Peraso Inc. 10-K

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes included in this Report. Overview We were formerly known as MoSys, Inc. (MoSys) and were incorporated in California in 1991 and reincorporated in 2000 in Delaware. On September 14, 2021, we and our subsidiaries, 2864552 Ontario Inc. and 2864555 Ontario Inc., entered into an Arrangement Agreement (the Arrangement Agreement) with Peraso Technologies Inc. (Peraso Tech), a corporation existing under the laws of the province of Ontario, to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Peraso Tech (the Peraso Shares), including those Peraso Shares to be issued in connection with the conversion or exchange of secured convertible debentures and common share purchase warrants of Peraso Tech, as applicable, by way of a statutory plan of arrangement (the Arrangement) under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario). On December 17, 2021, following the satisfaction of the closing conditions set forth in the Arrangement Agreement, the Arrangement was completed and the Company changed its name to “Peraso Inc.” and began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market (the Nasdaq) under the symbol “PRSO.” For accounting purposes, the legal subsidiary, Peraso Tech, has been treated as the accounting acquirer and we, the legal parent, have been treated as the accounting acquiree. The transaction has been accounted for as a reverse acquisition in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) No. 805, Business Combinations (ASC 805). Accordingly, the financial condition and results of operations discussed herein are a continuation of Peraso Tech’s financial results prior to December 17, 2021 and exclude the financial results of us prior to December 17, 2021. See Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements for additional disclosure . Our strategy and primary business objective is to be a profitable, IP-rich fabless semiconductor company offering integrated circuits, or ICs, modules and related non-recurring engineering services. We specialize in the development of mmWave semiconductors, primarily in the 60 GHz spectrum band for 802.11ad/ay compliant devices and in the 28/39 GHz spectrum bands for 5G-compliant devices. We derive our revenue from selling semiconductor devices, as well as modules based on using those mmWave semiconductor devices. We have pioneered a high-volume mmWave production test methodology using standard low cost production test equipment. It has taken us several years to refine performance of this production test methodology, and we believe this places us in a leadership position in addressing operational challenges of delivering mmWave products into high-volume markets. During 2021, we augmented our business model by selling complete mmWave modules. The primary advantage provided by a module is the silicon and the antenna are integrated into a single device. A differentiating characteristic of mmWave technology is that the RF amplifiers must be as close as possible to the antenna to minimize loss, and by providing a module, we can guarantee the performance of the amplifier/antenna interface. We also acquired a memory product line marketed under the Accelerator Engine name and comprises our Bandwidth Engine and Programmable HyperSpeed Engine IC products, which integrate our proprietary, 1T-SRAM high-density embedded memory and a highly-efficient serial interface protocol resulting in a monolithic memory IC solution optimized for memory bandwidth and transaction access performance. As we are not developing new memory products, from a product development perspective, we continue to leverage our current technologies and core competencies to expand our product offerings without incurring significant additional R&D expenses. We incurred net losses of approximately $10.9 million and $10.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and had an accumulated deficit of approximately $117.1 million as of December 31, 2021. These and prior year losses have resulted in significant negative cash flows for almost a decade and have necessitated that we raise substantial amounts of additional capital during this period. We expect to incur operating losses and 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. 27 COVID-19 The global outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and a national emergency by the U.S. government in March 2020. This has negatively affected the U.S. and global economy, disrupted global supply chains, significantly restricted travel and transportation, resulted in mandated closures and orders to “shelter-in-place” and created significant disruption of the financial markets. The full extent of the COVID-19 impact on our operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the pandemic and related actions taken by the U.S. and foreign government agencies to prevent disease spread, all of which are uncertain, out of our control, and cannot be predicted. Since March 2020, certain jurisdictions in which we operate have issued ”shelter-in-place” orders. We have complied with these orders and, when such orders were in place, minimized business activities at our facilities. We have implemented a teleworking policy for our employees and contractors to reduce on-site activity at our facilities. We remain diligent in continuing to identify and manage risks to our business given the changing uncertainties related to COVID-19. