Energous Corp 10-Q

Item 1A. Risk Factors We are subject to many risks that may harm our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. This discussion highlights some of the risks that might adversely affect our future operating results in material ways. We believe these are the risks and uncertainties that are the most important ones we face. We cannot be certain that we will successfully address these risks, and if we are unable to address them, our business may not grow, our stock price may suffer and you could lose the value of your investment in our company. Other risks and uncertainties that we do not currently recognize as material risks, or that are similar to risks faced by other companies in our industry, may also impair our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. The risks discussed below include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from what is in these forward-looking statements. Risks Related to Our Financial Condition We have no history of generating meaningful product revenue, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability. We have a limited operating history upon which investors may rely in evaluating our business and prospects. We have generated limited revenues to date, and as of March 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $303 million. Our ability to generate revenues and achieve profitability will depend on our ability to execute our business plan, complete the development and approval of our technology, incorporate the technology into products that customers wish to buy, and if necessary, secure additional financing. There can be no assurance that our technology will be adopted widely, that we will ever earn revenues sufficient to support our operations, or that we will ever be profitable. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that we will be able to raise capital as and when we need it to continue our operations. If we are unable to raise sufficient additional capital, we may be required to delay, reduce or severely curtail our research and development or other operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, long-term prospects and ability to continue as a viable business. If we are unable to generate revenues of significant scale to cover our costs of doing business, our losses will continue and we may not achieve profitability, which could negatively impact the value of your investment in our securities. We may need additional financing to achieve our long-term business plans, and there is no guarantee that it will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. We may not have sufficient funds to fully implement our long-term business plans. It is likely that we will need to raise additional capital through new financings, even if we begin to generate meaningful commercial revenue. For example, new product development for business partners may require considerable expense in advance of substantial revenue for such products. Such financings could include equity financing, which may be dilutive to stockholders, or debt financing, which could restrict our ability to borrow from other sources. In addition, such securities may contain rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of current stockholders. As a result of economic conditions, general global economic uncertainty (including as a result of actual or perceived disruption caused by COVID-19, or other infectious diseases), political change, and other factors, we do not know whether additional capital will be available when needed, or that, if available, we will be able to obtain additional capital on reasonable terms. If we are unable to raise additional capital due to the volatile global financial markets, general economic uncertainty or other factors, we may be required to curtail development of our technology or reduce operations as a result, or to sell or dispose of assets. Any inability to raise adequate funds on commercially reasonable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, including the possibility that a lack of funds could cause our business to fail and liquidate with little or no return to investors. 23 Risks Related to Our Technology and Products We may not be able to develop all the features we seek to include in our technology. We have developed commercial products, as well as working prototypes, that utilize our technology. Additional features and performance specifications we seek to include in our technology have not yet been developed. For example, some customer applications may require specific combinations of cost, footprint, efficiencies and capabilities at various frequencies, charging power levels and distances. We believe our research and development efforts will yield additional functionality and capabilities over time. However, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in achieving all the features we are targeting and our inability to do so may limit the appeal of our technology to consumers. We may be unable to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of the full capability of our technology. We have developed both commercial products, as well as working prototypes, that use our technology at differing power levels and charging distances, but additional research and development is required to realize the potential of our technology for applications at increasing power levels and distances that can be successfully integrated into commercial products. Research and development of new technologies is, by its nature, unpredictable. We could encounter unanticipated technical problems, the inability to identify products utilizing our technology that will be in demand with customers, getting our technology designed into those products, designing new products for manufacturability, regulatory hurdles and achieving acceptable price points for final products. Although we intend to undertake development efforts with commercially reasonable diligence, there can be no assurance that our available resources will be sufficient to enable us to develop our technology to the extent needed to create future revenues to sustain our operations. Our technology must satisfy customer expectations and be suitable for them to use in consumer applications. Any delays in developing our technology that arise from factors of this sort would aggravate our exposure to the risk of having inadequate capital to fund the research and development needed to