Peraso Inc. 10-Q

ITEM 1A. Risk Factors We face many significant risks in our business, some of which are unknown to us and not presently foreseen. These risks could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations in the future. Other than as set forth below, t here have been no material changes with respect to the risk factors disclosed under Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, which we filed with the SEC on March 28, 2025. We might not be able to continue as a going concern. Our consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2025 have been prepared under the assumption that we will continue as a going concern for the next twelve months. As of March 31, 2025, we had cash and cash equivalents of $2.8 million and an accumulated deficit of $177.6 million. We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2025 and expected receipts associated with forecasted product sales, will enable us to meet our capital needs into the third quarter of 2025. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to raise additional capital and to achieve sustainable revenues and profitable operations. We will need to increase revenues substantially beyond levels that we have attained in the past in order to generate sustainable operating profit and sufficient cash flows to continue doing business without raising additional capital from time to time. As a result of our expected operating losses and cash burn for the foreseeable future and recurring losses from operations, if we are unable to raise sufficient capital through additional debt or equity arrangements, there will be uncertainty regarding our ability to maintain liquidity sufficient to operate our business effectively, which raises substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm, in its report on our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If we cannot continue as a viable entity, our stockholders would likely lose most or all of their investment in us. If we are unable to generate sustainable operating profit and sufficient cash flows, then our future success will depend on our ability to raise capital. We cannot be certain that raising additional capital, whether through selling additional debt or equity securities or obtaining a line of credit or other loan, will be available to us or, if available, will be on terms acceptable to us. If we issue additional securities to raise funds, these securities may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of our common stock, and our current stockholders may experience dilution. If we are unable to obtain funds when needed or on acceptable terms, we may be required to curtail our current product development programs, cut operating costs, forego future development and other opportunities or even terminate our operations. Our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operating requirements is a forward-looking statement and involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary as a result of a number of factors, including the factors discussed elsewhere in this “ Risk Factors ” section and in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. We have based this estimate on a number of assumptions that may prove to be wrong and changing circumstances beyond our control may cause us to consume capital more rapidly than we currently anticipate. Our inability to obtain additional funding when we need it could seriously harm our business. If we are unable to satisfy the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq, our common stock could be delisted and the price and liquidity of our common stock may be adversely affected. Our common stock may lose value and could be delisted from Nasdaq due to several factors or a combination of such factors. While our common stock is currently listed on Nasdaq, we can give no assurance that we will be able to satisfy the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq in the future, including, but not limited to, the corporate governance requirements and the minimum closing bid price requirement or the minimum equity requirement. On April 4, 2025, we received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Staff of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) indicating that, based upon the closing bid price of our common stock for the 30 consecutive business days ending on April 3, 2025, we no longer met the requirement to maintain a minimum bid price of $1 per share, as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). 28 In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we have been provided a period of 180 calendar days, or until October 1, 2025, in which to regain compliance. In order to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, the closing bid price of our common stock must be at least $1 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive business days during this 180-day period. In the event we do not regain compliance within this 180-day period, we may be eligible to seek an additional compliance period of 180 calendar days provided we meet the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for the Nasdaq Capital Market, with the exception of the bid price requirement, and if we provide written notice to Nasdaq of our intent to cure the deficiency during this second compliance period by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. However, if it appears to the Nasdaq staff that we will not be able to cure the deficiency, or if we are otherwise not eligible, Nasdaq will provide notice to us that our common stock will be subject to delisting. The above mentioned letter does not result in the immediate delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market. We are monitoring the closing bid price of our common stock and considering our available options in the event the closing bid price of our common stock remains below $1 per share. There can be no assurance that we will be able to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, maintain compliance with the other continued listing requirements of Nasdaq, or that our common stock will not be delisted in the future. If we were to be delisted, we would expect our common stock to be traded in the over-the-counter market which could adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock. Additionally, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including: ● a limited availability of market quotations for our common stock; ● a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future; ● reduced liquidity for our stockholders; ● potential loss of confidence by customers, collaboration partners and employees; and ● loss of institutional investor interest. In the event of a delisting, we can provide no assurance that any action taken by us to restore compliance with listing requirements would allow our common stock to become listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of our common stock, prevent our common stock from dropping below the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement, or prevent future non-compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements. We discontinued the production of our memory products. