INSEEGO CORP. 10-K

Item 1. Business Overview Inseego Corp. is a leader in the design and development of cloud-managed wireless wide area network (“WAN”) and intelligent edge solutions. Our 4G and 5G WAN portfolio is comprised of secure and high-performance mobile broadband and fixed wireless access (“FWA”) solutions with associated cloud solutions for real time WAN visibility, monitoring, automation and control with centralized orchestration of network functions. These solutions are specifically built for the enterprise and small and medium business (“SMB”) market segments with a focus on performance, scalability, quality and enterprise grade security. Our intelligent edge telematics solutions are designed to improve business outcomes for enterprise and SMB market segments. We also provide a wireless subscriber management solution for carrier’s management of their government and complex enterprise customer subscriptions. Our 5G products and associated cloud solutions are designed and developed in the U.S. and are used in mission-critical applications requiring the highest levels of security and zero unscheduled downtime. These solutions support applications such as business broadband for both mobile and fixed use cases, enterprise networking and software-defined wide area network (“SD-WAN”) failover management. Inseego is at the forefront of providing high speed broadband through state-of-the-art 4G and 5G solutions to keep enterprise and SMB customers seamlessly connected. With multiple first-to-market innovations through several generations of 4G and 5G technologies, Inseego has been advancing wireless WAN technology and driving industry transformations for over 30 years. Inseego Corp. is a Delaware corporation formed in 2016 as the successor to Novatel Wireless, Inc., a Delaware corporation formed in 1996, resulting from an internal reorganization that was completed in November 2016. Our principal executive office is located at 9710 Scranton Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92121. Inseego’s common stock trades on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the trading symbol “INSG.” Industry Trends As the largest technology platform in the world, mobile connectivity has changed the way we work, the way we live and the way we connect with each other. The scale and pace of innovation in mobile networks, especially around broadband speeds and network capacity, is expanding the market beyond traditional wireless which was predominantly focused on smartphones. The new capabilities of 5G technology and additional capacity provided by recent mid-band spectrum auctions is allowing mobile operators to enter the home and business broadband markets. These network enhancements will allow enterprise and SMB customers to enable a multitude of business applications to all their distributed sites and employees in an economical way. It is also expected that 5G will enable a variety of new low latency use cases once the complete mid band and core networks are built out. These use cases include telemedicine, industrial automation, robotics, AR/VR, edge computing, cloud gaming, and other applications. We believe that 5G mid band networks will bring a number of enhanced benefits not available on 4G networks, including the capacity to add significant numbers of broadband connections to either bring primary or alternative broadband options to a large number of consumer and business users. It is expected that these newly evolving 5G networks will also enable low latency use cases including manufacturing automation, augmented and virtual reality, video AI, and distributed networking. The adoption of 5G and the cloud continues to grow as companies across a wide range of industries are leveraging digital transformation technologies to increase efficiency, gain better customer insights, facilitate compliance and build new business models. We believe this growth will be initially driven by fixed wireless access with the new low latency enterprise use cases to follow. Our Strategy Our objective is to be a leader in high performance 5G broadband solutions for mobile broadband and fixed wireless access applications for enterprise and SMBs. We expect to meet this objective through our innovations in 5G hotspots, routers and gateways and our cloud solutions that enable ease of deployment and corporate policy orchestration for network wide distributed deployments. We believe that we have a competitive advantage in the market that is rooted in deep technological differentiation in the 4G/5G modem technology that we design in-house. 5 The key elements of our strategy are to: • Capitalize on our direct relationships with mobile operators, infrastructure vendors, 5G chipset vendors and component suppliers. We intend to continue to capitalize on our direct and long-standing relationships with the key ecosystem players to strengthen our market position within the enterprise and SMB market segments. • Keep enhancing our 5G WWAN solutions portfolio by leveraging our core mobile technologies and platforms. We intend to keep enhancing our 5G WWAN portfolio in partnership with our key carrier customers to bring the latest 5G capabilities to the enterprise and SMB market segments. • Expand our go-to-market to enterprise and SMB customers. We will continue to enhance our routes to market through mobile operators, channel partners, system integrators and OEM partners who sell into these market segments. • Improve SaaS solution penetration . We are focused on continuing to improve our recurring subscription revenue by providing value added capabilities to our customers through the four different types of cloud solutions that we develop. ◦ Our cloud management solution (Inseego Connect) manages all of the 4G and 5G gateways and routers deployed