Item 1. Business
Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise indicates, all references to “Serve,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or similar terms refer to Serve Robotics Inc. together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Serve Operating Co. is our direct, wholly-owned subsidiary and holds all material assets and conducts all business activities and operations of Serve.
Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations
The following is a glossary of technical terms used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
GPU — Graphical Processing Unit
LiDAR — A digital sensor for measuring distance to objects which uses the principle of radar, but uses light from a laser
ODD — Operating Design Domain describes the specific operating conditions in which the automated driving system is designed to properly operate, including but not limited to roadway types, speed range, and environmental conditions
Reverse Logistics — A type of supply chain management that moves goods from customers back to the sellers or manufacturers
Company Overview
We are engaged in developing technologies intended to enable sustainable, autonomous robotic solutions for public and commercial spaces. Our activities include the design, engineering, deployment, and operation of low-emission robotic systems built on our proprietary AI-enabled mobility platform. Our systems are designed to operate safely and efficiently in real world environments.
While food delivery remains our primary commercial application, we are expanding our platform into adjacent markets, customer segments, and operating environments where autonomous mobility can address labor constraints, improve service levels, and reduce emissions. We intend to leverage our core autonomy stack, fleet management infrastructure, and operational expertise to support additional use cases across both outdoor and indoor settings.
Our core technology originated in 2017 as a specialized project within Postmates Inc. (“Postmates”), an on-demand delivery company in the United States. Following the acquisition of Postmates by Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”) in 2020, Uber’s leadership approved the contribution of the intellectual property and related assets associated with this project to our company in February 2021.
As of December 31, 2025, Serve’s fleet consisted of over 2,000 sidewalk delivery robots. We maintain platform-level integrations with food delivery platforms, such as Uber Eats and DoorDash, that enable our robots to transmit real-time presence and status information and to receive delivery requests associated with customer orders placed on those platforms.
In January 2026, subsequent to the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we completed the acquisition of Diligent Robotics, Inc. (“Diligent”), a provider of AI-powered autonomous robot assistants for the healthcare industry. This acquisition extends our autonomy platform into indoor environments, initially into hospitals, and broadens our addressable market into healthcare and other commercial sectors. We expect to leverage Diligent’s technology alongside our existing platform to enhance product capabilities, accelerate deployment opportunities, and support scalable, recurring revenue growth through Diligent’s established commercial relationships with healthcare systems and institutions.
Tailwinds for Automation
Despite technological innovations of the past few decades as well as increased adoption of online commerce and home delivery, last-mile delivery has remained costly. While an ever-growing share of consumers is shopping online and demanding faster deliveries, a number of factors have contributed to keeping last-mile costs high:
•labor shortages caused by the aging population have led to wage inflation;
•on-demand delivery companies in many jurisdictions are facing regulatory pressures to classify gig workers as employees, which would in turn increase labor costs; and
•cities across the United States have introduced maximum limits on how much delivery platforms can charge restaurants and merchants, highlighting the need to lower underlying delivery costs.
Labor cost inflation and regulatory pressures serve as tailwinds that are expected to accelerate the adoption of automated robotic last-mile delivery. Similarly, the healthcare industry is experiencing significant labor shortages, particularly among nursing and clinical support staff, which has created demand for autonomous solutions that can perform routine logistical tasks and free clinical staff to focus on patient care. While labor costs typically increase over time, hardware and technology costs typically decrease. We expect the cost of cameras, GPU processors, electric motors, batteries, and advanced sensors such as LiDAR to continue to decrease, while mobile networks are expected to become faster and more reliable with higher bandwidth and geographic coverage, which we believe will lead to a downward trend in the cost of building and operating robots.
Robot Operations
Our robots start each day at a central depot located near their operating area. The fleet is monitored through mobile connectivity and video streaming by remote human supervisors who can assist robots when necessary, such as at intersection crossings or when robots are unable to navigate certain conditions. On less frequent occasions, if a robot requires physical assistance, such as when a robot is too low on battery to return home or if it has been damaged, a nearby team member is dispatched to repair or return the robot.
Throughout the day, each robot receives a series of delivery orders from partnered merchants and delivery platforms. Upon acceptance of an order, the robot navigates to the pick-up location, waits outside, and notifies merchant staff, often through their existing delivery tablets or point-of-sale devices. Once the merchant staff load the package into the robot, it navigates to its drop-off destination. Upon arrival, customers meet the robot at the curb, unlock its cargo using their delivery app or on-screen instructions, and retrieve their package. At night, robots return to their central depot to be recharged, maintained, upgraded when necessary, and prepared for next morning’s deployment.
