We are registering the securities for resale pursuant to the Selling Securityholders’ registration rights under certain agreements between us and the Selling Securityholders. Our registration of the securities covered by this prospectus does not mean that the Selling Securityholders will offer or sell any of the shares of Common Stock or Warrants. The Selling Securityholders may offer, sell or distribute all or a portion of their shares of Common Stock or Warrants publicly or through private transactions at prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. We provide more information about how the Selling Securityholders may sell the shares of Common Stock or Warrants in the section entitled “.”

 

 

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This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale by the Selling Securityholders of the securities offered by them described in this prospectus, although we will receive the proceeds from any exercise of any Warrants for cash.

We own or have rights to trademarks, trade names and service marks that we use in connection with the operation of our business. In addition, our name, logos and website name and address are our trademarks or service marks. Solely for convenience, in some cases, the trademarks, trade names and service marks referred to in this prospectus are listed without the applicable , ™ and SM symbols, but we will assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights to these trademarks, trade names and service marks. Other trademarks, trade names and service marks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners.

On August 16, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), we consummated the previously announced merger pursuant to that certain Merger Agreement, dated as of February 17, 2021 (the “Original Merger Agreement”, as amended by that certain Merger Agreement Amendment, dated as of April 30, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement Amendment”, the Original Merger Agreement, as amended by the Merger Agreement Amendment, the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company (formerly known as CF III), AEye Technologies, Inc. (formerly known as AEye, Inc.) (“Old AEye”), and Meliora Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which Merger Sub merged with and into Old AEye, with Old AEye becoming our wholly owned subsidiary (the “Merger” and, collectively with the other transactions described in the Merger Agreement, the “Transactions”). On the Closing Date, and in connection with the closing of the Transactions (the “Closing”), we changed our name to AEye, Inc. Unless otherwise stated or unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “we,” “us,” “our”, “AEye”, “Company”, and “post-combination entity” refer to AEye, Inc. and its subsidiaries following the consummation of the Merger or to Old AEye and its subsidiaries prior to the consummation of the Merger.

 

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This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including statements concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events or results of operations, and any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond our control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. Some of these risks and uncertainties may in the future be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, new risk factors and

 

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uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. As a result of these factors, the forward-looking statements in this prospectus may not prove to be accurate. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances, or otherwise.

You should read this prospectus completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

 

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•

Merger Sub merged with and into Old AEye, with Old AEye surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company;

•

each share of common stock of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time was automatically converted into an equal number of shares of common stock of validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable shares of common stock of Old AEye, which shares constitute the only outstanding shares of capital stock of Old AEye held by us;

•

all issued and outstanding shares of Old AEye’s capital stock (other than shares held by us, CF Finance Holdings III, LLC (the “Sponsor”) or held in treasury) converted into an aggregate of 122,509,667 shares of Common Stock.

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all shares of Old AEye’s capital stock held in treasury were canceled without any conversion thereof;

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all of the outstanding options of Old AEye to acquire Old AEye’s common stock were assumed by the Company and converted into options to acquire an aggregate of 29,415,292 shares of Common Stock;

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all of the outstanding restricted stock units (“RSUs”) of Old AEye to acquire Old AEye’s common stock were assumed by the Company and converted into RSUs to acquire an aggregate of 1,724,283 shares of Common Stock;

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all of the 5,750,000 outstanding shares of CF III’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, held by the Sponsor and the former independent directors of CF III converted into an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares of Common Stock;

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all of the 500,000 private placement units held by the Sponsor were separated, pursuant to their terms, into 500,000 shares of Common Stock and 166,666 Warrants; and

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all of the remaining outstanding Company units were separated, pursuant to their terms, into one share of Common Stock and one-third (1/3) of one Warrant (and CF III’s units ceased trading on Nasdaq).

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We are an early stage company with a history of losses, and we expect to incur significant expense and continuing losses for the foreseeable future;

 

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Our limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter;

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We operate in a highly competitive industry involving emerging technology. Certain of our competitors in the lidar technology space have in the past offered, and may in the future offer, their products and services on terms that we and/or our partners are unwilling to match, which may adversely affect our market share;

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Our business could be materially and adversely affected by the current global COVID-19 pandemic or other epidemics and outbreaks;

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We continue to implement strategic initiatives designed to grow our business. These initiatives may prove more costly than we currently anticipate and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue in an amount sufficient to offset the costs of these initiatives and to achieve and maintain profitability;

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If our deterministic artificial intelligence-driven sensing system is not selected for inclusion in ADAS, by OEMs or their suppliers, our business will be materially and adversely affected;

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Our products require key components and critical raw materials and our inability to reduce and control the cost of such components and raw materials could negatively impact the adoption of our products and accordingly, our financial condition and operating results.

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Continued pricing pressures, OEM and Tier 1 supplier cost reduction initiatives and the ability of OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to re-source or cancel vehicle or technology programs may result in lower than anticipated revenue, or cause substantial losses to be incurred, which may adversely affect our business;

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We expect to incur substantial research and development (“R&D”) costs and devote significant resources to identifying and commercializing new products, which could significantly reduce our profitability and may never result in revenue to us;

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If market adoption of lidar does not continue to develop, or develops more slowly than we expect, our business will be adversely affected;

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We are highly dependent on the services of our executive officers, in particular, Luis Dussan, one of our founders, and Blair LaCorte, our Chief Executive Officer;

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We may experience difficulties in managing our growth and expanding our operations;

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We rely on third-party suppliers and because some of the raw materials and key components in our products come from limited or single source suppliers, we are susceptible to supply shortages, longer than anticipated lead times for components, and supply changes, any of which could disrupt our supply chain and could delay deliveries of our products to customers;

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Because our sales have been primarily to customers making purchases for R&D projects and our current orders are project-based, we expect our results of operations to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis, which could cause our stock price to fluctuate or decline;

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We may face risks associated with our reliance on certain artificial intelligence and machine learning models;

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Our outsourced manufacturing business model for the Industrial and Mobility markets may not be successful, which could harm our ability to deliver products and recognize revenue in the Industrial and Mobility markets;

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The complexity of our products could result in unforeseen delays or expenses from undetected defects, errors or reliability issues in our hardware or software which could reduce the market adoption of our new products, damage our reputation with current or prospective customers, expose us to product liability and other claims and thereby adversely affect our operating costs;

 

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We may be subject to product liability or warranty claims that could result in significant direct or indirect costs, which could adversely affect our business and operating results; and

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Our expectations regarding our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection and not infringe on the rights of others.

 

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Shares of Common Stock offered by the Selling Securityholders		68,139,193 shares.
Shares of Common Stock prior to exercise of all Warrants		154,404,302 shares (as of August 16, 2021).
Shares of Common Stock outstanding assuming the exercise of all Warrants and options referenced above		166,143,982 shares (as of August 16, 2021).
Warrants offered by the Selling Securityholders		166,666 Warrants.
Warrants outstanding		7,833,332 Warrants (as of August 16, 2021).
Exercise price per share pursuant to the Warrants		$11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein.
Use of proceeds		We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the Selling Securityholders. We will receive the proceeds from any exercise of the Warrants for cash, which we intend to use for general corporate and working capital purposes. See “ Use of Proceeds ” on page 44 for additional information.
Risk factors		You should carefully read the “Risk Factors” beginning on page 9 and the other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should consider carefully before deciding to invest in our Common Stock or Warrants.
Nasdaq symbol for our Common Stock		“LIDR”
Nasdaq symbol for our Warrants		“LIDRW”

 

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We have experienced net losses in each year since our inception. In the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, we incurred net losses of approximately $22.6 million and $13.7 million, respectively. We expect these losses to continue through at least 2024 as we expand our product offerings and continue to scale our commercial operations and R&D program. As of June 30, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $109.4 million. Even if we are able to increase sales or licensing of our products, there can be no assurance that we will be commercially successful.

We expect that we will continue to incur significant losses through at least 2024 as we:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If our products do not achieve sufficient market acceptance, we will not become profitable. If we fail to become profitable, or if we are unable to fund our continuing losses we may be unable to continue our business operations. We may never achieve or sustain profitability.

We have been focused on developing our deterministic artificial intelligence-driven sensing system for vehicle autonomy, ADAS and industrial applications as a private company since 2013. This relatively limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter. The risks and challenges we have faced or expect to face include our ability to:

 

 

 

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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and affected our business operations, which has led to business and supply chain disruptions. For example, our offices and R&D and manufacturing locations have been, and continue to be, impacted due to national and regional government declarations requiring closures, quarantines and travel restrictions. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including associated business interruptions and recovery, as well as other possible epidemics or outbreaks of other contagions could result in a material adverse impact on our business or our current or anticipated customers’ or suppliers’ business operations, including reduction or suspension of operations in the U.S. or other parts of the world. Our design and engineering operations, among others, cannot all be conducted remotely and often require on-site access to materials and equipment. We have customers, suppliers and partners with international operations, and our customers, suppliers and partners also depend on suppliers and manufacturers worldwide, which means that our business and prospects could be affected by the continuation or worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic anywhere in the world. Depending upon the duration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the associated business interruptions, our customers, suppliers, manufacturers and partners may suspend or delay their engagement with us. Our response and that of our customers and suppliers to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may prove to be inadequate and we may be unable to continue our respective operations in the manner we had prior to the outbreak or the worsening of the outbreak, and we may consequently endure interruptions, reputational harm, delays in our product development and shipments, all of which could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. In addition, when the pandemic subsides, we cannot assure you as to the timing of any economic recovery, which could have a material adverse effect on our target markets and our business.

 

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We continue to make investments and implement initiatives designed to grow our business, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

These initiatives may prove more expensive than we currently anticipate, and we may not succeed in increasing our revenue, if at all, in an amount sufficient to offset these higher expenses and to achieve and maintain profitability. The market opportunities we are pursuing are at an early stage of development, and it may be many years before the end markets we expect to serve generate demand for our products at scale, if at all. Our revenue may be adversely affected for a number of reasons, including the development and/or market acceptance of new technology that competes with our products, if OEMs, Tier 1 automotive suppliers or other market participants change their autonomous vehicle or ADAS technology or strategy, a failure of our customers to commercialize autonomous systems that include our solution, our inability to effectively manage or outsource the management of our inventory, manufacturing or contract manufacturing of products at scale, our inability to enter new markets or to help our customers adapt its products for new applications or our failure to attract new customers or secure production orders from existing customers currently analyzing our solutions or increasing competition. Furthermore, it is difficult to predict the size and growth rate of our target markets, customer demand for our products, commercialization timelines, developments in autonomous sensing, ADAS and related technology, the entry of competitive products, or the success of existing competitive products and services. For these reasons, we do not expect to achieve profitability over the near term. If our revenue does not grow over the long term, our ability to achieve and maintain profitability may be adversely affected, and the value of our business may significantly decrease.