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of operations is uncertain and difficult to predict, and we are closely monitoring impacts, especially to customer programs and our supply chain. We have and continue to experience longer lead times for certain components used to manufacture our products. While we believe that our operations personnel are currently in a position to meet expected customer demand levels in the coming quarters, we recognize that unpredictable events could create difficulties in the months ahead. We may not be able to address these difficulties in a timely manner, which could negatively impact our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. The continued spread of COVID-19 has also led to disruption and volatility in the global capital markets. Our ability to raise additional capital to support operations in the future may be impacted, and we may be unable to access the capital markets and additional capital may only be available to us on terms that could be significantly detrimental to our existing stockholders and to our business. Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 15 of this Report describes the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. We have identified the accounting policies below as some of the more critical to our business and the understanding of our results of operations. These policies may involve estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Although we believe our judgments and estimates are appropriate, actual future results may differ from our estimates, and if different assumptions or conditions were to prevail, the results could be materially different from our reported results. Business Combination We allocate the fair value of purchase consideration to the tangible assets acquired, liabilities assumed and intangible assets acquired based on their estimated fair values. The excess of the fair value of purchase consideration over the fair values of these identifiable assets and liabilities is recorded as goodwill to reporting units based on the expected benefit from the business combination. Allocation of purchase consideration to identifiable assets and liabilities affects the amortization expense, as acquired finite-lived intangible assets are amortized over the useful life, whereas any indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill, are not amortized. During the measurement period, which is not to exceed one year from the acquisition date, our records adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to earnings. Acquisition-related expenses are recognized separately from business combinations and are expensed as incurred. 28 Acquired Intangibles Acquired intangible assets consist of developed technology and customer relationships that are measured at fair value at date of acquisition. In valuing acquired intangible assets, we make assumptions and estimates based in part on projected financial information, which makes assumptions and estimates inherently uncertain, particularly for early-stage technology companies. The significant estimates and assumptions used by us in the determination of the fair value of acquired intangible technology assets include the revenue growth rate, the royalty rate and the discount rate. The significant estimates and assumptions used by us in the determination of the fair value of acquired customer contract intangible assets include the revenue growth rate and the discount rate. As a result of the judgments that need to be made, we obtain the assistance of independent valuation firms. We complete these assessments as soon as practical after the closing dates. Any excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the identifiable net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Revenue Recognition We recognize revenue in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board ( FASB) ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and its amendments (ASC 606). As described below, the analysis of contracts under ASC 606 supports the recognition of revenue at a point in time, resulting in revenue recognition timing that is materially consistent with our historical practice of recognizing product revenue when title and risk of loss pass to the customer. We generate revenue primarily from sales of integrated circuits and module products, performance of engineering services and licensing of its intellectual property. Revenues are recognized when control is transferred to customers in amounts that reflect the consideration we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for those goods. Revenue recognition is evaluated through the following five steps: (i) identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer; (ii) identification of the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determination of the transaction price; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognition of revenue when or as a performance obligation is satisfied. Product revenue Revenue is recognized when performance obligations under the terms of a contract with a customer are satisfied. The majority of our contracts have a single performance obligation to transfer products. Accordingly, we recognize revenue when title and risk of loss have been transferred to the customer, generally at the time of shipment of products. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferring products and is generally based upon a negotiated, formula, list or fixed price. We sell our products both directly to customers and through distributors generally under agreements with payment terms typically 60 days or less. We may record an estimated allowance, at the time of shipment, for future returns and other charges against revenue consistent with the terms of sale. License and other Our licensing contracts typically provide for royalties based on the licensee’s use of our memory technology in its currently shipping commercial products. We estimate its royalty revenue in the calendar quarter in which the licensee uses the licensed technology. Payments are received in the subsequent quarter. We also generate revenue from licensing its technology. We recognize License fee as revenue at the point of time when the control of the license has been transferred and we have no continuing performance obligations to the customer. Engineering services revenue Engineering and development contracts with customers generally contain a single performance obligation that is delivered over time. Revenue is recognized using an output method that is consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligation as a measure of progress. 