Item 1A. Risk Factors
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, there 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 September 30, 2025 have been prepared under the assumption that we will continue as a going concern for the next twelve
months. As of September 30, 2025, we had cash and cash equivalents of $1.9 million and an accumulated deficit of $180.6 million. We believe
that our existing cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2025 and expected receipts associated with forecasted product sales will
enable us to meet our capital needs into the first quarter of 2026.
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.
30
Our evaluation of strategic alternatives,
including Mobix Labs’ proposal, may not lead to a favorable outcome and could create business disruption and stock price volatility.
On June 27, 2025, we confirmed
in a public press release the receipt of an unsolicited non-binding acquisition proposal from Mobix Labs, which initial proposal was subsequently
revised by Mobix Labs, most recently on October 3, 2025. On July 11, 2025, we announced that our Board has authorized the exploration
of strategic alternatives, including a merger, sale of assets or other similar transaction, all intended to maximize stockholder value
and further our business operations. This process is ongoing, and our Board has not set a definitive timetable for the completion of its
evaluation. In connection with our ongoing strategic review process, the Board is evaluating Mobix Labs’ revised unsolicited non-binding
proposal to acquire all of our outstanding shares for $1.30 per share in cash, which we received from Mobix Labs on October 3, 2025, and
on October 30, 2025, we entered into a mutual confidentiality agreement with Mobix Labs, which contains customary terms, including mutual
12-month standstill and non-solicitation provisions.
The process of reviewing potential
strategic alternatives has been and may continue to be a significant distraction for our Board and management, and has required and may
continue to require the expenditure of significant time and resources by us, which may cause concern to our employees, investors, strategic
partners, and other constituencies and may have a material impact on our business and operating results and/or result in increased volatility
in our share price.
There can be no assurance
that our strategic review process will result in any transaction or other strategic outcome. Any potential transaction would be dependent
on a number of factors that may be beyond our control, including, among other things, market conditions, industry trends, the interest
of third parties in a potential transaction with us, obtaining stockholder approval and the availability of financing to third parties
in a potential transaction with us on reasonable terms.
We do not intend to disclose
further developments on this strategic review process unless and until we determine that such disclosure is appropriate or necessary.
If we determine to engage in a transaction as a result of our exploration and evaluation of strategic alternatives, our future business,
prospects, financial position and operating results could be significantly different than those in historical periods or projected by
our management. Moreover, the review of strategic alternatives may disrupt our business by causing uncertainty among current and potential
employees, suppliers, customers and investors, and could expose us to potential litigation. The selection and execution of a strategic
alternative may lead to similar disruptions, and parties advocating for alternatives not selected may solicit support for such other alternatives,
causing further disruption. Until the process is concluded, perceived uncertainties related to our future may result in the loss of potential
business opportunities and volatility in the market price of our common stock and may make it more difficult for us to attract and retain
qualified personnel and business partners. Further, any alternative strategic paths that may be pursued and completed ultimately may not
deliver the anticipated benefits or enhance stockholder value.
The occurrence of any one
or more of the above risks could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
If we are unable to satisfy the continued
listing requirements of 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 maintain compliance with the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq, including,
but not limited to, the corporate governance requirements and the minimum closing bid price requirement or the minimum equity requirement.
If we fail to maintain compliance with any such continued listing requirement, there can also be no assurance that we will be able to
regain compliance with any such continued listing requirement in the future 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.
31
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 with the exception of two purchase orders received in September 2025.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, our memory IC products represented approximately 25% and 87% 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
$3.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and $10.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, and we had an accumulated
deficit of approximately $180.6 million as of September 30, 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.
Our 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 remaining severance liabilities as of June 30, 2025 were paid in 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 six months ended June 30, 2024, we expensed the value of
the remaining contractual liabilities and recorded liabilities of approximately $1.6 million. During the three months ended June 30, 2025,
a licensor terminated one of the license agreements and initiated a refund of approximately $56,300 for amounts previously paid by us.
As a result, we reversed approximately $222,600 of expense and approximately $166,300 of the related contractual liabilities for this
licensor during the three months ended June 30, 2025. As of September 30, 2025, the remaining contractual liabilities of approximately
$0.2 million are expected to be paid by December 31, 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.
32
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.
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 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.
ITEM 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
and Use of Proceeds
There are no transactions that have not been previously
included in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.