OEMs and their suppliers design and develop autonomous driving and ADAS technology over several years. These OEMs and suppliers undertake extensive testing or qualification processes prior to placing orders for large quantities of products such as our active lidar products because such products will function as part of a larger system or platform and must meet specifications that we do not control or dictate. We spend significant time and resources to have our products selected by OEMs and their suppliers, which we refer to as a “design win.” In the case of autonomous driving and ADAS technology, a design win means our active lidar product has been selected for use in a particular vehicle model or models. In addition, our relationships with Tier 1 suppliers are still subject to definitive agreements. If these relationships do not materialize, OEMs may be less inclined to select our products for use in their vehicle models. If we do not achieve a design win with respect to a particular vehicle model, we may not have an opportunity to supply our products to the OEM or our supplier for that vehicle model for a period of many years. In many cases, this period can be as long as five to seven years (or more). If our products are not selected by an OEM or our suppliers for one vehicle model or if our products are not successful in that vehicle model, it is less likely that our product will be deployed in other vehicle models of that OEM. If we fail to obtain design wins for a significant number of vehicle models from one or more OEMs or

 

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their suppliers, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected. The period of time from a design win to implementation is long and we are subject to the risks of cancellation or postponement of the contract or unsuccessful implementation.

The production of our components is dependent on sourcing certain key components and raw materials at acceptable price levels. If we or our licensees or contract manufacturers are unable to adequately reduce and control the costs of such key components, they will be unable to realize manufacturing costs targets, which could reduce the market adoption of our products, damage our reputation with current or prospective customers, and have an adverse effect on our brand, business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Accordingly, we expect our product designs to be subject to substantial and continuing pricing pressure from OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and lidar competitors, which may impact the revenue we receive from licensing our product designs or selling our products. It is possible that pricing pressures beyond our expectations could intensify as OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and lidar competitors pursue restructuring, consolidation and cost-cutting initiatives. If we are unable to identify sufficient design cost savings to meet the expectations of OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, our revenue and profitability would be adversely affected.

Our future growth depends on penetrating new markets, adapting products to new applications and customer requirements, and introducing new products that achieve market acceptance. Our plans to incur substantial, and increasing, R&D costs as part of our effort to design, develop, manufacture and commercialize new products and enhance existing products. Our R&D expenses were approximately $17.0 million and $18.6 million during 2020 and 2019, respectively, and are likely to grow in the future. Because we account for R&D as an operating expense, these expenditures will adversely affect our results of operations in the future. Further, our R&D program may not produce successful results, and our new products may not achieve market acceptance, create additional revenue or become profitable.

While our artificial intelligence-driven lidar-based sensing system can be applied to different use cases across end markets, approximately 79% of our revenue during 2020 was generated from automotive applications with a

 

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few customers in the aerospace, delivery, shuttle, railway, mining and aviation sectors. Despite the fact that the automotive industry has engaged in considerable effort to research and test lidar products for ADAS and autonomous driving applications, the automotive industry may not introduce lidar products in commercially available vehicles on a timeframe that matches our expectations, if at all. We continually study emerging and competing sensing technologies and methodologies and we may incorporate new sensing technologies to our product portfolio over time. However, lidar products remain relatively new and it is possible that other sensing modalities, or a new disruptive modality based on new or existing technologies, including a combination of technology, will achieve acceptance or leadership in the ADAS and autonomous driving space. Even if lidar products are used in initial generations of autonomous driving technology and ADAS products, we cannot guarantee that lidar products will be designed into or included in subsequent generations of such commercialized technology. In addition, we expect that initial generations of autonomous vehicles will be focused on limited applications, such as robo-taxis and shuttles, and that mass market adoption of autonomous technology may significantly lag behind these initial applications. The speed of market adoption and growth for ADAS or autonomous vehicles is difficult, if not impossible, to predict, and it is more difficult to predict this market’s future growth in light of the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we currently believe we have a differentiated market leading technology for the autonomous vehicle market, by the time mass market adoption of autonomous vehicle technology is achieved, we expect competition among providers of sensing technology based on lidar and other modalities to increase substantially. If, by the time autonomous vehicle technology achieves mass market adoption, commercialization of lidar products is not successful, or not as successful as we or the market expects, or if other sensing modalities gain acceptance by developers of ADAS, OEMs, regulators, safety organizations or other market participants, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

We are investing in and pursuing market opportunities outside of the Automotive market, including in the aerospace and defense, shuttle, delivery vehicle, drone, railway, traffic system, and mining sectors. We believe that our future revenue growth, if any, will depend in part on our ability to expand within new markets such as these and to enter new markets as they emerge. Each of these markets presents distinct risks and, in many cases, requires us to address the particular requirements of that market.

Addressing these requirements can be time-consuming and costly. The market for lidar technology is relatively new, rapidly developing and unproven. Many of our prospective customers are still in the testing and development phases and we cannot be certain that we will commercialize products or systems with our lidar products, or at all. We cannot be certain that lidar will be sold into these markets, or that lidar will be sold into any markets at scale. Adoption of lidar products, including our products, will depend on numerous factors, including: whether the technological capabilities of lidar and lidar-based products meet users’ current or anticipated needs, whether the benefits of designing lidar into larger sensing systems outweigh the costs, complexity and time needed to deploy such technology or replace or modify existing systems that may have used other modalities, such as cameras and radar, whether users in other applications can move beyond the testing and development phases and proceed to commercializing systems supported by lidar technology and whether lidar developers such as we can keep pace with the expected rapid technological change in certain developing markets and the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the length of any associated economic recovery. If lidar technology does not achieve commercial success, or if adoption of lidar is deferred or the market otherwise develops at a pace slower than we expect, our business, results of operation and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.

We expect to experience significant growth in the scope and nature of our operations. Our ability to manage our operations and future growth will require us to continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls, legal and compliance programs and reporting systems. We may not be able to implement improvements in an efficient or timely manner and may discover deficiencies in existing controls, programs, systems and procedures, which could have an adverse effect on our business, reputation and financial results.

 

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Most of the components that go into the manufacture of our solutions are sourced from third-party suppliers. To date, we have produced our products in relatively limited quantities for use in R&D programs. Although we do not have any experience in managing our supply chain to manufacture and deliver our products at scale, our future success will depend on our ability to manage or outsource the management of our supply chain to allow us to manufacture and deliver our products at scale. Some of the key components used to manufacture our products come from limited or single source suppliers. We are therefore subject to the risk of shortages and long lead times in the supply of these components and the risk that our suppliers discontinue or modify components used in our products. We have a global supply chain and the COVID-19 pandemic and other epidemics and outbreaks may adversely affect our ability to source components in a timely or cost-effective manner from our third-party suppliers due to, among other things, work stoppages or interruptions. For example, our products depend on lasers. Any shortage of these lasers could materially and adversely affect our ability to manufacture our solutions. In addition, the lead times associated with certain components are lengthy and preclude rapid changes in quantities and delivery schedules. While we have entered into agreements with suppliers for the supply of some components at set prices, such quantities are limited given we are not yet producing at scale. Therefore, we have in the past, and may in the future, experience component shortages and price fluctuations of key components and materials, and the predictability of the availability and pricing of these components may be limited. Component shortages or pricing fluctuations could be material in the future. In the event of a component shortage, supply interruption or a material pricing change from suppliers of these components, we may not be able to develop alternate sources in a timely manner, or at all, in the case of sole or limited source items. Developing alternate sources of supply for these components may be time-consuming, difficult, and costly and we may not be able to source these components on terms that are acceptable to it, or at all, which may undermine our ability to meet our requirements or to fill customer orders in a timely manner. Any interruption or delay in the supply of any of these parts or components, or the inability to obtain these parts or components from alternate sources at acceptable prices and within a reasonable amount of time, would adversely affect our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries to our customers. This could adversely affect our relationships with our customers and channel partners and could cause delays in shipment of our products and adversely affect our operating results. In addition, increased component costs could result in lower gross margins. Even where we are able to pass increased component costs along to our customers, there may be a lapse of time before we are able to do so such that we will be required to absorb some or all of the increased cost. If we are unable to buy these components in quantities sufficient to meet our requirements on a timely basis, we will not be able to deliver products to our customers, which may result in such customers using competitive products instead of ours.

Our quarterly results of operations have fluctuated in the past and may vary significantly in the future. As such, historical comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful. In particular, because our sales to date have primarily been to customers making purchases for their own R&D, sales in any given quarter can fluctuate based on the timing and success of our customers’ development projects. Accordingly, the results of any one quarter should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. Our quarterly financial results may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business. These fluctuations could adversely affect our ability to meet our expectations or those of securities analysts, ratings agencies or investors. If we do not meet these expectations for any period, the value of our business and our securities could decline significantly. Factors that may cause these quarterly fluctuations include, without limitation, those listed below:

 

 

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We rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning (“AI/ML”) in the development of our deterministic artificial intelligence-driven sensing system for vehicle autonomy, ADAS and industrial applications. The AI/ML models that we use are trained using various data sets. If the AI/ML models are incorrectly designed, the data we use to train them is incomplete, inadequate, or biased in some way, or if we do not have sufficient rights to use the data on which our AI/ML models rely, the performance of our products, services, and business, as well as our reputation, could suffer or we could incur liability through the violation of laws, third-party privacy, or other rights, or contracts to which we are a party.

Our manufacturing strategy for the Industrial and Mobility markets has always been focused on outsourcing volume manufacturing to contract manufacturers while maintaining the design, engineering, prototyping, testing, and pilot manufacturing in-house at our facility in Dublin, California. We currently have agreements with certain third-party manufacturers to provide contract manufacturing, testing and delivery of certain of our products.