29 Contract liabilities – deferred revenue Our contract liabilities consist of advance customer payments and deferred revenue. We classify advance customer payments and deferred revenue as current or non-current based on the timing of when we expect to recognize revenue. As of December 31, 2021, contract liabilities were in a current position and included in deferred revenue. Fair Value Measurements of Financial Instruments We measure the fair value of financial instruments using a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels, as follows: Level 1—Inputs used to measure fair value are unadjusted quoted prices that are available in active markets for the identical assets or liabilities as of the reporting date. Level 2—Pricing is provided by third party sources of market information obtained from investment advisors rather than models. We do not adjust for or apply any additional assumptions or estimates to the pricing information we receive from advisors. Our Level 2 securities include cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities, which consisted primarily of corporate debt, and government agency and municipal debt securities from issuers with high quality credit ratings. Our investment advisors obtain pricing data from independent sources, such as Standard & Poor’s, Bloomberg and Interactive Data Corporation, and rely on comparable pricing of other securities because the Level 2 securities we hold are not actively traded and have fewer observable transactions. We consider this the most reliable information available for the valuation of the securities. Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and reflect the use of significant management judgment are used to measure fair value. These values are generally determined using pricing models for which the assumptions utilize management’s estimates of market participant assumptions. The determination of fair value for Level 3 investments and other financial instruments involves the most management judgment and subjectivity. The carrying amounts of financial assets and liabilities, such as cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, notes payable and other payables, approximate their fair values because of the short maturity of these instruments. The carrying values of lease obligations and long-term financing obligations approximate their fair values because interest rates on these obligations are based on prevailing market interest rates Valuation of long-lived Assets We evaluate our long-lived assets for impairment at least annually, or more frequently when a triggering event is deemed to have occurred. This assessment is subjective in nature and requires significant management judgment to forecast future operating results, projected cash flows and current period market capitalization levels. If our estimates and assumptions change in the future, it could result in a material write-down of long-lived assets. We amortize our finite-lived intangible assets, such as developed technology and patent license, on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives of three to seven years. We recognize an impairment charge as the difference between the net book value of such assets and the fair value of the assets on the measurement date. Deferred tax valuation allowance When we prepare our consolidated financial statements, we estimate our income tax liability for each of the various jurisdictions where we conduct business. This requires us to estimate our actual current tax exposure and to assess temporary differences that result from differing treatment of certain items for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets, which we show on our consolidated balance sheet under the category of other assets. The net deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if, based upon weighted available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. We must make significant judgments to determine our provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance to be recorded against our net deferred tax asset. We believe that utilization of our net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards, which comprise the majority of our deferred tax assets, may be subject to a substantial annual limitation due to the ownership change limitations provided by the Internal Revenue Code and 30 similar state provisions. See Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this report for an additional description of these limitations . Stock-based compensation We recognize stock-based compensation for equity awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, usually the vesting period, based on the grant-date fair value. We estimate the value of employee stock options on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes model. The determination of fair value of share-based payment awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model is affected by our stock price, as well as assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and subjective variables. These variables include, but are not limited to, the expected stock price volatility over the term of the awards, and actual and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors. The expected term of options granted is derived from historical data on employee exercises and post-vesting employment termination behavior. The expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of our stock price. Results of Operations Net Revenue Years Ended December 31, Year-Over-Year Change 2021 2020 2020 to 2021 (dollar amounts in thousands) Product $ 4,906 $ 1,540 $ 3,366 219 % Percentage of total net revenue 86 % 17 % Product revenue increased in 2021 compared with 2020 due to