complete development of these products. Technical problems leading to delays would cause us to incur additional expenses that would increase our operating losses. If we experience significant delays in developing our technology and products based on it for use in potential commercial applications, particularly after incurring significant expenditures, our business may fail, and you could lose the value of your investment in our company. If we fail to develop practical and economical commercial products based on our technology, our business may fail and you could lose the value of your investment in our stock. The outbreak of health epidemics, such as COVID-19, has and may further adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments in countries where we, our customers and suppliers operate could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. For example, COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant governmental measures being implemented to control the spread of the virus, including quarantines, travel restrictions, manufacturing restrictions, declarations of states of emergency, business shutdown and restrictions on the movement of employees in China, the United States and many other countries. A majority of our potential customers have a significant dependence on the Chinese manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure. We believe the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed adoption of our technology by potential customers who temporarily shut down their workforce and supply chain based in China. In the United States, COVID-19 has resulted in travel and other restrictions in order to reduce the spread of the disease, including executive orders in California and several other state and local orders across the country, which, among other things, direct individuals to shelter at their places of residence, direct businesses and governmental agencies to cease non-essential operations at physical locations, prohibit certain non-essential gatherings, and order cessation of non-essential travel. As a result of these developments, we have implemented work-from-home policies for our employees that will likely be in place until at least the second half of 2021. The effects of state executive orders, local shelter-in-place orders, government-imposed quarantines and our work-from-home policies could negatively impact productivity, disrupt our research and development or other operations and delay the planned launch of our customers’ new products that incorporate our technology, the magnitude of which will depend, in part, on the length and severity of the continuing restrictions and other limitations on our ability to conduct our business in the ordinary course. Due to the continuing developments and fluidity of this situation, the magnitude and duration of the pandemic and its impact on our operations and liquidity are still uncertain as of the date of this report. 24 In addition, COVID-19 has resulted and may continue to result in a widespread health crisis that could contribute to increased market volatility and adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in a global economic downturn that could affect interest in our products or demand by potential customers. Any of these events could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The extent of the impact will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Expanding our business operations as we intend will impose new demands on our financial, technical, operational and management resources. To date we have operated primarily in the research and development phase of our business. If we are successful, we will need to expand our business operations, which will impose new demands on our financial, technical, operational and management resources. If we do not upgrade our technical, administrative, operating and financial control systems, or if unexpected expansion difficulties arise, including issues relating to our research and development activities, then retention of experienced scientists, managers and engineers could become more challenging and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If products incorporating our technology are launched commercially but do not achieve widespread market acceptance, we will not be able to generate the revenue necessary to support our business. Market acceptance of a RF-based charging system as a preferred method for charging electronic devices will be crucial to our success. The following factors, among others, may affect the level of market acceptance of products in our industry: • the price of products incorporating our technology relative to other products or competing technologies; • user perceptions of the convenience, safety, efficiency and benefits of our technology; • the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts of our commercialization partners; • the support and rate of acceptance of our technology and solutions with our development partners; • press and blog coverage, social media coverage, and other publicity factors that are not within our control; and • regulatory developments. If we are unable to achieve or maintain market acceptance of our technology, and if related products do not win widespread market acceptance, our business will be significantly harmed. If products incorporating our technology are launched commercially, we may experience seasonality or other unevenness in our financial results in consumer markets or a long and variable sales cycle in enterprise markets. Our strategy depends on our customers developing successful commercial products using our technology and selling them into the consumer, enterprise and commercial markets. We need to understand procurement and buying cycles to be successful in licensing our technology. We anticipate it is possible that demand for our technology may vary in different segments of the consumer electronics market, such as hearing aids, wearables, toys, watches, accessories, laptops, tablet, mobile phones and gaming systems. Such consumer markets are often seasonal, with peaks in and around the December holiday season and the August-September back-to-school season. Enterprises and commercial customers may have annual or other budgeting and buying cycles that could affect us, and, particularly if we are designated as a capital improvement project, we may have a long or unpredictable sales cycle. Future products based