 

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Reliance on third-party manufacturers reduces our control over the manufacturing process, including reduced control over quality, product costs and product supply and timing. We may experience delays in shipments or issues concerning product quality from our third-party manufacturers. If any of our third-party manufacturers experience interruptions, delays or disruptions in supplying our products, including by natural disasters, the global COVID-19 pandemic, other epidemics or outbreaks of other contagions, or work stoppages or capacity constraints, our ability to ship products would be delayed. In addition, unfavorable economic conditions could result in financial distress among third-party manufacturers upon which we rely, thereby increasing the risk of disruption of supplies necessary to fulfill our production requirements and meet customer demands. Additionally, if any of our third-party manufacturers experience quality control problems in their manufacturing operations and our products do not meet customer or regulatory requirements, it could be required to cover the cost of repair or replacement of any defective products. These delays or product quality issues could have an immediate and material adverse effect on our ability to fulfill orders and could have a negative effect on our operating results. In addition, such delays or issues with product quality could adversely affect our reputation and our relationship with our channel partners. If our third-party manufacturers experience financial, operational, manufacturing capacity or other difficulties, or experience shortages in required components, or if they are otherwise unable or unwilling to continue to manufacture our products in required volumes or at all, our supply may be disrupted, we may be required to seek alternate manufacturers and we may be required to re-design our products. It would be time-consuming, and could be costly and impracticable, to begin to use new manufacturers and designs, and such changes could cause significant interruptions in supply and could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries and may subsequently lead to the loss of sales. While we take measures to protect our trade secrets, the use of third-party manufacturers may also risk disclosure of our innovative and proprietary manufacturing methodologies, which could adversely affect our business.

Manufacturing outside the United States is subject to several inherent risks, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We intend to continue to engage with contract manufacturers outside the United States, therefore we will be subject to these risks, each of which could increase our costs and decrease our profit margins.

We, and our outsourcing partners and suppliers may rely on complex machinery for the production, assembly and installation of our lidar solutions, which will involve a significant degree of uncertainty and risk in terms of operational performance and costs. Our limited in-house production facility and the facilities of our outsourcing partners and suppliers consist of large-scale machinery combining many components. These components may suffer unexpected malfunctions from time to time and will require repairs and spare parts to resume operations, which may not be available when needed. Unexpected malfunctions of these components may significantly affect

 

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the intended operational efficiency. Operational performance and costs can be difficult to predict and are often influenced by factors outside of our control, such as, but not limited to, scarcity of natural resources, environmental hazards and remediation, costs associated with decommissioning of machines, labor disputes and strikes, difficulty or delays in obtaining governmental permits, damages or defects in electronic systems, industrial accidents, fires, seismic activity and natural disasters. Should such operational risks materialize, it may result in the loss of production equipment, damage to production facilities, monetary losses, delays and unanticipated fluctuations in production, environmental damage, administrative fines, increased insurance costs and potential legal liabilities, some of which may be the responsibility of our outsourcing partners and suppliers, but could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition or operating results.

From time to time, we may undertake acquisitions to add new products and technologies, acquire talent, gain new sales channels or enter into new markets or sales territories. In addition to possible stockholder approval, we may need approvals and licenses from relevant government authorities for the acquisitions and to comply with any applicable laws and regulations, which could result in increased delay and costs, and may disrupt our business strategy if we fail to do so. Furthermore, acquisitions and the subsequent integration of new assets, businesses, key personnel, customers, vendors and suppliers will require significant attention from our management and could result in a diversion of resources from our existing business, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our operations. Acquired assets or businesses may not generate the financial results we expect. Acquisitions could result in the use of substantial amounts of cash, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the occurrence of significant goodwill impairment charges, amortization expenses for other intangible assets and exposure to potential unknown liabilities of the acquired business. Moreover, the costs of identifying and consummating acquisitions may be significant.

To date, we have limited experience with acquisitions and the integration of acquired technology and personnel. Failure to successfully identify, complete, manage and integrate acquisitions could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and could cause our stock price to decline.

International sales comprise a significant amount of our overall revenue. Sales to international customers accounted for 79% and 74% of our revenue in 2020 and 2019, respectively. We are committed to growing our international sales, and while we have committed resources to expanding our international operations and sales channels, these efforts may not be successful. International operations are subject to a number of other risks, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The occurrence of any of these risks could negatively affect our international business and consequently our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our products are highly technical, very complex and require high standards to manufacture. Our products have in the past, and will likely in the future, experience defects, errors or reliability issues at various stages of development, production and use. We may be unable to timely release new products, manufacture existing products, correct problems that have arisen or correct such problems to our customers’ satisfaction. Additionally, undetected errors, defects or security vulnerabilities, especially as new products are introduced or as new versions are released, could result in serious injury to the end users of the technology incorporating our products, or those in the surrounding area, our customers never being able to commercialize technology incorporating our products, litigation against us, negative publicity and other consequences. These risks are particularly prevalent in the highly competitive autonomous driving and ADAS markets. Some errors or defects in our products may only be discovered after they have been tested, commercialized and deployed by customers. If that is the case, we may incur significant additional development costs and product recall, repair or replacement costs. These problems may also result in claims, including class actions, against us. Our reputation or brand may be damaged as a result of these problems and customers may be reluctant to buy our products, which could adversely affect our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers and could adversely affect our financial results.

In addition, we could face material legal claims for breach of contract, product liability, fraud, tort or breach of warranty as a result of these problems. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, could be costly and may divert management’s attention and adversely affect the market’s perception of us and our products. In addition, our business liability insurance coverage could prove inadequate with respect to a claim and future coverage may be unavailable on acceptable terms, or at all. These product-related issues could result in claims against us and our business could be adversely affected.

Our customers use our solutions in autonomous driving and ADAS applications, which present the risk of significant injury, including fatalities. We may be subject to claims if a product using its active lidar technology

 

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is involved in an accident and persons are injured or purport to be injured. Any insurance that we carry may not be sufficient or it may not apply to all situations. Similarly, our customers could be subjected to claims as a result of such accidents and bring legal claims against us to attempt to hold us liable. In addition, if lawmakers or governmental agencies were to determine that the use of our products or autonomous driving or ADAS applications increased the risk of injury to all or a subset of our customers, they may pass laws or adopt regulations that limit the use of our products or increase the liability associated with the use of our products or that regulate the use of or delay the deployment of autonomous driving and ADAS technology. Any of these events could adversely affect our brand, relationships with customers, operating results or financial condition.

Suppliers to OEMs may require that we provide a warranty, either directly or indirectly, on our products, including our embedded software. The occurrence of any material defects in our products during the warranty period could make us liable for damages and warranty claims. In addition, we could incur significant costs to correct any defects, warranty claims or other problems, including costs related to product recalls. Any negative publicity related to the perceived quality of our products could affect our brand image, partner and customer demand, and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Also, warranty, recall and product liability claims may result in litigation, including class actions, the occurrence of which could be costly, lengthy and distracting and adversely affect our business and operating results.

To ensure adequate inventory, we must forecast inventory needs and expenses, place orders sufficiently in advance with our suppliers and manufacturing partners and manufacture products based on our estimates of future demand for particular products. Fluctuations in the adoption of lidar products may affect our ability to forecast our future operating results, including revenue, gross margins, cash flows and profitability. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products could be affected by many factors, including the accuracy of the forecasts that we receive from our customers, the rapidly changing nature of the autonomous driving and ADAS markets in which we operate, the uncertainty surrounding the market acceptance and commercialization of lidar technology, the emergence of new markets, an increase or decrease in customer demand for our products or for products and services of our competitors, product introductions by competitors, the COVID-19 pandemic, other epidemics or outbreaks of other contagions, any work stoppages or interruptions, unanticipated changes in general market conditions and the general weakening of economic conditions or consumer confidence. If our lidar products are commercialized in autonomous driving and ADAS applications, both of which are experiencing rapid growth in demand, we may face challenges acquiring adequate supplies to manufacture our products and/or we and our manufacturing partners may not be able to manufacture our products at a rate necessary to satisfy the levels of demand, which would negatively affect our revenue. This risk may be exacerbated by the fact that we may not carry or be able to obtain for our manufacturers a significant amount of inventory to satisfy short-term demand increases. If we fail to accurately forecast customer demand, we may experience excess inventory levels or a shortage of products available for sale.

Inventory levels in excess of customer demand may result in inventory write-downs or write-offs and the sale of excess inventory at discounted prices, which would adversely affect our financial results, including our gross margin, and have a negative effect on our brand. Conversely, if we underestimate customer demand for our products, we, or our manufacturing partners, may not be able to deliver products to meet our requirements, and this could result in damage to our brand and customer relationships and adversely affect our revenue and operating results.

Our forecasts and projections included in this registration statement are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions, analyses and internal estimates developed by our management, any or all of which may

 

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not prove to be correct or accurate. If these assumptions, analyses or estimates prove to be incorrect or inaccurate, our actual operating results may differ materially from those forecasted or projected.

The forecasts and projections in this registration statement include forecasts and estimates relating to the expected size and growth of the markets for which we operate or seek to enter, and assumes that we are able to achieve a certain projected market share of the total addressable market. Such markets may not develop or grow, or may develop and grow at a lower rate than expected, and even if these markets experience the forecasted growth described in this registration statement, we may not achieve such projected market share. Our future growth is subject to many factors, including, among others, our ability to develop and commercialize our products and the market’s adoption of our products, both of which are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, the forecasts and estimates of market size and growth described in this registration statement should not be taken as indicative of our future outlook. In addition, these forecasts do not take into account the impact of the current global COVID-19 pandemic, and we cannot assure you that these forecasts will not be materially and adversely affected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We may experience declines in the average selling prices of our products generally as our customers seek to commercialize autonomous systems at prices low enough to achieve market acceptance or due to competitive pressures. In order to sell products that have a falling average unit selling price and maintain margins at the same time, we will need to continually reduce product and manufacturing costs. To manage manufacturing costs, we and our Tier 1 partners must engineer the most cost-effective design for our products. In addition, we continuously drive initiatives to reduce labor cost, improve efficiency, reduce the cost of materials, use fewer materials and further lower overall product costs by carefully managing component prices, inventory and shipping cost. We also need to continually introduce competitive new products in order to maintain our overall gross margin. We may also experience declines in fees or royalties from licensing our technology as customers reduce the prices of products incorporating our licensed technology in order to achieve market acceptance or due to competitive pressures. If we are unable to manage the cost structure of our products, successfully introduce new products with higher gross margins, and develop new technology that we can license at attractive royalty rates, our revenue and overall gross margin would likely decline.

