or independent development by, a competitor of any of Triller’s trade secrets, know-how or other technology not protected
by a patent or other intellectual property system could materially reduce or eliminate any competitive advantage that Triller may have
over such competitor. Additionally, failure to comply with applicable procedural, documentary, fee payment, foreign filing license and
other similar requirements with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and various similar foreign governmental agencies could
result in abandonment or lapse of the affected patent, trademark or application. Accordingly, despite Triller’s efforts, Triller
may be unable to prevent third parties from infringing upon, misappropriating or designing around Triller’s technology and intellectual
property or claiming that Triller infringes upon or misappropriate their technology and intellectual property.
The confidentiality and
invention agreements Triller has entered into to protect its intellectual property rights may not have been properly entered into on every
occasion with the applicable counterparty, and Triller cannot predict whether these agreements will be adequate to prevent infringement
or misappropriation of these rights or be sufficient to ensure ownership of these rights, and such agreements can be difficult and costly
to enforce or may not provide adequate remedies if violated. Further, Triller may not have entered into such agreements with all relevant
parties. If Triller failed to enter into one of these agreements, or if the assignment language is found to be insufficient under applicable
laws, it may not have effectively granted ownership of certain technology or other intellectual property to Triller. In such an event,
there would be a risk that the applicable counterparty would not be available to (or would not be willing to) assist Triller in perfecting
its ownership of the technology or intellectual property, or the counterparty may even assert ownership rights against Triller and make
claims for fees, damages, or equitable relief with respect to such technology or intellectual property, which may have an adverse effect
on Triller’s ability to utilize, perfect, or protect Triller’s proprietary rights over such technology and intellectual property.
Such agreements may also be breached and trade secrets or confidential information may be willfully or unintentionally disclosed, including
by employees who may leave Triller’s company and join Triller’s competitors, or Triller’s competitors or other parties
may learn of the information in some other way. Any such infringement of Triller’s intellectual property rights would also likely
result in Triller’s commitment of time and resources to protect these rights. Triller has engaged, and continue to engage, in litigation
with parties that claim or misuse some of its intellectual property. Triller is involved in certain pending lawsuits relating primarily
to the ownership of certain intellectual property rights. Similarly, Triller may infringe on others’ intellectual property rights.
One or more adverse judgments with respect to these intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on Triller’s
business, operating results and financial condition.
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From time to time, in
the ordinary course of Triller’s business, Triller has been and may become involved in administrative processes, including re-examination, inter
partes review, interference, derivation opposition and/or cancellation proceedings with respect to some of Triller’s intellectual
property or third-party intellectual property. Any such proceedings or other litigation or dispute involving the scope or enforceability
of Triller’s intellectual property rights or any allegation that Triller infringes, misappropriate or dilute upon the intellectual
property rights of others, regardless of the merit of these claims, could be costly and time-consuming and have in the past and may in
the future lead to loss or narrowing of Triller’s intellectual property. If any infringement or other intellectual property claim
made against Triller by any third party is successful, if Triller is required to indemnify a third party with respect to a claim, or if
Triller is required to, or decide to, cease use of a brand or technology, rebrand or obtain non-infringing intellectual property
(such as through a license), it could result in harm to Triller’s competitive position, delay introductions of enhancements to Triller’s
platform, result in Triller’s substituting inferior or more costly technologies into Triller’s platform, or harm Triller’s
reputation and brand, and could adversely affect Triller’s business and financial condition. Triller expects that the occurrence
of infringement claims is likely to grow as the market for Triller’s Technology Platform and Events grows and as Triller introduces
new and updated products and offerings. Accordingly, Triller’s exposure to damages resulting from infringement claims could increase
and this could further exhaust Triller’s financial and management resources.
Through new and existing
legal and illegal distribution channels, consumers have increasing options to access entertainment video. Piracy, in particular, threatens
to damage Triller’s business. Furthermore, in light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid
global growth. Triller’s streaming video solutions are directly threatened by the availability and use of pirated alternatives.
The value that streaming services are willing to pay for content that Triller develops may be reduced if piracy prevents these services
from realizing adequate revenues on these acquisitions.