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, or TSMC, the sole foundry that manufactured the wafers used to produce our memory IC products, discontinued the foundry process used to produce such wafers. As a result, we commenced an end-of-life (EOL) of our memory products in 2023. In March 2025, we fulfilled all outstanding EOL orders for our memory IC products. We do not expect any further shipments or to generate any meaningful revenue from shipments of our memory IC products after March 2025. For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, our memory IC products represented over 58% and 84% of our revenues, respectively. The discontinuation of the production and sale of our memory IC products will negatively impact our future revenues, results of operations and cash flows. We have a history of losses, and we will need to raise additional capital. We incurred net losses of approximately $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and $10.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, and we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $177.6 million as of March 31, 2025. These and prior-year losses have resulted in significant negative cash flows. To remain competitive and expand our product offerings to customers, we will need to increase revenues substantially beyond levels that we have attained in the past in order to generate sustainable operating profit and sufficient cash flows to continue doing business without raising additional capital from time to time. Given our history of fluctuating revenues and operating losses, and the challenges we face in securing customers for our products, we cannot be certain that we will be able to achieve and maintain profitability on either a quarterly or annual basis in the future. As a result, we may need to raise additional capital in the future, which may or may not be available to us at all or only on unfavorable terms. 29 Our recent reduction in force undertaken to significantly reduce our ongoing operating expenses may not result in our intended outcomes and may yield unintended consequences and additional costs. In November 2023, we implemented an employee lay-off and terminated certain consulting positions (the “Reductions”) to reduce operating expenses and cash burn, as we prioritized business activities and projects that we believe will have a higher return on investment. As part of the Reductions, we implemented a temporary lay-off that impacted 16 employees (the “Employees”) of Peraso Tech. During the six months ended June 30, 2024, we determined that we would not recall any of the 11 Employees that remained on our payroll and commenced notifying the remaining Employees that their employment would be terminated. The accrued severance costs are expected to be paid through July 2025. As a result of the decision to not recall the Employees, we determined that it was probable that a number of our non-cancelable licenses for computer-aided design software would not be utilized during the remaining license terms. During the three months ended June 30, 2024, we expensed the value of the remaining contractual liabilities and recorded liabilities of approximately $1.6 million. As of March 31, 2025, we had a remaining liability of approximately $0.6 million, and we expect to pay these license fees through September 30, 2025. In addition to the costs associated with the non-cancelable license commitments for computer-aided design software, the Reductions may result in other unintended consequences and costs, such as the loss of institutional knowledge and expertise, attrition beyond the intended number of employees, decreased morale among our remaining employees, and the risk that we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the Reductions. In addition, while positions have been eliminated certain functions necessary to our operations remain, and we may be unsuccessful in distributing the duties and obligations of departed employees among our remaining employees. We may also be unsuccessful in negotiating any desired strategic alternative or partnership relating to such functions on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. The Reductions could also make it difficult for us to pursue, or prevent us from pursuing, new opportunities and initiatives due to insufficient personnel, or require us to incur additional and unanticipated costs to hire new personnel to pursue such opportunities or initiatives. Further, inflationary pressure may increase our costs, including employee compensation costs, or result in employee attrition to the extent our compensation does not keep up with inflation, particularly if our competitors’ compensation does. If we are unable to realize the anticipated benefits from the Reductions, if we experience significant adverse consequences from the reduction in force, or if we are otherwise unable to retain our employees, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. International trade policies, including protectionist trade policies, such as tariffs and sanctions, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Due to the interconnectedness of the global economy, policy changes in one area of the world can have an immediate and material adverse impact on markets around the world. Changes in international trade policies, including: (i) changes to existing trade agreements; (ii) greater restrictions on free trade generally; and (iii) significant increases in customs duties and tariffs on goods imported into the United States and reciprocal actions by other countries, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Current or future tariffs or other restrictive trade measures may raise the costs of raw materials, components or finished goods, which may adversely impact both our product offerings and our operational expenses. Such cost increases may reduce our margins and require us to increase prices, which could harm our competitive position, reduce customer demand and damage customer relationships. Trade disputes, trade restrictions, tariffs and other political tensions between the U.S. and other countries may also exacerbate unfavorable macroeconomic conditions including inflationary pressures, foreign exchange volatility, financial market instability, and economic recessions or downturns, which may also negatively impact customer demand for our products or services, delay purchases or renewals, limit expansion opportunities with customers, limit our access to capital, or otherwise negatively impact our business and operations. Ongoing tariff, trade restrictions and macroeconomic uncertainty has and may continue to contribute to volatility in the price of our common stock. 30 Ongoing uncertainty regarding trade policies may also complicate our short- and long-term strategic planning, and that of our partners and customers, including decisions regarding hiring, product strategy, capital investment, supply chain design and geographic expansion. While we continue to monitor trade developments, the ultimate impact of these risks remains uncertain and any prolonged economic downturn, escalation in trade tensions, or deterioration in international perception of U.S.-based companies could materially and adversely affect our supply chain, as well as our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, tariffs and other trade developments have and may continue to heighten the risks related to the other risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.