While we make our strategic planning decisions based on the assumption that the markets we are targeting will grow, our business is dependent, in large part on, and directly affected by, business cycles and other factors affecting the global automotive industry and the global economy generally. Automotive production and sales are highly cyclical and depend on general economic conditions and other factors, including consumer spending and preferences, changes in interest rates and credit availability, consumer confidence, fuel costs, fuel availability, environmental impact, governmental incentives and regulatory requirements, and political volatility, especially in energy-producing countries and growth markets. In addition, automotive production and sales can be affected by our OEM and Tier 1 supplier customers’ ability to continue operating in response to challenging economic conditions and in response to labor relations issues, regulatory requirements, trade agreements and other factors, such as the unavailability of unrelated components in the assembly of automobiles, an example of which is the current shortage of semiconductors necessary for automobile production. The volume of automotive production in North America, Europe and the rest of the world has fluctuated, sometimes significantly, from year to year, and we expect such fluctuations to give rise to fluctuations in the demand for our products and licenses of our technology. Any significant adverse change in any of these factors may result in a reduction in automotive sales and production by our OEM and Tier 1 supplier customers and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

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If we and our partners are able to secure design wins so that our solutions are included in autonomous driving and ADAS products, we expect to, or our Tier 1 partners to enter into supply agreements with the relevant customer. Market practice dictates that these supply agreements typically require us to supply a customer’s requirements for a particular vehicle model or autonomous driving or ADAS product, rather than supply a set number of products. These arrangements can have short terms, be subject to renegotiation or may be reduced or otherwise terminated, the occurrence of any of which may affect product pricing and future profitability. Therefore, even if we are successful in obtaining design wins, and it or our Tier 1 partners are able to enter into definitive agreements with OEMs, and the systems into which our products are built are commercialized, the discontinuation of, the loss of business with respect to, or a lack of commercial success of a particular vehicle model or technology package for which we are a significant supplier could mean that the expected sales of our products will not materialize, materially and adversely affecting our business.

Many of our customers and potential customers are large, multinational corporations with substantial negotiating power relative to it and, in some instances, may have internal solutions that are competitive to our products. These large, multinational corporations also have significant development resources, which may allow them to acquire or develop independently, or in partnership with others, competitive technologies. Meeting the technical requirements and securing design wins with any of these companies will require a substantial investment of our time and resources. We cannot assure you that our products will secure design wins from these or other companies or that we will generate meaningful revenue from the sales of our products to these key potential customers. If our products are not selected by these potential customers or if these potential customers develop or acquire competitive technology, it will have an adverse effect on our business.

 

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Although we have and continue to pursue a broad customer base, it is dependent on a collection of customer relationships which are currently in development with strong purchasing power. In 2020, ZKW Group GmbH (an affiliate of LG Electronics) accounted for approximately 66% of our annual revenue and Hella accounted for approximately 68% of our annual revenue in 2019. The loss of business from any of our major customers (whether by lower overall demand for our products, component shortages that impact their production plans or product development plans, cancellation of existing contracts or product orders or the failure to design in our products or award us initial or new business) could have a material adverse effect on our business.

To the extent autonomous vehicle and ADAS systems become accepted by major OEMs, we expect that we will rely increasingly for our revenue on Tier 1 suppliers through which OEMs procure components. We expect that these Tier 1 suppliers will be responsible for certain hardware and software configuration activities specific to each OEM, and they may not exclusively carry our solutions.

There is also a risk that one or more of our major customers could be unable to pay our invoices as they become due or that a customer will simply refuse to make such payments if it experiences financial difficulties. If our customers face financial difficulties, they may also cancel current or future product programs that could materially and adversely impact our financial results. If a major customer were to enter into bankruptcy proceedings or similar proceedings whereby contractual commitments are subject to a stay of execution and the possibility of legal or other modification, we could be forced to record a substantial loss.

Our business prospects and projections are substantially based on our relationship with Continental. We have entered into a memorandum of understanding with Continental pursuant to which Continental will license from us the rights to manufacture and integrate our lidar product into OEM model lines through long-term series production contracts with OEMs. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain or further our relationship with Continental and or that Continental will secure orders for our product designs and software. If we are unable to maintain or progress our relationship with Continental, or enter into a definitive arrangement with Continental with economic terms that are sufficiently favorable to us, or if Continental is unable to secure a sufficient number of design wins and successfully enter into definitive agreements or other commercial arrangements with OEMs, then our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Customers may be less likely to purchase our lidar solutions if they are not convinced that our business will succeed or that our service and support and other operations will continue in the long term. Similarly, suppliers and other third parties will be less likely to invest time and resources in developing business relationships with us if they are not convinced that our business will succeed. Accordingly, in order to build and maintain our business, we must maintain confidence among customers, suppliers, analysts, ratings agencies and other parties in our products, long-term financial viability and business prospects. Maintaining such confidence may be particularly complicated by certain factors including those that are largely outside of our control, such as our limited operating history, customer unfamiliarity with our lidar solutions, any delays in scaling production, delivery and

 

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service operations to meet demand, competition and uncertainty regarding the future of autonomous vehicles or our other services and our production and sales performance compared with market expectations.

Educating our prospective customers, and to a lesser extent, our existing customers, about lidar, its advantages over other sensing technologies and lidar’s ability to convey value in different industries and deployments is an integral part of developing new business and the lidar market generally. If prospective customers have a negative perception of, or experience with, lidar or a competitor’s lidar products they may be reluctant to adopt lidar in general or specifically our products. Adverse statements about lidar by influential market participants may also deter adoption. Some of our competitors have significant financial or marketing resources that may allow them to engage in public marketing campaigns about their alternative technology, lidar generally or our solutions specifically. Our efforts to educate potential customers and the market generally and to counter any adverse statements made by competitors or other market participants will require significant financial and personnel resources. These educational efforts may not be successful and we may not offset the costs of such efforts with revenue from the new customers. If we are unable to acquire new customers to offset these expenses or if the market accepts such adverse statements, our financial condition will be adversely affected.

Prospective customers, including those in the automotive industry, generally must make significant commitments of resources to test and validate our products and confirm that they can integrate with other technologies before including them in any particular system, product or model. The development cycles of our products with new customers varies widely depending on the application, market, customer and the complexity of the product. In the Automotive market, for example, this development cycle can be five to seven years (or more). The development cycle in certain other markets can be months to one or two years. These development cycles result in us investing our resources prior to the opportunity to realize any revenue from commercialization. Further, we are subject to the risk that customers cancel or postpone implementation of our technology, as well as that we will not be able to integrate our technology successfully into a larger system with other sensing modalities. If our customers face financial difficulties, they may also cancel current or future product programs that could materially and adversely impact our financial results. Further, our revenue could be less than forecasted if the system, product or vehicle model that includes our lidar products is unsuccessful, including for reasons unrelated to our technology. Long development cycles and product cancellations or postponements may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The markets for sensing technology applicable to autonomous solutions across numerous industries are highly competitive. Our future success will depend on our ability to achieve a leadership position in our targeted markets by continuing to develop, and protect from infringement, advanced lidar technology in a timely manner and to stay ahead of existing and new competitors. Our competitors compete with us directly by offering lidar products and indirectly by attempting to solve some of the same challenges with different technologies. Our current and future competitors may enjoy competitive advantages, such as greater name recognition, established relationships or existing contracts with Tier 1 suppliers and/or OEMs, and substantially greater financial, technical and other resources. We face competition from a number of sources including camera and radar companies, other developers of lidar products, Tier 1 suppliers and other technology and automotive supply companies. In the Automotive market, our competitors have commercialized both lidar and non-lidar-based ADAS technology that has achieved market adoption, strong brand recognition and may continue to improve. Other competitors are working towards commercializing autonomous driving technology and either by

 

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themselves, or with a publicly announced partner, and have substantial financial, marketing, R&D and other resources. Some of our customers in the autonomous vehicle and ADAS markets have announced development efforts or made acquisitions directed at creating their own lidar-based or other sensing technologies, which would compete with our solutions. We do not know how close these competitors are to commercializing autonomous driving systems or novel ADAS applications. In markets outside of the automotive industry, our competitors seek to develop new sensing applications across industries. Even in these emerging markets, we face substantial competition from numerous competitors seeking to prove the value of their technology.

Additionally, competition may result in pricing pressure and reduced margins and may impede our ability to secure design wins, successfully enter into definitive agreements or other commercial arrangements, or successfully commercialize our products at scale, which may prevent us from achieving our projected market share. In particular, our competitors have in the past offered, and may in the future offer, their products and services on terms that we and/or our Tier 1 partners are unwilling to match or could introduce new products with competitive price and performance characteristics, which may adversely affect our market share

While we intend to invest substantial resources to remain on the forefront of technological development, continuing technological changes in sensing technology and lidar, and the markets for these products, including the ADAS and autonomous driving space, could adversely affect adoption of lidar and/or our products, either generally or for particular applications. Our future success will depend upon our ability to develop and introduce a variety of new capabilities and innovations to our existing product offerings, as well as introduce a variety of new product offerings, to address the changing needs of the markets in which we offer our products. We cannot guarantee that such new products will be released in a timely manner, or at all, or achieve market acceptance. Delays in delivering new products that meet customer requirements could damage our relationships with customers and lead them to seek alternative sources of supply. In addition, to date we have focused on the delivery of our solutions to R&D programs in which developers are investing substantial capital to develop new systems that incorporate our solutions. Our future success relies heavily on the outcome of the R&D efforts by our customers. As autonomous technology reaches the stage of large-scale commercialization, we will be required to develop and deliver solutions at price points that enable wider and ultimately mass-market adoption. Delays in introducing products and innovations, the failure to choose correctly among technical alternatives or the failure to offer innovative products or configurations at competitive prices may cause existing and potential customers to purchase our competitors’ products or turn to alternative sensing technology.

If we are unable to devote adequate resources to develop products or cannot otherwise successfully develop products or system configurations that meet customer requirements on a timely basis or that remain competitive with alternatives, our products could lose market share, our revenue will decline, we may experience operating losses and our business and prospects will be adversely affected.

Significant developments in alternative technologies, such as cameras and radar, may materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results in ways we do not currently anticipate. Existing and future camera and radar technologies may emerge as customers’ preferred alternative to our solutions. Any failure by us to develop new or enhanced technologies or processes, or to react to changes in existing technologies, could materially delay our development and introduction of new and enhanced products in the autonomous vehicle industry, which could result in the loss of competitiveness of our lidar solutions, decreased revenue and a loss of market share to competitors (or a failure to increase revenue and/or market share). Our R&D efforts may not be sufficient to adapt to changes in technology. As technologies change, our plans to upgrade or adapt our lidar solutions with the latest technology. However, our solutions may not compete effectively with alternative systems if we are not able to source and integrate the latest technology into our existing lidar solutions.