Lastly, in the event
of a bankruptcy, Triller’s intellectual property licenses could be affected in numerous ways. A bankruptcy could result in Triller
losing intellectual property rights. In particular, the United States Bankruptcy Code definition of intellectual property only includes
trade secrets, patents and patent applications, copyrights, and mask works and does not include trademarks so in the event of Triller’s
bankruptcy, Triller could lose rights to its trademarks.
Triller has been,
and in the future may be, sued by third parties for alleged infringement of their proprietary rights.
There is considerable
patent and other intellectual property development activity in Triller’s market, and litigation, based on allegations of infringement
or other violations of intellectual property, is frequent in the music and social media industries. However, Triller may not be aware
if Triller’s Technology Platform or technology is infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating third-party intellectual
property rights, and such third parties may bring claims alleging such infringement, misappropriation, or violation. Because patent applications
can take years to issue and are often afforded confidentiality for some period of time, there may currently be pending applications, unknown
to us, that later result in issued patents that could cover Triller’s Technology Platform or technology and there is also a risk
that Triller could adopt a technology without knowledge of a pending patent application, which technology would infringe a third-party
patent once that patent is issued. Furthermore, it is common for individuals and groups to purchase patents and other intellectual property
assets for the purpose of making claims of infringement to extract settlements from companies like Triller’s. Triller’s patent
portfolio may provide little or no deterrence in a litigation with such non-practicing entities or other adverse patent owners
that have no relevant solution revenue as Triller would not be able to assert its patents against such entities or individuals.
Triller’s use of
third-party content, including music content, software, and other intellectual property rights may be subject to claims of infringement
or misappropriation. Triller cannot guarantee that its internally developed or acquired technologies and content do not or will not infringe
the intellectual property rights of others. From time to time, Triller’s competitors or other third parties have in the past and
may in the future claim that Triller is infringing upon or misappropriating their intellectual property rights, and Triller may be found
to be infringing upon such rights.
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Many potential litigants,
including some of Triller’s competitors and patent-holding companies, have the ability to dedicate substantial resources to assert
their intellectual property rights and to defend claims that may be brought against them. Claims or litigation have caused in the past
and could in the future cause Triller to incur significant expenses and, if successfully asserted against us, could require that Triller
pays substantial damages or ongoing royalty payments, prevent Triller from offering its Technology Platform or services or using certain
technologies, force Triller to implement expensive work-arounds, or impose other unfavorable terms. In addition, Triller may be required
to license additional technology from third parties to develop and market new platform features, which may not be on commercially reasonable
terms, or at all, and would adversely affect Triller’s ability to compete. Any license or settlement entered into as the result
of claims or litigation may not provide Triller with sufficient rights to practice Triller’s Technology Platform. Triller has in
the past and may in the future enter into patent license agreements as a result of third-party patent assertions. In the event that Triller
does not comply with the requirements of a patent license agreement or fail to make required payments, Triller may be subject to breach
of contract claims, which may subject Triller to monetary damages and loss of rights under the license agreement. Triller expects that
the occurrence of infringement claims is likely to grow as the market for Triller’s Technology Platform and Events grows and as
Triller introduces new and updated products and offerings. Accordingly, Triller’s exposure to damages resulting from infringement
claims could increase and this could further exhaust Triller’s financial and management resources. Further, during the course of
any litigation, Triller may make announcements regarding the results of hearings and motions, and other interim developments. If securities
analysts and investors regard these announcements as negative, the value of ILLR Shares may decline. Even if intellectual property claims
do not result in litigation or are resolved in Triller’s favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them,
could divert the resources of Triller’s management and require significant expenditures. Any of the foregoing could prevent Triller
from competing effectively and could have an adverse effect on Triller’s business, financial condition, and operating results.
Moreover, Triller’s
agreements with certain partners and certain vendors include indemnification provisions under which Triller agrees to indemnify them for
losses suffered or incurred as a result of claims of intellectual property infringement pertaining to Triller’s products and technology.