on our technology may require the user to purchase additional products to use with existing devices. To the extent these additional purchases are inconvenient, the adoption of our technology under development or other future products could be slowed, which would harm our business. For rechargeable devices that utilize our receiver technology, the technology may be embedded in a sleeve, case or other enclosure. For example, products such as remote controls or toys equipped with replaceable AA size or other batteries would need to be outfitted with enhanced batteries and other hardware enabling the devices to be rechargeable by our system. In each case, an end user would be required to retrofit the device with a receiver and may be required to upgrade the battery technology used with the device (unless, for example, compatible battery technology and a receiver are built into the device). These additional steps and expenses may offset the convenience for users and discourage customers from licensing our technology. Such factors may inhibit adoption of our technology, which could harm our business. We have not developed an enhanced battery for use in devices with our technology, and our ability to enable use of our technology with devices that require an enhanced battery will depend on our ability to develop a commercial version of such a battery that could be manufactured at a reasonable cost. If a commercially practicable enhanced battery of this nature is not developed, our business could be harmed, and we may need to change our strategy and target markets. 25 Laboratory conditions differ from field conditions, which could reduce the effectiveness of our technology under development or other future products. Failures to move from laboratory to the field effectively would harm our business. When used in the field, our technology may not perform as expected based on performance under controlled laboratory conditions. For example, in the case of distance charging, a laboratory configuration of transmission obstructions will be arranged for testing, but in the field receivers may be obstructed in many different and unpredictable ways. These conditions may significantly diminish the power received at the receiver or the effective range of the transmitter. The failure of products using our technology to meet the expectations of users in the field could harm our business. Safety concerns and legal action by private parties may affect our business. We believe that our technology is safe. However, it is possible that we could discover safety issues with our technology or that some people may be concerned with RF-based charging in a manner that has occurred with some other wireless technologies as they were put into residential and commercial use, such as the safety concerns that were raised by some regarding the use of cellular telephones and other devices to transmit data wirelessly in close proximity to the human body. In addition, while we believe our technology is safe, users of our technology under development or other future products who suffer medical ailments may blame the use of products incorporating our technology, as occurred with a small number of users of cellular telephones. A discovery of safety issues relating to our technology could have a material adverse effect on our business and any legal action against us claiming our technology caused harm could be expensive, divert management and adversely affect us or cause our business to fail, whether or not such legal actions were ultimately successful. Our industry is subject to intense competition and rapid technological change, which may result in technology that is superior to ours. If we do not keep pace with changes in the marketplace and the direction of technological innovation and customer demands, our technology and products may become less useful or obsolete and our operating results will suffer. The consumer electronics industry in general, and the charging segments in particular, are subject to intense competition and rapidly evolving technologies. Because products incorporating our technology are expected to have long development cycles, we must anticipate changes in the marketplace and the direction of technological innovation and customer demands. To compete successfully, we will need to demonstrate the advantages of our products and technologies over established alternatives, and other emerging methods of power delivery. Traditional wall plug-in recharging remains an inexpensive alternative to our technology. Directly competing technologies such as inductive charging, magnetic resonance charging, conductive charging, ultrasound and other yet unidentified solutions may have greater consumer acceptance than the technology we have developed. Furthermore, some competitors may have greater resources than we have and may be better established in the market than we are. We cannot be certain which other companies may have already decided to or may in the future choose to enter our markets. For example, consumer electronics products companies may invest substantial resources in wireless power or other recharging technologies and may decide to enter our target markets. Successful developments of competitors that result in new approaches for recharging could reduce the attractiveness of our products and technologies or render them obsolete. Our future success will depend in large part on our ability to establish and maintain a competitive position in current and future technologies. Rapid technological development may render our technology or future products based on our technology obsolete. Many of our competitors have more corporate, financial, operational, sales and marketing resources than we have, as well as more experience in research and development. We cannot assure you that our competitors will not develop or market technologies that are more effective or commercially attractive than our products or that would render our technologies and products obsolete. We may not have or the financial resources, technical expertise, marketing, distribution or support capabilities to compete successfully in the future. Our success will depend in large part on our ability to maintain a competitive position with our technologies. Our competitive position also depends on our ability to: • generate widespread awareness, acceptance and adoption by the consumer and enterprise markets of our technology under development