 

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Market opportunity estimates and growth forecasts included in this registration statement are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may not prove to be accurate. The forecasts and estimates in this registration statement relating to the expected size and growth of the markets for lidar-based technology may prove to be inaccurate. Even if these markets experience the forecasted growth described in this registration statement, we may not grow our business at similar rates, or at all. Our future growth is subject to many factors, including market adoption of our products, which is subject to many risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, the forecasts and estimates of market size and growth described in this registration statement, including our estimates that the size of its total addressable market is expected to grow from approximately $3 billion currently to $42 billion by 2030, should not be taken as indicative of our future growth. In addition, these forecasts do not take into account the impact of the current global COVID-19 pandemic, which may materially and adversely affect our forecasts.

In the future, we may need to raise capital in excess of our current projections, in order to respond to technological advancements, competitive dynamics or technologies, customer demands, business opportunities, challenges, acquisitions or unforeseen circumstances and it may determine to engage in equity or debt financings or enter into credit facilities for other reasons. In order to further business relationships with current or potential customers or partners, we may issue equity or equity-linked securities to such current or potential customers or partners. We may not be able to timely secure additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, or at all. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt or other equity-linked securities or if we issue equity or equity-linked securities to current or potential customers to further business relationships, our existing stockholders could experience significant dilution. Any debt financing obtained by us in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, when we require it, our ability to continue to grow or support our business and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited.

In connection with our financial statement close process for the year ended December 31, 2020, we identified a material weakness in the design and operating effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The material weakness we identified resulted from a lack of sufficient number of personnel within our accounting function who possessed an appropriate level of expertise to timely identify, select, and apply GAAP sufficiently to provide reasonable assurance that transactions were appropriately recorded. This also resulted in us not having adequate risk assessment and design of internal control activities surrounding the financial close and reporting process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements.

A material weakness is a deficiency or combination of deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our financial statements would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. These deficiencies could result in additional material misstatements to our consolidated financial statements that could not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

 

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Our management is in the process of developing a remediation plan which shall include, without limitation, the hiring of additional accounting and finance personnel with technical public company accounting and financial reporting experience. The material weakness will not be considered remediated until management designs and implements effective controls that operate for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through testing, that these controls are effective. Our management will monitor the effectiveness of our remediation plans and will make changes management determines to be appropriate.

If not remediated, this material weakness could result in material misstatements to our annual or interim financial statements that might not be prevented or detected on a timely basis, or in delayed filing of required periodic reports. If we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or when required in the future, if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an unqualified opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our Common Stock could be adversely affected and we could become subject to litigation or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls, internal control over financial reporting and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we will file with the SEC are recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers.

Our current controls, and any new controls that we develop, may be inadequate because of changes in conditions in its business. Further, weaknesses in our internal controls may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in our implementation or improvement, could adversely affect our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal controls also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we are required to include in the periodic reports we will file with the SEC under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information.

In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended and anticipate that we will continue to expend significant resources, including accounting-related costs, and provide significant management oversight. Any failure to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, or consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, could increase our operating costs and could materially and adversely affect our ability to operate our business. If our internal controls are perceived as inadequate or that we are unable to produce timely or accurate financial statements, investors may lose confidence in our operating results and our stock price could decline.

 

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Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until after we are no longer an emerging growth company. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could have a material and adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Factors that could materially affect our future effective tax rates include but are not limited to:

 

 

 

 

Because we do not have a long history of operating at our present scale and we have significant expansion plans, our effective tax rate may fluctuate in the future. Future effective tax rates could be affected by operating losses in jurisdictions where no tax benefit can be recorded under GAAP, changes in the composition of earnings in countries with differing tax rates, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, or changes in tax laws.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Tax Act”) was signed into law making significant changes to the U.S. Tax Code. In particular, sweeping changes were made to the U.S. taxation of foreign operations. Changes include, but are not limited to, a permanent reduction to the corporate income tax rate, limiting interest deductions, adopting elements of a territorial tax system, assessing a repatriation tax or “toll-charge” on undistributed earnings and profits of U.S.-owned foreign corporations, and introducing certain anti-base erosion provisions, including a new minimum tax on global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) and base erosion and anti-abuse tax (“BEAT”). The new legislation had no effect on our 2019 and 2020, and 2021 provision for income taxes because we generated net tax losses and offset our deferred tax assets on the balance sheet with a full valuation allowance due to our current loss position and forecasted losses for the near future. The overall impact of this tax reform is uncertain, and our business and financial condition, including with respect to our non-U.S. operations, could be adversely affected.

In addition to the impact of the Tax Act on our federal taxes, the Tax Act may impact our taxation in other jurisdictions, including with respect to state income taxes. State legislatures have not had sufficient time to respond to the Tax Act. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to how the laws will apply in the various state jurisdictions. Additionally, other foreign governing bodies may enact changes to their tax laws in reaction to the Tax Act that could result in changes to our global tax position and materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, the IRS and several foreign tax authorities have increasingly focused attention on intercompany transfer pricing with respect to sales of products and services and the use of intangibles. Tax authorities could disagree with our future intercompany charges, cross-jurisdictional transfer pricing or other matters and assess additional taxes. If we do not prevail in any such disagreements, our profitability may be affected.

As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately $69.2 million of U.S. federal and approximately $44.6 million of state net operating loss carryforwards available to reduce future taxable income. Of the approximately $69.2 million in U.S. federal operating loss carryforwards, approximately $57.0 million will be carried forward indefinitely for U.S. federal tax purposes and approximately $12.3 million will expire between 2033 and 2037. Approximately $44.2 million of our U.S. state net operating loss carryforwards will expire between 2035 and

 

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2040. It is possible that we will not generate taxable income in time to use these net operating loss carryforwards before their expiration, or at all. Under legislative changes made in December 2017, U.S. federal net operating losses incurred in 2018 and in future years may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such net operating losses is limited. It is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the newly enacted federal tax law. In addition, the federal and state net operating loss carryforwards and certain tax credits may be subject to significant limitations under Section 382 and Section 383 of the U.S. Tax Code, respectively, and similar provisions of state law. Under those sections of the U.S. Tax Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset our post-change income or tax may be limited. In general, an “ownership change” will occur if there is a cumulative change in our ownership by “5-percent shareholders” that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. We have not yet undertaken an analysis of whether the Merger constitutes an “ownership change” for purposes of Section 382 and Section 383 of the U.S. Tax Code. If the Merger is determined to constitute an “ownership change,” our profitability may be impacted.

We are highly dependent on our executive officers, in particular, one of our founders, Luis Dussan, our President and Chief Technology Officer and Blair LaCorte, our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Dussan created our artificial perception platform and remains deeply involved in our business, particularly in technology development. Mr. LaCorte has successfully led our growth and expansion strategy and his unparalleled leadership skills and industry insight are critical to us.

In addition, we are also dependent on the services of our other executive officers, Robert Brown, our Chief Financial Officer, Thomas R. Tewell, our Chief Operating Officer, and Andrew S. Hughes, our General Counsel. The loss of any of our executive officers could adversely affect our business because the loss could make it more difficult to, among other things, compete with other market participants, continue to develop innovative product designs and retain existing customers or cultivate new ones. Negative public perception of, or negative news related to any of our executive officers may adversely affect our brand, relationship with customers or standing in the industry.

Competition for highly skilled personnel is often intense, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we are headquartered, and we may incur significant costs to attract the highly-skilled personnel we require. We may not be successful in attracting, integrating, or retaining qualified personnel to fulfill our current or future needs. We have, from time to time, experienced, and we expect to continue to experience, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications, especially those with engineering skills.

In addition, job candidates and existing employees often consider the value of the equity awards they receive in connection with their employment. If the perceived value of our equity or equity awards declines, we may adversely affect our ability to retain highly skilled employees. If we fail to attract new personnel or fail to retain and motivate our current personnel, our business and future growth prospects could be adversely affected.

COVID-19

 

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We may, in the future, include in-vehicle services and functionality that utilize data connectivity to monitor performance and timely capture opportunities to enhance performance and functionality. The availability and effectiveness of our services depend on the continued operation of information technology and communications systems. Our systems will be vulnerable to damage or interruption from, among others, physical theft, fire, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, power loss, war, telecommunications failure, viruses, denial or degradation of service attacks, ransomware, social engineering schemes, insider theft or misuse or other attempts to harm our systems. We primarily utilize reputable third-party service providers or vendors for our data (including among others financial data, human resources data, manufacturing and production data, sales data, and electronic mail), other than for our source code and related materials that are managed internally. These third-party providers could also be vulnerable to harms similar to those that could damage our systems, including sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism causing potential disruptions. Some of our systems will not be fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. Any problems with our third-party cloud hosting providers could result in lengthy interruptions in our business. In addition, our future in-vehicle services and functionality are expected to be highly technical and complex technology which may contain errors or vulnerabilities that could result in interruptions in our business or the failure of our systems.

We are at risk for interruptions, outages and breaches of: our operational systems, including business, financial, accounting, product development or production processes, owned by us or our suppliers; our facility security systems, owned by us or our suppliers; our in-product technology owned by us or our suppliers; the integrated software in our lidar solutions; or the data that we processes or our suppliers process on our behalf. Such cyber incidents could materially disrupt operational systems; result in loss of intellectual property, trade secrets or other proprietary or competitively sensitive information; compromise certain information of employees, suppliers, or others; jeopardize the security of our facilities; or affect the performance of in-product technology and the integrated software in our lidar solutions. A cyber incident could be caused by disasters, insiders (through inadvertence or with malicious intent) or malicious third parties (including nation-states or nation-state supported actors) using sophisticated, targeted methods to circumvent firewalls, encryption and other security defenses, including hacking, fraud, trickery, phishing, or other forms of deception. The techniques used by cyber attackers change frequently and may be difficult to detect for long periods of time. Although we maintain information technology measures designed to protect ourself against intellectual property theft, data breaches and other cyber

 

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incidents, such measures will require continual updates and improvements, and we cannot guarantee that such measures will be adequate to detect, prevent or mitigate cyber incidents. The implementation, maintenance, segregation and improvement of these systems requires significant management time, support and cost. Moreover, there are inherent risks associated with developing, improving, expanding and updating current systems, including the disruption of our data management, procurement, production execution, finance, supply chain and sales and service processes. These risks may affect our ability to manage our data and inventory, procure parts or supplies or produce, sell, deliver and service our solutions, adequately protect our intellectual property or achieve and maintain compliance with, or realize available benefits under, applicable laws, regulations and contracts. We cannot be sure that the systems upon which we rely, including those of our third-party vendors or suppliers, will be effectively implemented, maintained or expanded as planned. If we do not successfully implement, maintain or expand these systems as planned, our operations may be disrupted, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results could be impaired, and deficiencies may arise in our internal control over financial reporting, which may impact our ability to certify our financial results. Moreover, our proprietary information or intellectual property could be compromised or misappropriated and our reputation may be adversely affected. If these systems do not operate as we expect them to, we may be required to expend significant resources to make corrections or find alternative sources for performing these functions.