Some of these indemnity agreements provide for uncapped liability and some indemnity provisions survive termination or expiration of the
applicable agreement. Any claim of infringement by a third party, even one without merit, whether against Triller or for which Triller
is required to provide indemnification, could cause Triller to incur substantial costs defending against the claim, could distract Triller’s
management from Triller’s business, and could require Triller to cease use of such intellectual property. Further, because of the
substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, Triller risks compromising Triller’s
confidential information during this type of litigation. Any dispute with a partner or vendor with respect to these intellectual property
indemnification obligations could have adverse effects on Triller’s relationship with that counterparty and other potential partners
or vendors, and harm Triller’s business and operating results. Triller may be required to make substantial payments for legal fees,
settlement fees, damages, royalties, or other fees in connection with a claimant securing a judgment against us, Triller may be subject
to an injunction or other restrictions that cause Triller to cease selling subscriptions to Triller’s platform, Triller may be subject
to an injunction or other restrictions that cause Triller to rebrand or otherwise cease using certain trademarks in specified jurisdictions,
or Triller may be required to redesign any allegedly infringing portion of Triller’s platform or Triller may agree to a settlement
that prevents Triller from distributing Triller’s platform or a portion thereof, any of which could adversely affect Triller’s
business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, Triller’s insurance may not be adequate to indemnify Triller
for all liability that may be imposed, or otherwise protect Triller from liabilities or damages, and any such coverage may not continue
to be available to Triller on acceptable terms or at all.
Triller may incur
significant expenses to protect its intellectual property rights, and if Triller is unable to adequately protect its intellectual property
rights, its competitive position could be harmed.
Triller regards its copyrights,
service marks, trademarks, trade secrets, patents and other intellectual property as critical to its success. Triller relies on a combination
of copyright and trademark laws, trade secret protection, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and other contractual
provisions to protect Triller’s proprietary software, trade secrets and similar intellectual property. Triller has patents, copyrights
and trademarks in certain jurisdictions and may apply for further trademark and copyright registrations and additional patents, which
may provide such protection in relevant jurisdictions. However, Triller cannot assure you that its efforts will prove to be sufficient
or that third parties will not infringe upon or misappropriate its proprietary rights. Unauthorized use of the intellectual property,
whether owned by or licensed to us, could adversely affect Triller’s business and reputation.
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Triller may be
subject to disputes or liabilities associated with content made available on its products and services.
Triller provides various
products and services that enable Brands and Creators and other users to make content available on its service. For example, Creators
or users can record and distribute their content and can upload profile images. These may subject Triller to claims of intellectual property
infringement by third parties if such Brands and Creators or users do not obtain the appropriate authorizations from rights holders. In
addition to intellectual property infringement, Triller has faced and will continue to face other claims relating to content that is published
or made available through its products and services. These may include claims related to defamation, rights of publicity and privacy,
and online safety. For example, Triller is dependent on those who provide content on its service complying with the terms and conditions
of any license agreements with us, its end user license agreements, or commercial agreements Triller may enter into with certain Brands
and Creators or users, which prohibit providing content that infringes the intellectual property or proprietary rights of third parties
or is otherwise legally actionable pursuant to privacy and/or publicity rights, and other applicable laws, rules, and regulations. However,
Triller cannot guarantee that the Brands and Creators and users who provide content on its service will comply with their obligations,
and any failure of Brands and Creators and users to do so may materially impact Triller’s business, operating results, and financial
condition.
Triller and other intermediate online service
providers rely primarily on two sets of laws in the U.S., to shield Triller from legal liability with respect to user activity, including
actions based on invasion of privacy and other torts, unfair competition, copyright and trademark infringement, and other theories based
on the nature and content of the materials searched, the advertisements posted, or the content provided by Brands, Creators or users.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“ DMCA ”) provides service providers a safe harbor from monetary damages for copyright
infringement claims, provided that service providers comply with various requirements designed to stop or discourage infringement on their
platforms by their users. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“ CDA ”) protects providers of an interactive
computer service from liability with respect to most types of content, including defamatory information, provided over their service by
others, including users. Both the DMCA safe harbor and Section 230 of the CDA face regular calls for revision, including without limitation
in a number of CDA reform bills currently being considered by legislators. Furthermore, recent litigation involving cloud hosting companies
has created uncertainty with respect to the applicability of DMCA protections to companies that host substantial amounts of user content.