and future products; • design a product that may be sold at an acceptable price point; • develop new or enhanced technologies or features that improve the convenience, efficiency, safety or perceived safety, and productivity of our technology under development and future products; 26 • properly identify customer needs and deliver new products or product enhancements to address those needs; • limit the time required from proof of feasibility to routine production; • limit the timing and cost of regulatory approvals; • attract and retain qualified personnel; • protect our inventions with patents or otherwise develop proprietary products and processes; and • secure sufficient capital resources to expand both our continued research and development, and sales and marketing efforts. If our technology does not compete well based on these or other factors, our business could be harmed. Our business is subject to data security risks, including security breaches. We collect, process, store and transmit substantial amounts of information, including information about our customers. We take steps to protect the security and integrity of the information we collect, process, store or transmit, but there is no guarantee that inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure will not occur or that third parties will not gain unauthorized access to this information despite such efforts. Security breaches, computer malware, computer hacking attacks and other compromises of information security measures have become more prevalent in the business world and may occur on our systems or those of our vendors in the future. Large Internet companies and websites have from time to time disclosed sophisticated and targeted attacks on portions of their websites, and an increasing number have reported such attacks resulting in breaches of their information security. We and our third-party vendors are at risk of suffering from similar attacks and breaches. Although we take steps to maintain confidential and proprietary information on our information systems, these measures and technology may not adequately prevent security breaches and we rely on our third-party vendors to take appropriate measures to protect the security and integrity of the information on those information systems. Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or to sabotage information systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against us, we may be unable to anticipate or prevent these attacks. In addition, a party who is able to illicitly obtain a customer’s identification and password credentials may be able to access the customer’s account and certain account data. Any actual or suspected security breach or other compromise of our security measures or those of our third-party vendors, whether as a result of hacking efforts, denial-of-service attacks, viruses, malicious software, break-ins, phishing attacks, social engineering or otherwise, could harm our reputation and business, damage our brand and make it harder to retain existing customers or acquire new ones, require us to expend significant capital and other resources to address the breach, and result in a violation of applicable laws, regulations or other legal obligations. Our insurance policies may not be adequate to reimburse us for direct losses caused by any such security breach or indirect losses due to resulting customer attrition. We rely on email and other messaging services to connect with our existing and potential customers. Our customers may be targeted by parties using fraudulent spoofing and phishing emails to misappropriate passwords, payment information or other personal information or to introduce viruses through Trojan horse programs or otherwise through our customers’ computers, smartphones, tablets or other devices. Despite our efforts to mitigate the effectiveness of such malicious email campaigns through product improvements, spoofing and phishing may damage our brand and increase our costs. Any of these events or circumstances could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. 27 We depend upon our strategic relationship with Dialog Semiconductor, a provider of electronics products, and there can be no assurance that we will achieve the expected benefits of this relationship. We have entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Dialog Semiconductor, a provider of electronics products, pursuant to which we licensed our WattUp technology to Dialog and it became the exclusive provider of our technology. We intend to leverage Dialog’s sales and distribution channels and its operational capabilities to accelerate market adoption of our technology, while we focus our resources on research and development of our technology. There can be no assurance that Dialog will promote our technology successfully, or that it will be successful in producing and distributing related products to our customers’ specifications. Dialog may have other priorities or may encounter difficulties in its own business that interfere with the success of our relationship. If this strategic relationship does not work as we intend, then we may be required to seek an arrangement with another strategic partner, or to develop internal capabilities, which will require a commitment of management time and our financial resources to identify a replacement strategic partner, or to develop our own production and distribution capabilities. As a result, we may be unable without undue expense to replace this agreement with one or more new strategic relationships to promote and provide our technology which could increase our costs and delay revenues. Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property and Other Legal Risks It is difficult and costly to protect our intellectual property and our proprietary technologies, and we may not be able to ensure their protection. Our success depends significantly on our ability to obtain, maintain and protect our proprietary rights to the technologies used in products incorporating our technologies. Patents and other proprietary rights provide uncertain protections, and we may be unable to protect our intellectual property. For example, we may be unsuccessful in defending our patents and other proprietary rights against third party challenges. If we do not have the resources to defend our intellectual property, the value of our intellectual property and our licensed technology will decline. In addition, some companies that integrate our technology into their products may acquire rights in the technology that limit our business or increase our costs. If we are not successful in protecting our intellectual property effectively, our financial results may be adversely affected and the price of our common stock could decline. We depend upon a combination of patent, trade secrets, copyright and trademark laws to protect our intellectual property and technology. We rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets, copyright and trademark laws, nondisclosure agreements and other contractual provisions and technical security measures to protect our intellectual property rights. These measures may not be adequate to safeguard our technology. If they do not protect our rights adequately, third parties could use our technology, and our ability to compete in the market would be reduced. Although we are attempting to obtain patent coverage for our technology where available and where we believe appropriate, there are aspects of the technology for which patent coverage may never be sought or received. We may not possess the resources to or may not choose to pursue patent protection outside the United States or any or every country other than the United States where we may eventually decide to sell our future products. Our ability to prevent others from making or selling duplicate or similar technologies will be impaired in those countries in which we would have no patent protection. Although we have patent applications on file in the United States and elsewhere, the patents might not issue, might issue only with limited coverage, or might issue and be subsequently successfully challenged by others and held invalid or unenforceable. Similarly, even if patents are issued based on our applications or future applications, any issued patents may not provide us with any competitive advantages. Competitors may be able to design around our patents or develop products that provide outcomes comparable or superior to ours. Our patents may be held invalid or unenforceable as a result of legal challenges or claims of prior art by third parties, and others may challenge the inventorship or ownership of our patents and pending patent applications. In addition, if we secure protection in countries outside the United States, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. In the event a competitor infringes upon our patent or other intellectual property rights, enforcing those rights may be difficult and time consuming. Even if successful, litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights or to defend our patents against challenge could be expensive and time consuming and could divert our management’s attention. We may not have sufficient resources to enforce our intellectual property rights or to defend our patents against a challenge. Our strategy is to deploy our technology into the market by licensing patent and other proprietary rights to third parties and customers. Disputes with our licensees may arise regarding the scope and content of these licenses. Further, our ability to expand into additional fields with our technologies may be restricted by existing licenses or licenses we may grant to third parties in the future. 28 The policies we use to protect our trade secrets might not be effective in preventing misappropriation of our trade secrets by others. In addition, confidentiality agreements executed by our customers, employees, consultants and advisors might not be enforceable or might not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets or other proprietary information in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. Litigating a trade secret claim is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge methods and know-how. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, we may be unable to prevent competitors from using our own inventions and intellectual property to compete against us, and our business may be harmed. We may be subject to patent infringement or other intellectual property lawsuits that could be costly to defend. Because our industry is characterized by competing intellectual property, we may become involved in litigation based on claims that we have violated the intellectual property rights of others. Determining whether a product infringes a patent involves complex legal and factual issues, and the outcome of patent litigation actions is often uncertain. No assurance can be given that third party patents containing claims covering our products, parts of our products, technology or methods do not exist, have not been filed, or could not be filed or issued. Because of the number of patents issued and patent applications filed in our technical areas or fields (including some pertaining specifically to wireless charging technologies), our competitors or other third parties may assert that our products and technology and the methods we employ in the use of our products and technology are covered by United States or foreign patents held by them. In addition, because patent applications can take many years to issue and because publication schedules for pending applications vary by jurisdiction, there may be applications now pending which may result in issued patents that our technology under development or other future products would infringe. Also, because the claims of published patent applications can change between publication and patent grant, there may be published patent applications that may ultimately issue with claims that we infringe. There could also be existing patents that one or more of our technologies, products or parts may infringe and of which we are unaware. As the number of competitors in the market for wire-free power and alternative recharging solutions increases, and as the number of patents issued in this area grows, the possibility of patent infringement claims against us increases. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations. If we become subject to a patent infringement or other intellectual property lawsuit and if the relevant patents or other intellectual property were upheld as valid and enforceable and we were found to infringe or violate the terms of a license to which we are a party, we could be prevented from selling any infringing products of ours unless we could obtain a license or were able to redesign the product to avoid infringement. If we were unable to obtain a license or successfully redesign, we might be prevented from selling our technology under development or other future products. If there is a determination that we have infringed the intellectual property rights of a competitor or other person, we may be required to pay damages, pay a settlement, or pay ongoing royalties, or be enjoined. In these circumstances, we may be unable to sell our products or license our technology at competitive prices or at all, and our business and operating results could be harmed. We could become subject to product liability claims, product recalls, and warranty claims that could be expensive, divert management’s attention and harm our business. Our business exposes us to potential liability risks that are inherent in the marketing and sale of products used by consumers. We may be held liable if our technology causes injury or death or is found otherwise unsuitable. While we believe our technology is safe, users could allege or possibly prove defects (some of which could be alleged or proved to cause harm to users or others) because we design our technology to perform complex functions involving RF energy, possibly in close proximity to users. A product liability claim, regardless of its merit or eventual outcome, could result in significant legal defense costs. The coverage limits of our insurance policies we may choose to purchase to cover related risks may not be adequate to cover future claims. If sales of products incorporating our technology increase or we suffer future product liability claims, we may be unable to maintain product liability insurance in the future at satisfactory rates or with adequate amounts. A product liability claim, any product recalls or excessive warranty claims, whether arising from defects in design or manufacture or otherwise, could negatively affect our sales or require a change in the design or manufacturing process, any of which could harm our reputation and business, harm our relationship with licensors of our products, result in a decline in revenue and harm our business. 29 In addition, if a product that we or a strategic partner design is defective, whether due to design or manufacturing defects, improper use of the product or other reasons, we or our strategic partner may be required to notify regulatory authorities and/or to recall the product. A required notification to a regulatory authority or recall could result in an investigation by regulatory authorities of products incorporating our technology, which could in turn result in required recalls, restrictions on the sale of such products or other penalties. The adverse publicity resulting from any of these actions could adversely affect the perception of our customers and potential customers. These investigations or recalls, especially if accompanied by unfavorable publicity, could result in our incurring substantial costs, losing revenues and damaging our reputation, each of which would harm our business. If we are not able to secure advantageous license agreements for our technology, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected. We pursue the licensing of our technology as a primary means of revenue generation. Creating a licensing business relationship often takes a substantial effort, as we expect to have to convince the counterparty of the efficacy of our technology, meet design and manufacturing requirements, satisfy marketing and product needs, and comply with selection, review and contracting requirements. There can be no assurance that we will be able to gain access to potential licensing partners, or that they will ultimately decide to integrate our technology with their products. We may not be able to secure license agreements with customers on advantageous terms, and the timing and volume of revenue earned from license agreements will be outside of our control. If the license agreements we enter into do not prove to be advantageous to us, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected. Risks Related to Regulation of Our Business Domestic and international regulators may deny approval for our technology, and future legislative or regulatory changes may impair our business. Our charging technology involves power transmission using radio frequency (RF) energy, which is subject to regulation by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States and by comparable regulatory agencies worldwide. It may also be subject to regulation by other agencies. Regulatory concerns include whether human exposure to radio frequency emissions are below specified thresholds. Higher levels of exposure require separate approval. For example, transmitting more power over a certain distance or transmitting power over a greater distance may require separate regulatory approvals. In addition, we design our technology to operate in a RF band that is also used for Wi-Fi routers and other wireless consumer electronics, and we also design it to operate at different frequencies as demanded for some customer applications. Applications at different frequencies may require separate regulatory approvals. Efforts to obtain regulatory approval for devices using our technology is costly and time consuming, and there can be no assurance that requisite regulatory approvals will be forthcoming. If approvals are not obtained in a timely and cost-efficient manner, our business and operating results could be materially adversely affected. In addition, legal or regulatory developments could impose additional restrictions or costs on us that could require us to redesign our technology or future products, or that are difficult or impracticable to comply with, all of which would adversely affect our revenues and financial results. Risks Related to Personnel We are subject to risks associated with our utilization of engineering consultants. To improve productivity and accelerate our development efforts while we build out our own engineering team, we may use experienced consultants to assist in selected development projects. We take steps to monitor and regulate the performance of these independent third parties. However, arrangements with third party service providers may make our operations vulnerable if these consultants fail to satisfy their obligations to us as a result of their performance, changes in their own operations, financial condition, or other matters outside of our control. Effective management of our consultants is important to our business and strategy. The failure of our consultants to perform as anticipated could result in substantial costs, divert management’s attention from other strategic activities, or create other operational or financial problems for us. Terminating or transitioning arrangements with key consultants could result in additional costs and a risk of operational delays, potential errors and possible control issues as a result of the termination or during the transition. 