increased shipments of our mmWave IC and module products. We commenced selling our module products in 2021. We expect revenues to increase in 2022, as we expect increased sales of our mmWave products and full-year contribution of revenues from our memory products. Years Ended December 31, Year-Over-Year Change 2021 2020 2020 to 2021 (dollar amounts in thousands) License and other $ 773 $ 7,550 $ (6,777 ) (90 )% Percentage of total net revenue 14 % 83 % License and other includes license, non-recurring engineering, or NRE, services and royalty revenues. The decrease from 2021 to 2020 was primarily due to a one-time license of $5.0 million from a lead customer recognized in the fourth quarter of 2020, decrease of $5.0 million one license revenue combined with reduced NRE revenues. Cost of Net Revenue and Gross Profit Years Ended December 31, Year-Over-Year Change 2021 2020 2020 to 2021 (dollar amounts in thousands) Cost of net revenue $ 3,270 $ 1,748 $ 1,522 87 % Percentage of total net revenue 58 % 19 % Years Ended December 31, Year-Over-Year Change 2021 2020 2020 to 2021 (dollar amounts in thousands) Gross profit $ 2,409 $ 7,342 $ (4,933 ) (67 )% Percentage of total net revenue 42 % 81 % In 2021 and 2020 cost of net revenue primarily consisted of direct and indirect costs related to IC and module sales. Cost of net revenue increased in 2021 from 2020 due to increased product shipments. 31 Gross profit de creased from 20 21 to 20 20 primarily due to the lower l icense and NRE revenue , which have higher margins than product revenues . Research and Development Years Ended December 31, Year-Over-Year Change 2021 2020 2020 to 2021 (dollar amounts in thousands) Research and development $ 11,471 $ 8,289 $ 3,182 38 % Percentage of total net revenue 202 % 91 % Our research and development expenses include costs related to the development of our products. We expense research and development costs as they are incurred. Research and development expenses increased in 2021 compared with 2020 primarily due to increased personnel costs and consulting expenses were offset by the government wage and rent subsidies. Research and development expenses included stock-based compensation expenses of $2.8 million and $1.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We expect that total research and development expenses will increase in 2022, as we continue development of our products and technologies. Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) Years Ended December 31, Year-Over-Year Change 2021 2020 2020 to 2021 (dollar amounts in thousands) SG&A $ 7,016 $ 7,198 $ (182 ) (3 )% Percentage of total net revenue 124 % 79 % Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel and related overhead costs for sales, marketing, finance, human resources and general management. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased slightly for 2021, compared with the prior year, primarily as a result of decreased legal expenses, bad debt expense and wage and rent expenses. The decrease in wage and rent expenses was attributed to higher government wage and rent subsidies received from the Canadian government, which are recorded as a reduction of operating expenses. This was partially offset by $1.6 million in transaction costs, including legal consulting and accounting and auditing) incurred in connection with the business combination with MoSys and a $1.0 million increase in stock-based compensation expense. Selling, general and administrative expenses included stock-based compensation expenses of $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and of $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. We expect total selling, general and administrative expenses to increase in 2022, as our 2022 will include the results of the MoSys business for the full year. Interest expense Years Ended December 31, Year-Over-Year Change 2021 2020 2020 to 2021 (dollar amounts in thousands) Interest expense $ 2,979 $ 2,101 $ 878 42 % Percentage of total net revenue 52 % 23 % Interest expense was incurred on our loans payable and convertible debentures, which were retired during 2021. See Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report for additional disclosure. 32 Liquidity and Capital Resources At December 31, 2021, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments totaling $18.1 million compared with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $1.7 million as of December 31, 2020. We believe that cash generated from our liquidity sources will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for at least the next twelve months. In 2021, we used $12.0 million in cash from operating activities, which primarily resulted from the net loss of $10.9 million, adjusted for non-cash charges and gains, which included the change in fair value of warrant liability of $8.1 million, changes to operating assets and liabilities of approximately $1.4 million, partially offset by stock-based compensation expenses of $4.5 million, depreciation and amortization expenses of $1.1 million, accrued interest of $0.7 million and amortization of debt discount of $2.1 million. The changes in assets and liabilities primarily related to the timing of the collection of receivables from customers, payments to vendors and decreases in inventory balances. In 2020, we used $10.2 million in cash from operating activities, which primarily resulted from the net loss of $10.2 million, adjusted for non-cash charges and gains, which included stock-based compensation expenses of $1.7 million, depreciation and amortization expenses of $1.4 million, finance cost related to warrants of $1.0 million, accrued interest expense of $0.3 million and amortization of debt discount of $0.6 million, offset by changes to operating assets and liabilities of approximately $5.0 million. The changes in assets and liabilities primarily related to the timing of the collection of receivables from customers and