A significant cyber incident could impact production capability, harm our reputation, cause us to breach our contracts with other parties or subject us to regulatory actions and litigation, any of which could materially affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. In addition, our insurance coverage for cyber-attacks may not be sufficient to cover all the losses we may experience as a result of a cyber incident.

Our products and solutions are subject to import and export laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, U.S. Customs regulations and various economic and trade sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. U.S. export control laws and regulations and economic sanctions prohibit the shipment of certain products and services to U.S. embargoed or sanctioned countries, governments and persons. In addition, complying with export control and sanctions regulations for a particular sale may be time-consuming and result in the delay or loss of sales opportunities. Exports of our products and technology must be made in compliance with these laws and regulations. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we and certain of our employees could be subject to substantial civil or criminal penalties, including the possible loss of export or import privileges, and fines, which may be imposed on us and responsible employees or managers and, in extreme cases, the incarceration of responsible employees or managers.

Changes in global political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories or countries where we currently purchase our components, sell our products or conduct our business could adversely affect our business. The U.S. has recently instituted or proposed changes in trade policies that include the negotiation or termination of trade agreements, the imposition of higher tariffs on imports into the U.S., economic sanctions on individuals, corporations or countries, and other government regulations affecting trade between the U.S. and other countries where we conduct our business. A number of other nations have proposed or instituted similar measures directed at trade with the United States in response. As a result of these developments, there may be greater restrictions and economic disincentives on international trade that could adversely affect our business. For example, such

 

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changes could adversely affect the Automotive market, our ability to access key components or raw materials needed to manufacture our products (including rare-earth metals), our ability to sell our products or license our product designs and software to customers outside of the U.S. and the demand for our products. It may be time-consuming and expensive for us to alter our business operations to adapt to or comply with any such changes, and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have been and may be, from time to time, involved in litigation, regulatory proceedings and commercial or contractual disputes that may be significant. These matters may include disputes with our suppliers and customers, intellectual property claims, stockholder litigation, government investigations, class action lawsuits, personal injury claims, environmental issues, customs and value-added tax disputes and employment and tax issues. In particular, we were named in a lawsuit filed in February 2021, in the Third Judicial Circuit Court of Wayne, Michigan, by a company called Orfin, LLC (“Orfin”). In the suit, Orfin alleged that it entered into an enforceable agreement with us to invest $2.5 million in a convertible note to be issued by us. Based on this and other allegations, Orfin asserted claims against us for breach of contract and promissory estoppel. The suit was transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware in April 2021 and voluntarily dismissed, without prejudice, in August 2021. It is possible Orfin asserts related claims in the future, and even though we believe that Orfin’s claims lack merit, we cannot guarantee a favorable outcome in the litigation.

In addition, we could face in the future, a variety of labor and employment claims against it, which could include but is not limited to general discrimination, wage and hour, privacy, ERISA or disability claims. In such matters, government agencies or private parties may seek to recover from us very large, indeterminate amounts in penalties or monetary damages (including, in some cases, treble or punitive damages) or seek to limit our operations in some way.

Any of these types of lawsuits, whether initiated by us or a third party, could require significant management time and attention or could involve substantial legal liability, adverse regulatory outcomes, and/or substantial expenses to defend. Often these cases raise complex factual and legal issues and create risks and uncertainties. No assurances can be given that any proceedings or claims will not have a material adverse impact on our operating results and consolidated financial position or that our established reserves or our available insurance will mitigate this impact.

Our lidar utilizes lasers for performing 3D sensing. While we have developed system components designed to prevent our lidar lasers from causing property damage (including to cameras), in the event that an unforeseen issue arises that results in property damage, our reputation or brand may be damaged and we could face material legal claims for breach of contract, product liability, tort or breach of warranty as a result of these problems. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, could be costly and may divert management’s attention and adversely affect the market’s perception of us and our products. In addition, our business liability insurance coverage could prove inadequate with respect to a claim and future coverage may be unavailable on acceptable terms, or at all.

We manufacture and sells products that contain electronic components, and such components may contain materials that are subject to government regulation in both the locations where we manufacture and assembles

 

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our products, as well as the locations where we sell our products. For example, certain regulations limit the use of lead in electronic components. Since we operate on a global basis, ensuring simultaneous compliance in multiple jurisdictions is a complex process which requires continual monitoring of regulations and an ongoing compliance process to ensure that we and our suppliers are in compliance with existing regulations in each market where we operate. If there is an unanticipated new regulation that significantly impacts our use and sourcing of various components or requires more expensive components, that regulation could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our products are used for autonomous driving and ADAS applications, which are subject to complicated regulatory schemes that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. These are rapidly evolving areas where new regulations could impose limitations on the use of lidar generally or our products specifically. If we fail to adhere to these new regulations or fail to continually monitor the updates, it may be subject to litigation, loss of customers or negative publicity and our business, results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected.

Concerns over environmental pollution and climate change have produced significant legislative and regulatory efforts on a global basis, and we believe this will continue both in scope and in the number of countries participating. In addition, as climate change issues become more prevalent, foreign, federal, state and local governments and our customers have been responding to these issues. The increased focus on environmental sustainability may result in new regulations and customer requirements, or changes in current regulations and customer requirements, which could materially adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. If we are unable to effectively manage real or perceived issues, including concerns about environmental impacts or similar matters, sentiments toward us or our products could be negatively impacted, and our business, results of operations or financial condition could suffer.

Our operations are and will be subject to international, federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, and such laws and regulations could directly increase the cost of energy, which may have an effect on the way we manufacture products or utilizes energy to produce our products. In addition, any new regulations or laws in the environmental area might increase the cost of raw materials or key components we use in our products. Environmental regulations require us to reduce product energy usage, monitor and exclude an expanding list of restricted substances and to participate in required recovery and recycling of our products. Environmental and health and safety laws and regulations can be complex, and we have limited experience complying with them. Capital and operating expenses needed to comply with environmental laws and regulations can be significant, and violations may result in substantial fines and penalties, third-party damages, suspension of production or a cessation of our operations.

Contamination at properties we currently operate at, where we formerly operated or to which hazardous substances were sent by us, may result in liability for us under environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, which can impose liability for the full amount of remediation-related costs without regard to fault, for the investigation and cleanup of contaminated soil and ground water, for building contamination and impacts to human health and for damages to natural resources. The costs of complying with environmental laws and regulations and any claims concerning noncompliance, or liability with respect to contamination in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or operating results. We may face unexpected delays in obtaining the required permits and approvals in connection with our planned production facilities that could require significant time and financial resources and delay our ability to operate these facilities, which would adversely impact our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

 

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We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, the USA PATRIOT Act and possibly other anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees, agents, contractors and other collaborators from authorizing, promising, offering or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or anything else of value to recipients in the public or private sector. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our employees, agents, contractors and other collaborators, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. Any violations of the laws and regulations described above may result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm and other consequences.

Government product safety regulations are an important factor for our business. Historically, these regulations have imposed ever-more stringent safety regulations for vehicles and laser products. These safety regulations often require, or customers demand that, vehicles have more safety features per vehicle and more advanced safety products.

While we believe increasing automotive and laser safety standards will present a market opportunity for our products, government safety regulations are subject to change based on a number of factors that are not within our control, including new scientific or technological data, adverse publicity regarding industry recalls and safety risks of autonomous driving and ADAS products, accidents involving our products, domestic and foreign political developments or considerations, and litigation relating to our products and our competitors’ products. Changes in government regulations, especially in the autonomous driving and ADAS industries could adversely affect our business. If government priorities shift and we are unable to adapt to changing regulations, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

Federal, state and local regulators impose more stringent compliance and reporting requirements in response to product recalls and safety issues in the automotive industry. As the cars that carry our sensors go into production, it is subject to the existing stringent requirements under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, or the Vehicle Safety Act, including a duty to report, subject to strict timing requirements, safety defects with our products. The Vehicle Safety Act imposes potentially significant civil penalties for violations including the failure to comply with such reporting actions. We are also subject to the existing U.S. Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act, or TREAD, which requires equipment manufacturers, such as us, to comply with “Early Warning” requirements by reporting certain information to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, such as information related to defects or reports of injury related to our products. TREAD imposes criminal liability for violating such requirements if a defect subsequently causes death or bodily injury. In addition, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act authorizes the NHTSA to require a manufacturer to recall and repair vehicles that contain safety defects or fail to comply with U.S. federal motor vehicle safety standards. Sales into foreign countries may be subject to similar regulations. If we cannot rapidly address any safety concerns or defects with our products, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

Vehicle regulators globally continue to consider new and enhanced emissions requirements, including electrification, to meet environmental and economic needs as well as pursue new safety standards to address

 

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emerging traffic risks. To control new vehicle prices, among other concerns, OEMs may need to dedicate technology and cost additions to new vehicle designs to meet these emissions and safety requirements and postpone the consumer cost pressures of new autonomous and ADAS features.

As a lidar technology company, we are subject to the Electronic Product Radiation Control Provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. These requirements are enforced by the FDA. Electronic product radiation includes laser technology. Regulations governing these products are intended to protect the public from hazardous or unnecessary exposure. Manufacturers are required to certify in product labeling and reports to the FDA that their products comply with applicable performance standards as well as maintain manufacturing, testing, and distribution records for their products. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in enforcement action by the FDA, which could require us to cease distribution of our products, recall or remediate products already distributed to customers, or subject us to FDA enforcement actions.

Our current and potential future operations and sales subject us to existing and future laws and regulations addressing privacy and the collection, use, storage, disclosure, transfer and protection of a variety of types of data. For example, the European Commission has adopted the General Data Protection Regulation and California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, both of which provide for potentially material penalties for non-compliance. These regimes may, among other things, impose data security requirements, disclosure requirements, and restrictions on data collection, uses, and sharing that may impact our operations and the development of our business. While, generally, we do not have access to, collect, store, process, or share information collected by our solutions unless our customers choose to proactively provide such information to us, our products may evolve both to address potential customer requirements or to add new features and functionality. Therefore, the full impact of these privacy regimes on our business is rapidly evolving across jurisdictions and remains uncertain at this time.

We may also be affected by cyber-attacks and other means of gaining unauthorized access to our products, systems, and data. For instance, cyber criminals or insiders may target us or third parties with which we have business relationships to obtain data, or in a manner that disrupts our operations or compromises our products or the systems into which our products are integrated.