30 We are highly dependent on key members of our executive management team. Our inability to retain these individuals could impede our business plan and growth strategies, which could have a negative impact on our business and the value of your investment. Our ability to implement our business plan depends, to a critical extent, on the continued efforts and services of a very small number of key executives. If we lose the services of any of these persons, we could be required to expend significant time and money in the pursuit of replacements, which may result in a delay in the implementation of our business plan and plan of operations, including in particular the result of the establishment of the Office of the CEO by our Board in April 2021, following our chief executive officer’s announcement in connection with a temporary step down due to health reasons. If necessary, we can give no assurance that we could find satisfactory replacements for these individuals on terms that would not be unduly expensive or burdensome to us. We do not currently carry any key-person life insurance that would help us recoup our costs in the event of the death or disability of any of these executives. Our success and growth depend on our ability to attract, integrate and retain high-level engineering talent. Because of the highly specialized and complex nature of our business, our success depends on our ability to attract, hire, train, integrate and retain high-level engineering talent. Competition for such personnel is intense because we compete for talent against many large profitable companies and our inability to adequately staff our operations with highly qualified and well-trained engineers could render us less efficient and impede our ability to develop and deliver a commercial product. Such a competitive market could put upward pressure on labor costs for engineering talent. We may incur significant costs to attract and retain highly qualified talent, and we may lose new employees to our competitors or other technology companies before we realize the benefit of our investment in recruiting and training them. Volatility or lack of performance in our stock price may also affect our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock We are a “smaller reporting company,” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors. We are a “smaller reporting company,” meaning that we are not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent company that is not a “smaller reporting company,” and have either: (i) a public float of less than $250 million or (ii) annual revenues of less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and a public float of less than $700 million. As a “smaller reporting company,” we are subject to reduced disclosure obligations in our SEC filings compared to other issuers, including with respect to disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. Until such time as we cease to be a “smaller reporting company,” such reduced disclosure in our SEC filings may make it harder for investors to analyze our operating results and financial prospects. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result of any choices to reduce future disclosure we may make, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile. If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy of our financial reports. As a public company, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal controls. Although our management has determined that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of March 31, 2021, we cannot assure you that we will not identify any material weakness in our internal control in the future. We qualify as a “smaller reporting company” under new SEC rules such that we are not required to file an auditor attestation report. If we experience a material weakness in our internal controls, we may fail to detect errors in our financial accounting, which may require a financial statement restatement or otherwise harm our operating results, cause us to fail to meet our SEC reporting obligations or Nasdaq listing requirements, adversely affect our reputation, cause our stock price to decline or result in inaccurate financial reporting or material misstatements in our annual or interim financial statements. Further, if there are material weaknesses or failures in our ability to meet any of the requirements related to the maintenance and reporting of our internal controls over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and that could cause the price of our common stock to decline. We could become subject to investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional management attention and which could adversely affect our business. 31 In addition, our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and fraud. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected. You might lose all of your investment. Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. As an investor, you might never recoup all, or even part of, your investment and you may never realize any return on your investment. You must be prepared to lose all your investment. Our stock price is likely to continue to be volatile. The market price of our common stock has fluctuated significantly since our initial public offering in 2014. Our common stock has experienced an intra-day trading high of $7.69 per share and a low of $1.69 per share on The Nasdaq Stock Market over the last 52 weeks, as of May 1, 2021. The price of our common stock is likely to continue to fluctuate significantly in response to many factors that are beyond our control, including: • regulatory announcements; • actual or anticipated variations in operating results; • general economic conditions and perceptions of future economic growth prospectus in the economy at large, including as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; • the limited number of holders of our common stock; • changes in