at distributed locations with a single pane of glass for ease of deployment and monitoring of all the connections. ◦ Our newly built 5G SD Edge solution provides real time WAN visibility, monitoring, automation and control. It provides central orchestration of network functions such as SD WAN routing, firewall and cloud security services. ◦ Our wireless subscriber management solution (Inseego Subscribe) is specifically built for carrier servicing of government and is enterprise customers and is currently deployed in North America with a large carrier with several million end users. ◦ Our telematics solutions provide customers with actionable insights and workflow efficiencies with highly secure intelligent device-to-cloud platforms. These solutions are primarily deployed in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Our Business We provide a portfolio of high performance 4G and 5G WAN solutions as well as several types of cloud solutions for the enterprise and SMB market segments. Our 4G and 5G solutions connect end users with high performance broadband for both mobile and fixed wireless use cases. These solutions include “MiFi" ™ hotspots, routers, and gateways for a wide variety of end user deployments. We also offer several types of cloud solutions that are used for managing edge devices including security, SD WAN routing and corporate management of all customer locations. We also provide a wireless subscriber management solution that is used to manage a carrier’s government and complex enterprise customer subscriptions. In international markets we provide a comprehensive end-to-end telematics solution that provides customers with actionable insights and workflow efficiencies. Our products currently operate on all major cellular networks in the US. Our mobile hotspots, sold under the MiFi ™ brand, have been sold to millions of end users and provide secure and convenient high-speed broadband access to the Internet on the go. As the 5G networks continue to expand both coverage and capacity, new enterprise and SMB market opportunities are opening up. The largest initial opportunity is for enterprise and SMBs to provide primary or alternate broadband access to their distributed sites and employees through 5G fixed wireless access offerings. Mobile operators are now providing fixed wireless access specific broadband plans that allow businesses to deploy 5G technology broadly without waiting for the availability of wired connections at those locations. We classify our revenues from the sale of our products and services into two categories: Product Revenue, which consists of our Mobile Solutions and Fixed Wireless Access Solutions, and Services and Other. Mobile Solutions and Fixed Wireless Access Solutions revenues include both the hardware and software required for the respective solution. Mobile Solutions Our 5G and 4G mobile broadband (MiFi) business has been driving advanced wireless mobile technologies for a multitude of consumer and enterprise applications for over 20 years. In the 2000s, Inseego invented mobile hotspots sold under the MiFi ™ brand. During the 2010s, Inseego was a leader in the 4G mobile MiFi ™ market—delivering the highest 4G mobile hotspot performance in the market. In 2019, Inseego developed and produced the world’s first 5G mobile hotspot. In 2022, we launched our third generation 5G mobile hotspot with Telstra, Verizon, and T-Mobile. 6 Our MiFi customer base is primarily comprised of mobile operators. These mobile operators include Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular in the United States, Rogers and Telus in Canada, Telstra in Australia, as well as other international wireless operators, distributors and various companies in other vertical markets and geographies. Our mobile broadband solutions, sold under the MiFi brand, are actively used by millions of end users to provide secure and convenient high-speed access to corporate, public and personal information through the Internet and enterprise networks. Our mobile portfolio is supported by our cloud offerings - Inseego Connect for device management, and 5G SD EDGE for secure networking enabling corporate managed mobile remote workforce. Our Mobile Solutions portfolio also includes 4G VoLTE products and 4G USB modems. Fixed Wireless Access Solutions Our Fixed Wireless Access solutions are deployed by enterprise and SMB customers for their distributed sites and employees as a fully secure and corporate managed wireless WAN solution. The portfolio consists of indoor, outdoor and industrial routers and gateways supported by our cloud solutions – Inseego Connect for device management and 5G SD Edge for secure cloud networking. These solutions, sold under the Wavemaker and Skyus brands, are sold by mobile operators such as T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless along with distribution and channel partners. Services and Other We sell certain other types of SaaS solutions. First is our telematics solution that is deployed across multiple vertical markets in Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. This solution provides real time visibility to fleet managers on their deployed vehicles with live maps and data to improve driver safety and performance. We have thousands of enterprise and SMB customers currently subscribed to this service. Second, we provide a wireless subscriber management solution (Inseego Subscribe) for carrier’s management of their government and complex enterprise customer subscriptions. We also categorize non-recurring engineering services we provide to our customers as Service and other revenue. Sales and Marketing We engage in a wide variety of sales and marketing activities, driving market leadership and global demand through integrated marketing campaigns. This includes product