We are assessing the continually evolving privacy and data security regimes and measures we believes are appropriate in response. Since these data security regimes are evolving, uncertain and complex, especially for a global business like ours, we may need to update or enhance our compliance measures as our products, markets and customer demands further develop, and these updates or enhancements may require implementation costs. In addition, we may not be able to monitor and react to all developments in a timely manner. The compliance measures we do adopt may prove ineffective. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with current and future regulatory or customer-driven privacy, data protection, and information security requirements, or to prevent or mitigate security breaches, cyber-attacks, or improper access to, use of, or disclosure of data, or any security issues or cyber-attacks affecting us, could result in significant liability, costs (including the costs of mitigation and recovery), and a material loss of revenue resulting from the adverse impact on our reputation and brand, loss of proprietary information and data, disruption to our business and relationships, and diminished ability to retain or attract customers and business partners. Such events may result in governmental enforcement actions and prosecutions, private litigation, fines and penalties or adverse publicity, and could cause customers and business partners to lose trust in us, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation and business.

 

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We are subject to the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, or the Dodd-Frank Act, that will require us to determine, disclose and report whether our products contain metals sourced from specified geographies, and are referred to as “conflict minerals.” The implementation of these requirements could adversely affect the sourcing, availability and pricing of the materials used in the manufacture of components used in our products. In addition, we will incur additional costs to comply with the disclosure requirements, including costs related to conducting diligence procedures to determine the sources of conflict minerals that may be used in or necessary to the production of our products and, if applicable, potential changes to products, processes or sources of supply as a consequence of such verification activities. It is also possible that our reputation may be adversely affected if we determine that certain of our products contain minerals not determined to be conflict-free or if we are unable to alter our products, processes or sources of supply to avoid use of such materials.

The success of our products and our business depends in large part on our ability to obtain patents and other intellectual property rights and maintain adequate legal protection for our products in the United States and other foreign jurisdictions. We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality agreements and other contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our proprietary rights, all of which can only provide limited protection.

We cannot assure you that any patents will be issued with respect to our currently pending patent applications or that any trademarks will be registered with respect to our currently pending applications in a manner that gives us adequate defensive protection or competitive advantages, if at all, or that any patents issued to us or any trademarks registered by us will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. We have filed for patents, service marks and trademarks in the United States and in certain international jurisdictions, but such protections may not be available in all countries in which we operate or in which we seek to enforce our intellectual property rights, or may be difficult to enforce in practice. Our currently-issued patents and trademarks and any patents and trademarks that may be issued or registered, as applicable, in the future with respect to pending or future applications may not provide sufficiently broad protection or may not prove to be enforceable in actions against alleged infringers. We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use of our technology or the reverse engineering of our technology. Moreover, others may independently develop technologies that are competitive to us or infringe our intellectual property.

Protecting against the unauthorized use of our intellectual property, products and other proprietary rights is expensive and can be difficult, particularly outside of the United States. Unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or reverse engineer our lidar technology or certain aspects of our solutions that it considers proprietary. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights, to prevent unauthorized parties from copying or reverse engineering our solutions, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to block the importation of infringing products into the United States.

Any such litigation, whether initiated by us or a third party, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management resources, either of which could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Even if we obtain favorable outcomes in litigation, we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies, especially in the context of unauthorized parties copying or reverse engineering its solutions.

 

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Further, many of our current and potential competitors may have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to defending intellectual property infringement claims and to enforcing their intellectual property rights than we have. Attempts to enforce our rights against third parties could also provoke these third parties to assert their own intellectual property or other rights against us or result in a decision that invalidates or narrows the scope of our rights, in whole or in part. Effective patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which our products are available and competitors based in other countries may sell infringing products in one or more markets. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could result in our competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage and a decrease in our revenue, which would adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

Although we believe we hold key patents related to our products, a number of companies, both within and outside of the lidar industry, hold other patents covering various aspects of lidar products. In addition to these patents, participants in this industry typically also protect their technology, especially embedded software, through copyrights and trade secrets. As a result, there is frequent litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation or other violations of intellectual property rights. We have received, and in the future may receive, inquiries from other intellectual property holders and may become subject to claims that we infringe their intellectual property rights, particularly as we expand our presence in the market, expand to new use cases and face increasing competition. In addition, parties may claim that the names and branding of our products infringe their trademark rights in certain countries or territories. If such a claim were to prevail, we may have to change the names and branding of our products in the affected territories and it could incur other costs.

We currently have a number of agreements in effect pursuant to which we have agreed to defend, indemnify and hold harmless our customers, suppliers, and channel partners and other partners from damages and costs which may arise from the infringement by our products of third-party patents or other intellectual property rights. The scope of these indemnity obligations varies, but may, in some instances, include indemnification for damages and expenses, including attorneys’ fees. Our insurance may not cover all intellectual property infringement claims. A claim that our products infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, even if untrue, could adversely affect our relationships with our customers, may deter future customers from purchasing our products and could expose us to costly litigation and settlement expenses. Even if we are not a party to any litigation between a customer and a third party relating to infringement by our products, an adverse outcome in any such litigation could make it more difficult for us to defend our products against intellectual property infringement claims in any subsequent litigation in which we are a named party. Any of these results could adversely affect our brand and operating results.

Our defense of intellectual property rights claims brought against us or our customers, suppliers and channel partners, with or without merit, could be time-consuming, expensive to litigate or settle, divert management resources and attention and force us to acquire intellectual property rights and licenses, which may involve substantial royalty or other payments and may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Further, a party making such a claim, if successful, could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial damages or obtain an injunction. An adverse determination also could invalidate our intellectual property rights and adversely affect our ability to offer our products to our customers and may require that we procure or develop substitute products that do not infringe, which could require significant effort and expense. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

We cannot be certain that we are the first inventor of the subject matter to which we have filed a particular patent application, or if we are the first party to file such a patent application. If another party has filed a patent

 

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application to the same subject matter as we have, we may not be entitled to the protection sought by the patent application. We also cannot be certain whether the claims included in a patent application will ultimately be allowed in the applicable issued patent. Further, the scope of protection of issued patent claims is often difficult to determine. As a result, we cannot be certain that the patent applications that it files will issue, or that our issued patents will afford protection against competitors with similar technology. In addition, our competitors may design around our issued patents, which may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

We rely on trade secrets, designs, manufacturing know-how, and confidential information to protect intellectual property that may not be patentable or subject to copyright, trademark, trade dress or service mark protection, or that we believe is best protected by means that do not require public disclosure. We generally seek to protect this information by entering into confidentiality agreements, or consulting, services or employment agreements that contain non-disclosure and non-use provisions with our employees, consultants, contractors, commercial partners, vendors and third parties. However, we may fail to enter into the necessary agreements, and even if entered into, these agreements may be breached or may otherwise fail to provide adequate protection, prevent disclosure, third-party infringement or misappropriation of our trade secrets, may be limited as to their term and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure or use of proprietary information. We have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our current or future manufacturing partners and suppliers and could lose future trade secret protection if any unauthorized disclosure of such information occurs. In addition, our proprietary information may otherwise become known or be independently developed by our competitors or other third parties. To the extent that our employees, consultants, contractors, advisors and other third parties use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us or designated in the agreements between such parties and us to be jointly owned, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain protection for our proprietary information could adversely affect our competitive business position. Furthermore, laws regarding trade secret rights in certain markets where we operate may afford little or no protection to our trade secrets.

We also rely on physical and electronic security measures to protect our proprietary information, but we cannot provide assurance that these security measures will not be breached or provide adequate protection for our property. There is a risk that third parties may obtain and improperly utilize our proprietary information to our competitive disadvantage. We may not be able to detect or prevent the unauthorized use of such information or take appropriate and timely steps to enforce our intellectual property rights.

Our business relies on certain third-party software obtained under licenses from other companies. We anticipate that it will continue to rely on such third-party software in the future. Although we believe that there are alternatives to the third-party software we currently license, this may not always be the case, or it may be difficult or costly to replace. In addition, integration of new third-party software may require significant work and require substantial investment of our time and resources. Our use of additional or alternative third-party software would require us to enter into license agreements with third parties, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Many of the risks associated with the use of third-party software cannot be eliminated, and these risks could negatively affect our business.

Some of the third-party software used by us is licensed under the terms of open source software licenses. Companies that incorporate open source software into their technologies have, from time to time, faced claims

 

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challenging the use of open source software and/or compliance with open source license terms. As a result, we could be subject to lawsuits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software or claiming noncompliance with open source licensing terms. Some open source software licenses require users who distribute software containing open source software to publicly disclose all or part of the source code to such software and/or make available any derivative works of the open source code, which could include valuable proprietary code of the user, on unfavorable terms or at no cost. While we monitor the use of open source software and attempt to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose our internally developed source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open source agreement, such use could inadvertently occur. Any requirement to disclose our internally developed source code or pay damages for breach of contract could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could help our competitors develop services that are similar to or better than our competitors.

We may be subject to claims that we or our employees have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of an employee’s former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. A loss of key personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize our products, which could severely harm our business. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and demand on management resources.

The price of our Common Stock and Warrants may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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These market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our Common Stock and Warrants regardless of our operating performance.

The trading market for our Common Stock and Warrants will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by securities and industry analysts. If no or few securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price for our Common Stock and Warrants would be negatively impacted. In the event we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage, if any of the analysts who cover us issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding us, our business model, our intellectual property or the performance of our Common Stock or Warrants, or if our operating results fail to meet the expectations of analysts, the price of our Common Stock and Warrants would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the price and trading volume of our Common Stock and Warrants to decline.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock in the public market could occur at any time. If our stockholders sell, or the market perceives that our stockholders intend to sell, substantial amounts of our Common Stock in the public market, the market price of our Common Stock could decline.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as rules adopted, and to be adopted, by the SEC and Nasdaq. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, we expect these rules and regulations to substantially increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. These increased costs will increase our net loss. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits or incur substantially higher costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs we may incur to respond to these requirements. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or our executive officers.

 

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Additionally, there continues to be public interest and increased legislative pressure related to environmental, social and governance, or ESG, activities of public companies. For example, there is a growing number of states requiring organizations to report their board composition as well or mandating gender diversity and representation from underrepresented communities, including New York and California. We risk negative stockholder reaction, including from proxy advisory services, as well as damage to our brand and reputation, if we do not act responsibly in a number of key areas, including diversity and inclusion, environmental stewardship, support for local communities, corporate governance and transparency and considering ESG and human capital factors in our operations.