the economic performance and/or market valuations of other technology companies; • our announcements of significant strategic partnerships, regulatory developments and other events; • announcements by other companies in our industry; • articles published or rumors circulated by third parties regarding our business, technology or development partners; • additions or departures of key personnel; and • sales or other transactions involving our capital stock. We have not paid dividends in the past and have no immediate plans to pay dividends. We plan to reinvest all of our earnings, to the extent we have earnings, in order to market our products and technology and to cover operating costs and to otherwise become and remain competitive. We do not plan to pay any cash dividends with respect to our securities in the foreseeable future. We cannot assure you that we would, at any time, generate sufficient surplus cash that would be available for distribution to the holders of our common stock as a dividend. We expect to continue to incur significant costs as a result of being a public reporting company and our management will be required to devote substantial time to meet our compliance obligations. As a public reporting company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. We are subject to reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and rules subsequently implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission that require us to establish and maintain effective disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting, as well as some specific corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel are expected to devote a substantial amount of time to compliance initiatives associated with our public reporting company status. Those costs can be expected to increase as we emerged from emerging growth company status and will increase significantly if we no longer qualify as a smaller reporting company. We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention. Our stock price has fluctuated in the past, reacting to news such as our past announcements of FCC approvals and it may be volatile in the future. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their securities have been subject to securities class action litigation, and we may be the target of litigation of this sort in the future. Securities litigation is costly and can divert management attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business and the value of your investment in our company. 32 Our ability to use Federal net operating loss carry forwards to reduce future tax payments may be limited if our taxable income does not reach sufficient levels. As of December 31, 2020, we had a Federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforward of approximately $205,474,000. Under the U.S. Tax Code, NOLs arising in tax years ending on or before December 31, 2017 can generally be carried forward to offset future taxable income for a period of 20 years, and NOLs arising in tax years ending after December 31, 2017 can generally be carried forward indefinitely. Our ability to use our NOLs will be dependent on our ability to generate taxable income, and the NOLs that arose in tax years ending on or before December 31, 2017 could expire before we generate sufficient taxable income to take advantage of the NOLs. As of December 31, 2020, based on our history of operating losses it is possible that a portion of our NOLs will not be fully realizable. Our charter documents and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover that stockholders consider favorable. Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and applicable Delaware law, may delay or discourage transactions involving an actual or potential change in control or change in our management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares, or transactions that our stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests. The provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws: • authorize our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval and to designate the rights, preferences and privileges of each class; if issued, such preferred stock would increase the number of outstanding shares of our capital stock and could include terms that may deter an acquisition of us; • limit who may call stockholder meetings; • do not permit stockholders to act by written consent; • do not provide for cumulative voting rights; and • provide that all vacancies may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum. In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may limit our ability to engage in any business combination with a person who beneficially owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock unless certain conditions are satisfied. This restriction lasts for a period of three years following the share acquisition. These provisions may have the effect of entrenching our management team and may deprive you of the opportunity to sell your shares to potential acquirers at a premium over prevailing prices. This potential inability to obtain a control premium could reduce the price of our common stock. General Risk Factors An active trading market for our common stock may not be maintained. Our stock is currently traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market, but we can provide no assurance that we will be able to maintain an active trading market on The Nasdaq Stock Market or any other exchange in the future, including if we no longer meet the applicable listing standards of Nasdaq. If an active market for our common stock is not maintained, or if we no longer qualify to be listed on Nasdaq, it may be difficult for our stockholders to sell or purchase shares on such a national securities exchange, or otherwise. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration. 33 If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline. The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. There can be no assurance that analysts will continue to cover us or provide favorable coverage. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or change their opinion of our stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. Item 2. Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds Not applicable. Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities Not applicable. Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures Not applicable.