marketing, corporate communications, brand marketing and demand generation. Competition The market for our 5G mobile and fixed wireless access solutions as well as telematics solutions is rapidly evolving and highly competitive. It is likely to continue to be affected by new product introductions and industry participants. We believe the principal competitive factors impacting the market for our products are features and functionality, performance, quality and brand. To maintain and improve our competitive position, we must continue to expand our customer base, invest in research and development, grow our distribution network, and leverage our strategic relationships. Our products compete with a variety of solutions providers in different market segments. Our current competitors include: • Fleet management – Companies such as Lytx and Samsara; • Mobile broadband – Companies such as Netgear, Franklin Wireless, TCL and ZTE • Fixed wireless access – Companies such as Nokia, Cradlepoint, ZTE, Huawei and Cisco As the market for our solutions and services expands, other entrants may seek to compete with us either directly or indirectly. Research and Development Our research and development efforts are focused on developing innovative 4G and 5G mobile broadband and fixed wireless access solutions that includes mobile hotspots, gateways and routers. We also develop associated cloud management and enterprise networking cloud solutions to provide an end-to-end solution to our customers. We also develop a comprehensive portfolio of telematics solutions for markets in Europe, UK, Australia and New Zealand and we develop for our subscriber management platform. We will continue to improve the functionality, design and performance of our current products and solutions. 7 We intend to continue to identify and respond to our customers’ needs by introducing new 5G designs that meet the needs of the market and our customers. We manage our research and development through a structured life-cycle process, from identifying initial customer requirements through development and commercial introduction to eventual phase-out. During product development, emphasis is placed on quality, reliability, performance, time-to-market, meeting industry standards and customer-product specifications, ease of integration, cost reduction, and manufacturability. Intellectual Property Our solutions rely on and benefit from our portfolio of intellectual property, including patents and trademarks. We currently own 46 patents and have 3 patent applications pending. The patents that we currently own will expire at various times between 2026 and 2042. We, along with our subsidiaries, also hold a number of trademarks or registered trademarks including “Inseego”, “Inseego Subscribe”, “Inseego Manage”, “Inseego Secure”, “Inseego Vision”, the Inseego logo, “MiFi”, “MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot”, “Wavemaker” and “Skyus.” Key Partners and Customers We have strategic technology, development and marketing relationships with several of our carrier customers and partners. Our strong carrier, enterprise, and partner relationships provide us with the opportunity to expand our market reach and sales. We partner with leading OEMs, mobile operators, value-added resellers and distributors which allows us to offer our customers integrated soluti ons. Our telematics platform uses leading cellular providers such as Vodafone, Telstra and Optus to ensure the optimal real-time visibility of tracked vehicles and systems, supported by accurate and sophisticated mapping services such as the HERE Open Location Platform. Customers for our products include transportation companies, industrial companies, governmental agencies, manufacturers, mobile operators, system integrators, distributors, and enterprises in various industries, including fleet and vehicle transportation, finance, accounting, legal, insurance, energy and industrial automation, security and safety, medical monitoring and government. Our telematics customer base is comprised of wireless operators, distributors, OEMs and various companies in other vertical markets. Fleet management customers include global enterprises such as BHP Billiton, Super Group, Mammoet and Australia Post. Our customers for our 4G and 5G products include EnerNOC, Thermo Fisher Scientific, US Army, Fastenal, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, amongst others. Customers for our device management solutions include mobile operators such as T-Mobile. A significant portion of our revenue during the year ended December 31, 2023 came from two customers, Verizon and T-Mobile, which together represented approximately 59% of our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023. It is our intention to continue to diversify our customer base. Manufacturing and Operations The hardware used in our solutions is produced by contract manufacturers. Our primary contract manufacturers include Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (“Foxconn”) and Inventec Appliance Corporation (“IAC”), each of whom manufactures our product outside of mainland China. Under our manufacturing agreements, such contract manufacturers provide us with services including component procurement, product manufacturing, final assembly, testing, quality control and fulfillment. These contract manufacturers are located in Asia and are able to produce our products using modern state-of-the-art equipment and facilities with relatively low-cost labor. We outsource our manufacturing in order to: • focus on our core competencies of design, development and marketing; • minimize our capital expenditures and lease obligations; • realize manufacturing economies of scale; • achieve production scalability by adjusting manufacturing volumes to meet changes in demand; and • access best-in-class component procurement and manufacturing resources. 