For these reasons and others, now or in the future, the DMCA, CDA, and similar provisions may be interpreted as not applying to Triller
or may provide Triller with incomplete or insufficient protection from claims. Changes in any such laws that shield Triller from liability
could materially harm Triller’s business, operating results, and financial condition. In many, but not all, territories outside
of the United States there are laws similar to the DMCA which exempt Triller from copyright infringement liability that may arise due
to hosting user-uploaded materials. In some countries, particularly in Europe and the APAC region, these laws are being readjusted and
new -at times burdensome -constraints are being imposed onto service providers. Although Triller has invested and continue to invest in
systems and resources, which are intended to ensure that Triller is compliant with the requirements of U.S. and international laws relating
to, among other things, materials that infringe on copyrights and contain other objectionable content, Triller’s systems may not
be sufficient or Triller may unintentionally err and fail to comply with these laws and regulations which could expose Triller to claims,
judgments, monetary liabilities and other remedies, and to limitations on Triller’s business practices which could materially adversely
affect Triller’s business and financial results. For example, Triller entered into a settlement agreement relating to a lawsuit
for copyright infringement whereby Triller agreed to pay Wixen $10.0 million in scheduled payments through September 2024 and approximately
$5.5 million remains due. To date, Triller was unable to satisfy this obligation and as a result on or about December 18, 2024, Wixen
filed a Complaint against Triller, Inc. in the Superior Court in Los Angeles, California alleging breach of contract in connection with
Triller’s alleged breach of the subject settlement agreement. If Triller is not able to obtain sufficient financing to satisfy these
obligations it will have a material adverse effect on its business and Triller may have to limit operations in a manner inconsistent with
its development and growth plans.
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Given the large volume
of content that various third parties make available on Triller’s Technology Platform, it is challenging for Triller to accurately
verify the legitimacy of such content and review or moderate such content to ensure that it is otherwise in compliance with Triller’s
policies, so inappropriate content may be posted or activities executed before Triller is able to take protective action, which could
subject Triller to legal liability. Even if Triller complies with legal obligations to remove or disable content, Triller may continue
to allow use of its products or services by individuals or entities who others find hostile, offensive, or inappropriate. The activities
or content of Triller’s Creators, Brands or users may lead Triller to experience adverse political, business and reputational consequences,
especially if such use is high profile. Conversely, actions Triller takes in response to the activities of Triller’s Creators, Brands
or users, up to and including banning them from using Triller’s products, services, or properties, may harm Triller’s brand
and reputation. In addition to liability based on Triller’s activities in the United States, Triller may also be deemed subject
to laws in other countries that may not have the same protections or that may impose more onerous obligations on us, which may impose
additional liability or expense on us, including additional theories of intermediary liability.
In addition, Brands may
not wish to associate with certain types of content and if Triller cannot reliably exclude their ads from certain types of content, Triller’s
business relationships may also be negatively impacted. If Triller fails to build and maintain an effective system to moderate the content
on Triller’s Technology Platform, Triller’s users, Creators, or Brands may lose trust in us, Triller’s reputation may
be impaired, and Triller’s business may be adversely affected.
Triller is subject
to governmental regulation and other legal obligations, particularly related to privacy, data protection and information security, and
Triller’s actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm Triller’s business, including regulatory
investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of Triller’s business operations; reputational harm; loss
of revenue or profits; and other adverse business consequences.