payments to vendors. In 2021, net cash provided from investing activities of $6.6 million represented $6.5 million of proceeds from the Arrangement, $0.4 million proceeds from the maturities of short-term investments partially offset by $0.2 million for purchases of fixed assets and intangible assets. The net cash used in investing activities in 2020 consisted of minimal spend for purchases of fixed assets. In 2021, net cash provided by financing activities was $9.6 million and consisted of $9.1 million in net proceeds received from convertible debentures and net proceeds of $1.3 million from a loan facility, partially offset by $0.8 million for the repayment of loans. In 2020, net cash provided by financing activities was $10.1 million and consisted of $3.4 million in net proceeds received from convertible debentures, $6.2 million in net proceeds received from debtor-in-possession loans, and net proceeds of $0.6 million from a loan facility, partially offset by $0.1 million for the repayment of loans. Our future liquidity and capital requirements are expected to vary from quarter to quarter, depending on numerous factors, including: • level of revenue; • cost, timing and success of technology development efforts; • inventory levels, timing of product shipments and length of billing and collection cycles; • fabrication costs, including mask costs, of our ICs, currently under development; • variations in manufacturing yields, materials costs and other manufacturing risks; • costs of acquiring other businesses and integrating the acquired operations; and • profitability of our business. 33 Working Capital Our primary need for liquidity is to fund working capital requirements of our businesses, capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes. We expect our cash expenditures to exceed receipts in 2022, as we do not expect our revenues will be sufficient to offset our working capital requirements. We incurred net losses of approximately $10.8 million and $10.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and had an accumulated deficit of approximately $117.1 million as of December 31, 2021. These and prior year losses have resulted in significant negative cash flows and have required us to raise substantial amounts of additional capital during this period. To date, we have primarily financed our operations through multiple equity offerings of preferred stock, issuances of convertible debentures, utilization of loan facilities and government subsidies and credits. However, there can be no assurance that our capital is sufficient to fund operations until such time as we begin to achieve positive cash flows. We have an effective shelf registration statement under which we could sell additional securities without advance notice. We may need to raise additional capital, but there can be no assurance that such funding will be available to us on favorable terms, if at all. The failure to raise capital when needed could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. We may not be able to obtain additional financing as needed on acceptable terms, or at all, which may require us to reduce our operating costs and other expenditures, including reductions of personnel, salaries and capital expenditures. Alternatively, or in addition to such potential measures, we may elect to implement additional cost reduction actions as we may determine are necessary and in our best interests. Any such actions undertaken might limit our opportunities to realize plans for revenue growth and we might not be able to reduce our costs in amounts sufficient to achieve break-even or profitable operations. If we were to raise additional capital through sales of our equity securities, our stockholders would suffer dilution of their equity ownership. If we engage in debt financing, we may be required to accept terms that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness, prohibit us from paying dividends, repurchasing our stock or making investments, and force us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios, any of which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. If we need additional capital and cannot raise it on acceptable terms, we may not be able to, among other things: • develop or enhance our products; • expand our product development and sales and marketing organizations; • acquire complementary technologies, products or businesses; • expand operations; • hire, train and retain employees; or • respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated working capital requirements. Our failure to do any of these things could seriously harm our ability to execute our business strategy and may force us to curtail our existing operations or research and development plans. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements We do not maintain any off-balance sheet arrangements or obligations that are reasonably likely to have a material current or future effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or capital resources. Indemnifications In the ordinary course of business, we enter into contractual arrangements under which we may agree to indemnify the counter-party from losses relating to a breach of representations and warranties, a failure to perform certain covenants, or claims and losses arising from certain external events as outlined within the contract, which may include, for example, losses arising from litigation or claims relating to past performance. Such indemnification clauses may not be subject to maximum loss clauses. We have also entered into indemnification agreements with our officers and directors. No material amounts related to these indemnifications are reflected in our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 or 2020. 34 Recent Accounting Pronouncements See Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements in Item 15 of this Report for a full description of recent accounting pronouncements.