Serve’s third-generation robots are designed to carry more goods, enable more deliveries, and further reduce the cost of delivery thanks to higher speeds and increased battery capacity. They can reach up to 11 miles per hour (18 kilometers per hour) and travel as far as 48 miles (77 kilometers) on a single charge. They also feature an expanded 15 gallon (61 liter) cargo bin that holds four large 16-inch pizzas. Their new drivetrain is equipped with suspension to drive smoother and faster while protecting food quality, and their improved water resistance expands the robots’ ability to maneuver confidently in a wider range of weather conditions.
Importantly, these hardware and software enhancements support Serve’s commitment to safety on the sidewalk. In addition to market-leading safety capabilities, including fail-safe mechanical braking and autonomous collision avoidance, the third-generation robots feature enhanced emergency braking.
Following our acquisition of Diligent in January 2026, we also operate Moxi robots in hospital environments to assist clinical staff with logistical tasks. Moxi robots operate throughout hospital facilities, navigating hallways, using elevators, accessing secured areas via badge readers, and entering patient care areas to deliver medications, lab samples, and lightweight equipment and supplies. Moxi robots operate autonomously within hospital environments, using onboard sensors and AI to navigate dynamic spaces.
All of our robots are equipped with a number of security features designed to protect their cargo, data, and intellectual property from unauthorized access. The robots’ secure cargo compartment can only be unlocked through the delivery app’s interface or using a security code entered on the touch screen. Additionally, through the use of encrypted communication protocols and data storage as well as secure authentication methods, the data and software onboard each robot is protected from unauthorized access. All of our robots that operate outdoors are also equipped with redundant real-time location tracking systems as well as alarm and communication features to deter attempts at vandalism and enable quick recovery of assets in the unlikely event of theft.
Impact of Robotic Automation
If automation decreases the cost of last-mile delivery and leads to increased adoption, we anticipate opportunities for impact over the long term, such as:
•Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions: We believe the use of robots and drones will reduce overall emissions caused by the use of large vehicles for moving small packages.
•Lower Delivery Costs: While all automated delivery robots still require a certain amount of human involvement (e.g., loading and unloading, maintenance, remote supervision), we believe labor is leveraged more efficiently, resulting in more deliveries and tasks per unit of human effort. Just as automation has done in the past, we expect a continued reduction of delivery costs over time.
•Increased On-Demand Adoption: On-demand services are largely luxuries afforded by affluent consumers today. We believe reducing delivery costs could make home delivery services affordable to more people.
•Easier Reverse Logistics: We believe reducing the cost of last-mile transportation will also encourage increased adoption of reverse logistics applications (e.g., more convenient package returns).
•More Local Commerce: We believe that increased adoption of home delivery will result in more commerce for local businesses.
•Increased Local Jobs: We believe increased delivery and local commerce activities resulting from a reduction in delivery costs could lead to more local jobs, ranging from increased staffing of local businesses, logistics operators who enable automated delivery networks to function, and human couriers who perform deliveries that automated services cannot perform.
•Higher Delivery Quality: Like most automated systems, robots are less prone to certain types of errors. For example, customers of food delivery platforms often experience missing items, mistaken orders, and lost or missed deliveries. An increased reliance on robotic technology may reduce such errors, creating a better experience for customers and merchants alike.
•Safer Roads: According to a report by the Governors Highway Safety Administration (the “GHSA”) published in July 2025, there were 7,148 pedestrians killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2024 in the United States and 1,166 cyclists killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2023. There are many factors that contribute to pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and injuries as a result of motor vehicle accidents, including: speeding, distracted driving, drunk driving, and aggressive driving. Sidewalk delivery robots weigh significantly less and move at lower speeds than cars. We believe that replacing cars with sidewalk delivery robots could result in safer cities for pedestrians and cyclists.
•Improved Healthcare Efficiency and Patient Care: In healthcare settings, we believe robotic automation can address critical labor shortages by performing routine logistical tasks such as transporting supplies, medications, lab samples, linens, and equipment. Nurses may spend a significant portion of their shifts on non-clinical tasks, including walking to retrieve supplies and making deliveries. By allowing clinical staff to focus on direct patient care rather than non-clinical logistics, we believe autonomous robots like Moxi can improve both operational efficiency and patient outcomes.