8 Our operations team manages our relationships with the contract manufacturers as well as other key suppliers. Our operations team focuses on supply chain management and logistics, product quality, inventory and cost optimization, customer fulfillment and new product introduction. We develop and control the software that goes on our devices. Employees At December 31, 2023, we had 345 employees of which 331 were full-time employees. We also use the services of consultants and temporary workers from time to time. Our employees are not represented by any collective bargaining unit and we consider our relationship with our employees to be good. Human Capital Resources Our Culture : Culture is critically important to our growth and performance. We are driven by our values of Accountability, Sense of Urgency, Market Driven Innovation, Customer Focus, and Integrity. We are committed to creating a world class employee experience through leadership development, career planning, open two-way communications, total compensation, and a positive work environment. Diversity & Inclusion : Our people are our most important asset. At Inseego, we embrace an inclusive culture because good ideas come from everywhere. Diversity comes in all forms, from different backgrounds and experiences to different perspectives and skill sets. It is this diversity that fuels innovation. It is this common passion to innovate that makes Inseego an equal opportunity employer. Inseego does not unlawfully discriminate in any employment decisions, including hiring, compensation, promotion, discipline, or termination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, protected veteran status or disability. Inseego is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs and practices. Talent : We believe that talent is key to our success. Our human capital resources objectives include, as applicable, identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing, and integrating our existing and new employees. Our company size and culture allows employees to build and expand their skill set in ways that will enrich their careers. Our goal setting and performance evaluation process enables the company to focus on accelerating development for those who are top performers and strengthening the talent pipeline. Employee Health and Wellness: As the success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our employees, we are committed to their health, safety and wellness. We provide our employees and their families with access to convenient health and wellness programs. These programs include benefits that provide protection and security to help give our employees peace of mind concerning events that may require time away from work or that may impact their financial well-being. We offer choice where possible so employees can customize their benefits to meet their needs and the needs of their families. We also sponsor various Health & Wellness Initiatives in the U.S. to help employees find ways to create more balance in their lives. Governmental Regulations Environmental Laws : Our products and manufacturing process are subject to numerous governmental regulations, which cover both the use of various materials as well as environmental concerns. Environmental issues such as pollution and climate change have had significant legislative and regulatory effects on a global basis, and there are expected to be additional changes to the regulations in these areas. These changes could directly increase the cost of energy, which may have an impact on the way we manufacture products or utilize energy to produce our products. In addition, any new regulations or laws in the environmental area might increase the cost of raw materials we use in our products and the cost of compliance. Other regulations in the environmental area may require us to continue to monitor and ensure proper disposal or recycling of our products. To the best of our knowledge, we maintain compliance with all current government regulations concerning our production processes for all locations in which we operate. Since we operate on a global basis, this is a complex process that requires continual monitoring of regulations and compliance effort to ensure that we and our suppliers are in compliance with all existing regulations. Other Regulations : As a company with global operations, we are subject to complex foreign and U.S. laws and regulations, including trade regulations, tariffs, import and export regulations, anti-bribery and corruption laws, antitrust or competition laws, data privacy laws, such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”), and environmental regulations, among others. We have policies and procedures in place to promote compliance with these laws and regulations. To date, our compliance actions and costs relating to these laws, rules and regulations have not resulted in a material cost or effect on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position. Government regulations are subject to change, and accordingly we are unable to assess the possible effect of compliance with future requirements or whether our compliance with such regulations will materially impact our business in the future. 9 Website Access to SEC Filings We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet website at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including Inseego. We maintain an Internet website at www.inseego.com. The information contained on our website or that can be accessed through our website does not constitute a part of this report. We make available, free of charge through our Internet website, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish this information to the SEC.