Since Triller processes
personal information and other sensitive data such as confidential business data, trade secrets, and intellectual property, from and about
Triller’s Creators, Brands, users, employees, service providers, and other third parties, Triller is subject to general business
regulations and laws, as well as regulations and laws specific to the internet, which may include laws and regulations related to user
privacy, data protection, information security, consumer protection, payment processing, taxation, intellectual property, electronic contracts,
internet access and content restrictions. Triller’s handling of data is subject to a variety of laws and regulations, including
regulation by various government agencies, including the FTC, and various state, local and foreign regulators. The U.S. federal and various
state and foreign governments have adopted or proposed limitations on the collection, distribution, use and storage of personal data of
individuals. Any failure or perceived failure by Triller to comply with privacy or security laws, policies, legal obligations or industry
standards or any security incident that results in the unauthorized disclosure, release or transfer of personal data or other user data
may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation, fines and penalties and/or adverse publicity, and could cause Triller’s
users to lose trust in us, which could have an adverse effect on Triller’s reputation and business. Triller cannot guarantee that
it has been or will be fully compliant in every jurisdiction. Litigation and regulatory proceedings are inherently uncertain, and the
laws and regulations governing issues such as privacy, payment processing, taxation and consumer protection related to the internet continue
to develop.
As Triller’s service
and others like Triller gain traction in international markets, governments are increasingly looking to introduce new or extend legacy
regulations to these services. Laws and regulations concerning privacy, data protection and information security are evolving, and changes
to such laws and regulations could require Triller to change features of Triller’s services, which may in turn reduce demand for
Triller’s services. Triller’s failure to comply with federal, state and international data privacy laws and regulations could
harm Triller’s ability to successfully operate Triller’s business and pursue Triller’s business goals. For example,
the CCPA, among other things, requires covered companies to provide disclosures to California consumers and afford such consumers the
ability to opt-out of sales of personal data.
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Additionally, broad consumer
privacy laws have been enacted in a number of states including California. Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Utah and Virginia. For example,
In April 2024, President Biden signed the bill mandating the ban or sale of TikTok, which passed both the House and Senate with strong
support as the government moved to ban the app over national security concerns. Despite TikTok’s efforts, including lawsuits and
appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the ban, and the Supreme Court scheduled a review for January 2025. It is not yet fully clear
how these laws will be enforced and how certain of their requirements will be interpreted. The effects of these laws are potentially significant
and may require Triller to modify Triller’s data collection or processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs
and expenses in an effort to comply and increase Triller’s potential exposure to regulatory enforcement and/or litigation.
The CCPA has prompted
a number of proposals for new federal and state-level privacy legislation. Such proposed legislation, if enacted, may add additional complexity,
variation in requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment of resources in compliance programs, impact
strategies and the availability of previously useful data and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices
and policies. At the federal level, there is a significant and potentially transformative bipartisan bill being debated.
Other federal and state
laws restrict the use and protect the privacy and security of personally identifiable information. For example, according to the FTC,
failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers’ personal information secure constitutes unfair acts or practices in or affecting
commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). The FTC expects a company’s data
security measures to be reasonable and appropriate in light of the sensitivity and volume of consumer information it holds, the size and
complexity of its business and the cost of available tools to improve security and reduce vulnerabilities. In recent years, the FTC has
paid increased attention to privacy and data security matters, and Triller expects them to continue to do so in the future.
The privacy of children’s
personal data collected online is also becoming increasingly scrutinized both in the United States and internationally. For example, the
United Kingdom’s Age Appropriate Design Code (“ AADC ”) and incoming Online Safety Bill, focuses on online safety
and protection of children’s privacy online. A similar law, the California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (“ CAADCA ”)
was signed into law in California and goes into effect on July 1, 2024. The CAADCA implements into law certain principles taken from the
AADC, among other things, and imposes substantial new obligations upon companies. Passage of the CAADCA and similar laws may further complicate
compliance efforts and may increase legal risk and compliance costs for Triller and Triller’s third party partners. In the U.S.,
Triller may have obligations on the federal level under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“ COPPA ”).
Despite Triller’s efforts, no assurances can be given that the measures Triller has taken to address COPPA requirements will be
sufficient to completely avoid allegations of COPPA violations, any of which could expose Triller to significant liability, penalties,
reputational harm and loss of revenue, among other things. Additionally, new laws and regulations are being considered in various jurisdictions
to require the monitoring of user content or the verification of users’ identities and age such as a comprehensive new measure just
signed into law in Utah.