Technology
Our robotic technology has been developed based on the following key principles:
1.Humans and Machines: We believe that the most effective way to quickly realize the benefits of AI and autonomy in our lives is by designing solutions that leverage both human and machine intelligence in ways that are collaborative and complementary. Creating fully autonomous machines that are safe and reliable without any human intervention requires substantially more time and capital investment than creating machines that are mostly automated but can rely on occasional human support, especially when it comes to high consequence safety-critical decisions.
2.Labor-Optimized: We believe the cost of advanced sensors and hardware will continue to decrease over the coming years, and optimizing against such costs can be premature and may yield diminishing long-term
returns. Instead, we have continued to innovate by designing highly capable hardware and software solutions that optimize against the largest cost of delivery and logistics: labor.
3.Robots Among People: We believe that building world-class hardware, software, AI and autonomy for robots to share spaces with people positions us to build market value and create a lasting legacy.
4.Robotic Platform: Our mission is to build a superior robotic platform that can accelerate the adoption of robotic solutions beyond last-mile delivery.
The following are key highlights of our approach to technology development:
Artificial Intelligence
AI empowers Serve robots to navigate outdoor and indoor environments and interact with their environment safely and efficiently. We use the latest AI methodologies to design, train and deploy a host of models on Serve robots. Currently, our AI models are used to perform a variety of tasks, including identification of sidewalk surfaces, intersections, doorways, elevators, traffic signals, obstacles, pedestrians and vehicles, and projecting the trajectory of other dynamic agents.
Since we began development, we have continued to create AI models with new capabilities, while improving the performance of existing models. We expect to continue developing increasingly capable AI models to improve our robots’ performance and differentiate Serve from alternative products and solutions. In addition, we have completed various acquisitions of businesses engaged in the development of AI models with novel and differentiated capabilities, with the intention of further expanding and enhancing the Company’s portfolio of AI technologies, accelerating innovation, and supporting the integration of advanced capabilities across its products and services. As the broader field of AI advances, we expect to benefit from such advances by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our robots.
Level 4 Autonomy
In January 2022, we announced the deployment of a new generation of sidewalk delivery robots capable of operating at Level 4 autonomy. Level 4 autonomous robots can operate without humans in the loop for periods of time while they are operating in their intended operating environments (also known as “ODDs”). Specifically, our robots are capable of driving autonomously in certain environments without a remote human supervisor having to oversee their movement. This capability makes it possible to operate our robots at lower cost than remotely operated robots used by our competitors, because it enables a single remote supervisor to oversee multiple deliveries simultaneously.
Through frequent software updates, Serve’s AI models are continuously improved. We believe that over the coming years, we can steadily increase our robots’ autonomous capabilities using new and improved AI models and more training data including new edge cases encountered every day by our operating fleet.
Safety
Achieving Level 4 autonomy requires our robots to uphold rigorous safety standards. Organizationally, we adhere to the four standard components of a Safety Management System: Safety Risk Management, Safety Assurance, Safety Promotion, and Safety Policy. Together these components support a high level of safety performance and enable continuous safety improvement.
Operationally, each robot is equipped with robust onboard safety systems powered by Serve’s advanced sensors and AI capabilities. While highly trained remote supervisors are available to assist in specific, predefined situations, the robot is designed to operate safely and independently. This layered approach significantly reduces the likelihood of collisions, including during supervised operation.
At Serve, we believe that robots that rely primarily on human oversight cannot achieve the highest levels of safety due to the potential for human error. As a result, we focus on advancing our technology through multiple layers of redundant onboard safety systems to enable safe and reliable operation without undue dependence on human intervention. These systems incorporate diverse sensor modalities, including active sensors (such as LiDAR and ultrasonics) and passive sensors (such as cameras), allowing our robots to navigate complex environments with a high degree of reliability.
Serve also applies best-practice processes for the development of safety-critical systems, ensuring these processes are scalable across product design, manufacturing, and operations. Clearly defined requirements and verification methods allow us to deliver products and services that are demonstrably safe.
Our robots have a wide range of capabilities related to safety, such as:
•Automatic emergency braking: If a remote supervisor unintentionally places a robot at risk of collision, the robot is designed to automatically override the command and stop.
•Obstacle detection and avoidance: Our robots use multiple sensor modalities to detect and avoid obstacles in real time, including vehicles, pedestrians, furniture, medical equipment, and other dynamic objects in both outdoor and indoor environments.