Most of the members of our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors, and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Additionally, many members of our management team were recently hired, including our Chief Executive Officer, Blair LaCorte, who joined us in 2017 and became Chief Executive Officer in 2020; our Chief Financial Officer, Robert Brown, who joined us in November 2020; our Chief Operating Officer, Thomas R. Tewell, who joined us in March 2021; and our General Counsel, Andrew Hughes, who joined us in March 2021. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage their new roles and responsibilities. Our transition to being a public company subjects us to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations and constituents will require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. In addition, under certain circumstances, our loan and security agreement and any future debt or preferred securities or future debt agreements we may enter may preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our Common Stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.

Provisions in our Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger or acquisition involving us that our stockholders may consider favorable. For example, our Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws authorize our Board to issue up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock. As a result, without further stockholder approval, our Board will have the authority to attach special rights, including voting and dividend rights, to this preferred stock, including pursuant to a stockholder rights plan. With these rights, preferred stockholders could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire us. In addition, our Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws provide for a staggered Board, whereby directors serve for three-year terms, with one-third of the directors coming up for reelection each year. A staggered Board will make it more difficult for a third-party to obtain control of our Board through a proxy contest, which may be a necessary step in an acquisition of us that is not favored by our Board.

We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under the DGCL. Under these provisions, if anyone becomes an “interested stockholder,” we may not enter into a “Merger” with that person for three years without special approval, which could discourage a third-party from making a takeover offer and could delay or prevent a change in control of us. For purposes of these provisions, an “interested stockholder” generally means someone owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock or an affiliate of ours that owned 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock during the past three years, subject to certain exceptions as described in the DGCL.

 

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We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may follow reduced disclosure requirements and do not have to make all of the disclosures that public companies that are not emerging growth companies do. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (a) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion or more; (b) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the completion of the initial public offering of SBG; (c) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (d) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC, which means the market value of our Common Stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include:

 

 

 

 

In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards; and as a result of this election, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates.

We may choose to take advantage of some, but not all, of the available exemptions for emerging growth companies. We cannot predict whether investors will find our Common Stock or Warrants less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Common Stock or Warrants less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Common Stock and Warrants and our share and Warrant price may be more volatile.

Our Amended Bylaws provide that the state or federal courts located within the State of Delaware are the sole and exclusive forum for: (i) any derivative action, suit or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or stockholders to our stockholders, (iii) any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our Amended Bylaws, or (iv) any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim governed by the

 

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internal affairs doctrine. However, this choice of forum provision does not apply to (a) actions in which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware concludes that an indispensable party is not subject to the jurisdiction of Delaware courts, or (b) actions in which a federal court has assumed exclusive jurisdiction to a proceeding. This choice of forum provision is not intended to apply to any actions brought under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our Amended Bylaws also provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees or stockholders, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees or stockholders.

Furthermore, the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision in our Amended Bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we do not file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at the time that holders wish to exercise such Warrants, they will only be able to exercise them on a “cashless basis” provided that an exemption from registration is available. As a result, the number of shares of Common Stock that holders will receive upon exercise of the Warrants will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised its Warrant for cash. Further, if an exemption from registration is not available, holders would not be able to exercise on a cashless basis and would only be able to exercise their Warrants for cash if a current and effective prospectus relating to the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is available. Under the terms of the Warrant Agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to meet these conditions and to file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so. If we are not able to do so, the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in may be reduced or the warrants may expire worthless.

The exercise price for the warrants is $11.50 per share of Common Stock. There is no guarantee that the warrants will ever be in the money prior to their expiration, and as such, the warrants may expire worthless.

In addition, the warrants were issued in registered form under the Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding warrants to make any other change. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares and their respective affiliates and associates have of Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.

 

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Our Warrant Agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the Warrant Agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the Warrant Agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States are the sole and exclusive forum.

This choice-of-forum provision may limit a Warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our Warrant Agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and Board.

In no event do we have any obligation to net cash settle the warrants. Furthermore, there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities to the holders of the warrants upon exercise of the warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

 

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We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of Common Stock or Warrants by the Selling Securityholders.

The Selling Securityholders will pay all incremental selling expenses relating to the sale of their shares of Common Stock and Warrants, including underwriters’ or agents’ commissions and discounts, brokerage fees, underwriter marketing costs and all reasonable fees and expenses of any legal counsel representing the Selling Securityholders, except that we will pay the reasonable fees and expenses of one legal counsel for the Selling Securityholders, in the event of an underwritten offering of their securities. We will bear all other costs, fees and expenses incurred in effecting the registration of the securities covered by this prospectus, including, without limitation, all registration and filing fees, printing and delivery fees, Nasdaq listing fees and fees and expenses of our counsel and our accountants.

We will receive the proceeds from any exercise of Warrants or options for cash. We intend to use the proceeds from any exercise of Warrants or options for cash for general corporate and working capital purposes.

 

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We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of the business, and therefore, do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our Common Stock in the foreseeable future. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our Board after considering our business prospects, results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements and availability, debt repayment obligations, capital expenditure needs, contractual restrictions, covenants in the agreements governing current and future indebtedness, industry trends, the provisions of Delaware law affecting the payment of dividends and distributions to stockholders and any other factors or considerations the Board deems relevant.

 

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The following unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information presents the combination of the historical financial information of CF III and AEye adjusted to give effect to the PIPE Investment and AEye becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of CF III (which changed its name to “AEye, Inc.”) as a result of AEye merging with and into Merger Sub, a direct wholly owned subsidiary of CF III, with AEye surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of the CF III (the “Combined Entity”).

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheets as of June 30, 2021 combine the historical unaudited condensed balance sheet of CF III and the historical unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet of AEye as of June 30, 2021 on a pro forma basis as if the Business Combination and other events contemplated by the Merger Agreement, summarized below, had been consummated on June 30, 2021.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2021 combines the historical unaudited condensed statements of operations of CF III and the historical unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss of AEye for the six months ended June 30, 2021, giving effect to the transaction as if the Business Combination and other events contemplated by the Merger Agreement had been consummated on January 1, 2020. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 presents historical consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss of AEye for the year ended December 31, 2020, giving effect to the transaction as if the Transaction and other events contemplated by the Merger Agreement had been consummated on January 1, 2020.

The unaudited pro forma condensed financial information was derived from and should be read in conjunction with the following historical financial statements and the accompanying notes, which are included elsewhere in this proxy statement/prospectus:

 

 

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub merged with and into AEye, with AEye surviving the Merger. AEye became a wholly owned subsidiary of CF III and CF III was renamed “AEye, Inc.” Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, AEye Stockholders received shares of Class A Common Stock at a deemed value of $10.00 per share after giving effect to the Exchange Ratio (which, as of June 30, 2021, would have been 3.7223). Accordingly, an estimated 203,973,647 shares of Class A Common Stock were immediately issued and outstanding following consummation of the Business Combination, based on AEye’s Capital Stock balance as of June 30, 2021, CF III’s Common Stock balance as of June 30, 2021, and the Class A Common Stock to be issued in the PIPE Investment, and an estimated 17,397,124 shares were reserved for the potential future issuance of the Class A Common Stock pursuant to the Equity Incentive Plan. At the Effective Time, by

 

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virtue of the Merger and without any further action, the following occurred with respect to the outstanding shares of AEye capital stock and convertible equity instruments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Business Combination will be accounted for as a reverse recapitalization, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, CF III will be treated as the “accounting acquiree” and AEye as the “accounting acquirer” for financial reporting purposes. This determination was made considering both scenarios of no redemptions and maximum redemptions and is primarily based on:

 

 

 

 

 

Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the financial statements of the Combined Entity will represent a continuation of the financial statements of AEye with the Business Combination treated as the equivalent of

 

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AEye issuing stock for the net assets of CF III, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of CF III will be stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Business Combination will be presented as those of AEye.

In connection with the Business Combination:

 

 

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X and reflects the adoption of Release No. 33-10786. The adjustments in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information have been identified and presented to provide relevant information necessary for an accurate understanding of the Combined Entity upon consummation of the Business Combination and other events contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Assumptions and estimates underlying the unaudited pro forma adjustments set forth in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information are described in the accompanying notes.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information have been presented for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily indicative of the operating results and financial position that would have been achieved had the Business Combination and other events contemplated by the Merger Agreement occurred on the dates indicated, and does not reflect adjustments for any anticipated synergies, operating efficiencies, tax savings or cost savings. Any additional Business Combination proceeds remaining after the payment of all transaction costs related to the Business Combination are expected to be used for other general corporate purposes. Further, the unaudited pro forma combined financial information does not purport to project the future operating results or financial position of the Combined Entity following the completion of the Business Combination. The unaudited pro forma adjustments represent management’s estimates based on information available as of the date of these unaudited pro forma condensed financial information were prepared and are subject to change as additional information becomes available and analyses are performed. CF III and AEye have not had any historical relationship prior to the transactions. Accordingly, no pro forma adjustments were required to eliminate activities between the companies.

The unaudited pro forma condensed information contained herein assumes that the CF III Stockholders approve the Business Combination. CF III’s public stockholders may elect to redeem their public shares for cash even if they approve the Business Combination. CF III cannot predict how many of its public stockholders will exercise their right to redeem their shares of CF III Class A Common Stock for cash. Therefore, the unaudited pro forma condensed financial information presents the following two redemption scenarios. The actual results may be within the parameters described by the two scenarios. However, there can be no assurance regarding which scenario will be closest to the actual results:

 

 

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The following summarizes the pro forma shares of Class A Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately after the Business Combination:

 

 

The figures in this table are presented only as illustrative examples and are based on the scenarios described above, which may be different from the actual amount of redemptions in connection with the Business Combination. In the event that CF III Class A Common Stock is redeemed in connection with the Business Combination, but the number of shares redeemed is less than 20,958,853, the ownership percentages set forth above will vary between the two scenarios.

The two alternative levels of redemptions assumed in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheets and statement of operations are based on the assumption that there are no adjustments for the outstanding CF III Warrants issued in connection with the IPO as such securities are not exercisable until 30 days after the Closing.

 

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The following unaudited pro forma condensed balance sheet as of June 30, 2021 under the no redemptions scenario and maximum redemptions scenario and the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operation for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020 are based on the historical financial statements of CF III and AEye. The unaudited pro forma adjustments are based on information currently available, and assumptions and estimates underlying the unaudited pro forma adjustments are described in the accompanying notes. If the actual facts are different than these assumptions, then the amounts and shares outstanding in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information that follows will be different and those changes could be material.

 

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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED

COMBINED BALANCE SHEET

AS OF JUNE 30, 2021

 

 

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