In addition, many foreign
jurisdictions in which Triller does business, including the European Union and other jurisdictions have laws and regulations dealing with
the collection and use of personal data obtained from their residents, which are more restrictive in certain respects than those in the
U.S. Laws and regulations in these jurisdictions apply broadly to the collection, use, storage, disclosure and security of personal data
that identifies or may be used to identify an individual. Triller may be required to modify its policies, procedures, and data processing
measures in order to address requirements under these or other privacy, data protection, or cyber security regimes, and may face claims,
litigation, investigations, or other proceedings regarding them and may incur related liabilities, expenses, costs, and operational losses.
Within the European Union,
legislators adopted the EU GDPR, which became effective in May 2018, and which imposes heightened obligations and risk upon Triller’s
business and which may substantially increase the penalties to which Triller could be subject in the event of any non-compliance. Under
the EU GDPR, parties are either controllers, which are decision-makers that exercise overall control over the purposes and means of data
processing, whether alone or jointly with one or more other persons, or processors, who act on behalf of, and only on the instructions
of, the relevant controller. In the provision of Triller’s services to its users, Triller generally acts as a controller, which
imposes significant compliance obligations on Triller under the EU GDPR. If Triller fails to satisfy these obligations, it may be subject
to investigation or administrative fines from supervisory authorities or subject to individual claims that Triller failed to comply with
the applicable provisions of EU GDPR. In addition, further to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union on January 31, 2020,
the EU GDPR ceased to apply in the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period on December 31, 2020. In addition, Triller is also
subject to data protection laws in the United Kingdom. The UK GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act 2018 set out the United Kingdom’s
data protection regime, which is independent from but aligned to the European Union’s data protection regime. Non-compliance with
the EU GDPR, or UK GDPR, may result in monetary penalties of up to €20 million (or £17.5 million under UK GDPR) or 4% of worldwide
annual turnover, whichever is higher. Further, a wide variety of other potential enforcement powers are available to competent supervisory
authorities in respect of potential and suspected violations of the EU GDPR, or UK GDPR, including audit and inspection rights, and powers
to order temporary or permanent bans on all or some processing activities. The EU GDPR and UK GDPR also confer a private right of action
on data subjects and consumer associations to lodge complaints with supervisory authorities, seek judicial remedies, and obtain compensation
for damages resulting from violations of the EU GDPR and UK GDPR.
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The EU GDPR also provides
that European Economic Area (“ EEA ”) Member States may make their own further laws and regulations to introduce additional
requirements (for example, related to the processing of “special categories of personal data,” as well as personal data related
to criminal offenses or convictions) which adds to the complexity of processing personal data in or from the EEA or the United Kingdom.
This may lead to greater divergence in the law that applies to the processing of personal data across the EEA and/or United Kingdom, compliance
with which could limit Triller’s ability to collect and process data in the context of Triller’s EEA and/or United Kingdom
operations, and/or could cause Triller’s compliance costs to increase, ultimately having an adverse impact on Triller’s business
and harming Triller’s business and financial condition.
The EU GDPR also regulates
cross-border transfers of personal data and requires transferee countries to have protections equivalent to protections available in the
EU. The EU GDPR imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data to countries outside the EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom,
including the United States, in respect of which the European Commission or the United Kingdom government has not issued a so-called “adequacy
decision” or “adequacy regulation” (known as “third countries”), unless the parties to the transfer have
implemented specific safeguards to protect the transferred personal data. This includes putting in place the European Commission’s
Standard Contractual Clauses (“ SCCs ”) for transfers outside of the EEA and a similar transfer mechanism for transfers
of personal data outside of the United Kingdom, the International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum (“ IDTA ”). Under
both the EU GDPR and the UK GDPR, exporters are also required to assess the risk of the data transfer on a case-by-case basis, including
conducting an analysis of the laws in the destination country. The SCCs had to be in place by December 27, 2022, whereas the IDTA must
be implemented in all existing contracts by March 21, 2024. Finalizing the implementation of the updated SCCs and IDTA, and conducting
the required risk assessments, may continue to necessitate significant contractual overhaul of Triller’s data transfer arrangements
with users, sub-processors and vendors. On June 28, 2021, the European Commission published its decision recognizing the United Kingdom
as having adequate laws to the protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects such that personal data may transfer to from the EU to
the United Kingdom without an approved transfer mechanism. The decision is effective for four years and its continuing effect is dependent
on United Kingdom and regulation on data privacy not diverging materially from the EU GDPR. The United Kingdom Government also confirmed
that data transfers to the EU remain free flowing.