•Fail-safe mechanical braking: In the event of a power, electronic, or compute failure, robots are designed to automatically come to a complete stop using a mechanically designed fail-safe braking system. This provides an additional layer of protection beyond electronic braking alone.
Manufacturing
Our robots are designed by Serve’s internal team of mechanical, electrical, and systems engineers to meet product requirements while optimizing for component availability and manufacturing scalability.
Most components are widely commercially available or fabricated from raw materials using common manufacturing processes including machining, molding, stamping, and additive manufacturing from multiple sources. However, certain highly complex components are obtained from single or limited sources, and we may have to compete for access to such components against other participants in the robotics, consumer electronics, and automotive markets. These components can at times be subject to industry-wide shortages, resulting in long lead times and significant pricing fluctuations. Under these circumstances and to maintain production schedules, it may be necessary to temporarily source alternate higher-priced compatible components. Key suppliers of single and limited source components include NVIDIA Corporation, Ouster, Inc., and other vendors providing cameras, ultrasonic sensors, electronic motors, and modems. To mitigate such supply risks, we routinely search for more available alternatives and/or enter into strategic partnerships and agreements to secure pricing and supply of components.
Manufacturing and assembly of robots are performed by third-party contract manufacturers. We also engage a contract manufacturing firm for the production of various subassembly components.
Business Strategy
After more than eight years of research and development investment in AI, autonomy, safety, and efficiency of our robots, we are in a leading position to partner with some of the world’s largest food delivery platforms, restaurants, retailers, healthcare systems, and convenience brands to augment their logistics and delivery capabilities with autonomous robotics solutions.
Through a series of commercial agreements with delivery partners, the Company has expanded its operational footprint and achieved a significant deployment milestone, with approximately 2,000 sidewalk delivery robots deployed across multiple geographic markets. These contractual relationships enable the Company to integrate its autonomous delivery solutions into partner platforms and support scaled commercial operations. We plan to continue growing our delivery operations and establish Serve as a global leader in automated last-mile delivery. We also intend to extend the applications of our autonomy platform beyond sidewalk delivery into complementary environments and verticals where autonomous navigation among people is required, such as indoor logistics and healthcare settings. Our growth will be facilitated by continued investment in our hardware, software and AI developments that increase the performance and efficiency of our fleet. Looking ahead, we plan to increase utilization of our robot fleet by advancing performance, safety, and user experience; broadening use cases and partnerships; and expanding integration with third-party platforms and services.
Our robots can perform other value-add tasks while in operation and capture additional revenues, such as out-of-home (“OOH”) branding. Similar to billboards and buses, brands are placing ads on Serve robots’ exteriors. Our robots are also utilized in experiential advertising initiatives, including one-time promotional events, brand activations, and appearances in film and other media. These engagements allow advertisers to leverage the visibility and novelty of our robotic platforms to enhance brand awareness and consumer engagement in real-world environments.
We are also engaging partners in software-based services that complement our core robotic operations, including recurring software licensing and data monetization. Alongside our strategic partners, we continue evaluating additional applications of the technology we have developed.
Competition
The global market for autonomous robots is highly competitive, and we expect competitive conditions to intensify as a significant and increasing number of established companies and new entrants seek to enter or expand within this market. In addition, we face competition from traditional methods, including human couriers in last-mile delivery and manual logistics workflows in healthcare, as well as from other autonomous robotics providers.
Environmental Impact
According to the International Energy Agency, passenger vehicles emitted 3.2 billion metric tons of CO2 in 2023. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimates that in 2023, 16.2% of car trips were taken for shopping and errands, which are activities that are particularly well-suited to robotic delivery. If half of all shopping trips could be completed by sidewalk delivery robots, the scaled deployment of robotic delivery could reduce global passenger car emissions attributable to such trips from approximately 259 megatons to less than 10 megatons per year. This is a reduction of over 96% as estimated by a study published in Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment (Volume 85, August 2020, 102443).