In addition, other European
data protection laws require that affirmative opt-in consent is procured to the placement of cookies and similar tracking technologies
on users’ devices (other than those that are “strictly necessary” to provide services requested by the user), including
those used for analytics, personalization of experiences and advertising. These requirements may increase Triller’s exposure to
regulatory enforcement actions, increase Triller’s compliance costs and reduce demand for Triller’s products. A new regulation
proposed in the EU, which would apply across the EEA, known as the ePrivacy Regulation, if and when enacted, may further restrict the
use of cookies and other online tracking technologies on which Triller’s products rely, as well as increase restrictions on the
types of direct marketing campaigns that Triller’s platform enables. The final version of the ePrivacy Directive is likely to introduce
regulatory enforcement powers akin to those available to supervisory authorities under the EU GDPR, including significant administrative
fines and other penalties for non-compliance. Given the delay in finalizing the ePrivacy Regulation, certain regulators have issued guidance
on the requirement to seek strict opt-in consent to all non-essential cookies and similar technologies and the requirement to increase
the standard of transparency relating to use of cookies and similar technologies. Triller is likely to need to invest significantly in
compliance with these types of new legislation in order to attract and maintain users in the EEA.
The global regulatory
framework governing the collection, processing, storage, use and sharing of certain information, particularly financial and other personal
data, is rapidly evolving and is likely to continue to be subject to uncertainty and varying interpretations. The proliferation of privacy
and data protection laws has heightened risks and uncertainties concerning cross-border transfers of personal data and other data, which
could impose significant compliance costs and expenses on Triller’s business, increase Triller’s potential exposure to regulatory
enforcement and/or litigation, and have a negative effect on Triller’s existing business and on Triller’s ability to attract
and retain new users.
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Triller publicly posts
documentation regarding its practices concerning the collection, processing, use and disclosure of data. Although Triller endeavors to
comply with its published policies and documentation, it may at times fail to do so or be alleged to have failed to do so. Any failure
or perceived failure by Triller to comply with Triller’s privacy policies or any applicable privacy, security or data protection,
information security or consumer-protection related laws, regulations, orders or industry standards could expose Triller to costly litigation,
significant awards, fines or judgments, civil and/or criminal penalties or negative publicity, and could materially and adversely affect
Triller’s business, financial condition and results of operations. The publication of Triller’s privacy policy and other documentation
that provide promises and assurances about privacy and security can subject Triller to potential state and federal action if they are
found to be deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of Triller’s actual practices, which could, individually or in the aggregate,
materially and adversely affect Triller’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
Triller may in the future
be, subject to enforcement actions, investigations, litigation, or other inquiries regarding Triller’s data privacy and security
practices. Additionally, advocacy organizations have also filed complaints with data protection authorities against advertising technology
companies, arguing that certain of these companies’ practices do not comply with the EU GDPR and/or the UK GDPR. It is possible
that investigations or enforcement actions will involve Triller’s practices or practices similar to Triller’s. If Triller’s
privacy or data security measures fail to comply with current or future laws and regulations, Triller may be subject to claims, legal
proceedings or other actions by individuals or governmental authorities based on privacy or data protection regulations and Triller’s
commitments to users or others, as well as negative publicity and a potential loss of business. Moreover, if future laws and regulations
limit Triller’s ability to process personal data, Triller’s costs could increase, and Triller’s business, results of
operations and financial condition could be harmed. In addition, privacy advocates and industry groups ha
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