Government Regulations
In the United States, delivery robots are generally allowed to operate on most sidewalks by default. Over twenty-five states and a number of cities have put in place legal frameworks to explicitly permit the use of sidewalk delivery robots. The instances of cities welcoming sidewalk delivery robots exceed the examples in which their operations were banned. This positive regulatory momentum for sidewalk delivery robots may be due to a number of factors:
•Robots Inherently Safer: Cars carry more kinetic energy than sidewalk delivery robots and therefore pose a significantly greater risk of serious injury or fatality. In the United States alone, vehicle collisions result in approximately 40,000 deaths per year and injure thousands of additional pedestrians and cyclists. Replacing unnecessary car trips with robotic delivery can make cities safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
•Robots Reduce Emissions: Many cities have established targets for reducing carbon emissions, and robots can help advance these environmental initiatives by offering a more sustainable delivery option that produces a fraction of the emissions associated with personal vehicles.
•Robots Reduce Congestion: Deliveries often originate in high-traffic areas where restaurants and shops tend to be located. Shifting these trips from cars to robots can reduce traffic congestion and ease parking challenges in urban areas.
•Robots Reduce Delivery Cost for Local Merchants: Recently, a number of cities have implemented restrictions on how much delivery platforms can charge restaurants for their services. Robots can offer a lower-cost alternative, helping merchants remain competitive while lowering their overall delivery expenses.
We are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations that govern aspects of our business operations. While costs associated with compliance with laws and regulations have increased as the number and scope of regulations have increased, the total costs incurred have not had, and are not currently expected to have, a material effect on our capital expenditures, results of operations or competitive position. See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for discussion of risks relating to federal, state, local and international laws and regulations applicable to our business.
Intellectual Property
Our success and ability to compete are significantly dependent on our core technology and intellectual property. As of December 31, 2025, we had 62 active patent matters in various jurisdictions: Australia (1 patent), Canada (6 patents), China (2 patents), the European Patent Office (3 patents), Japan (2 patents), the Republic of Korea (2 patents), the United States (44 patents) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (2 patents). As of December 31, 2025, we have been granted 36 of the 62 patents for which we have applied — 4 in Canada, 1 in China, 2 in the European Patent Office and 29 in the United States. Our granted patents will expire between May 2029 and June 2042, assuming that all maintenance fees are paid, no portion of the patent has been terminally disclaimed and the patent has not been invalidated. In certain jurisdictions, and in certain circumstances, patent terms can be extended or shortened.
We seek to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights, including our proprietary technology and software, by relying on a combination of federal, state, and common law rights in the United States and other countries, as well as on contractual measures. However, these laws, agreements, and procedures provide only limited protection for our technology.
Although we currently primarily operate within the United States, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect our proprietary rights to as great an extent as domestic laws, and many foreign countries do not enforce these laws as diligently as government agencies and private parties in the United States.
We encourage our employees to continue to invent and develop new technologies so as to maintain our competitiveness in the marketplace. We generally enter into confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with our employees, consultants, vendors and customers, and generally limit access to and distribution of our proprietary information. We also enter into invention assignment agreements with our employees and consultants, which give us the rights to their inventions during the term of the agreements.
Despite our best efforts, our means of protecting our proprietary rights may be inadequate. It is possible that our current patents, or patents we may later acquire, may be successfully challenged or invalidated in whole or in part. It is also possible that we may not obtain issued patents for our pending patent applications or other inventions we seek to protect. In that regard, we sometimes permit certain intellectual property to lapse or go abandoned under appropriate circumstances and due to uncertainties inherent in prosecuting patent applications, sometimes patent applications are rejected and we subsequently abandon them. It is also possible that any patent issued to us may not provide us with any competitive advantages, or that the patents of others may harm or altogether preclude our ability to do business. Moreover, unauthorized parties and our competitors may attempt to copy aspects of our products or obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary, or independently develop technology that is similar to ours thereby rendering our protected products less valuable if the design is favorably received in the marketplace.
Human Capital Management
We strongly believe our employees are our greatest assets. We value and support hiring exceptional talent to develop our core technology and drive our business growth. We strive to meet these objectives by offering competitive pay and benefits in a diverse, inclusive, and safe workplace. In addition, we provide opportunities for our employees to grow and develop their careers.
As of December 31, 2025, we employed a total of 370 full-time and 10 part-time employees globally, of which 359 employees were based in the United States, and 21 employees were based in Canada through our wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary. By primary job function, approximately 38% of our employees have engineering or product roles, 49% are in operations, and 13% have business development or other administrative roles. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relationship with our employees to be in good standing.
Competitive Pay and Benefits
We provide compensation and benefits packages that we believe are competitive within our industry. We use a combination of cash and equity compensation, and other benefits to attract, motivate and retain our employees, including equity awards, retirement programs, flexible or paid time off based on department, and health and wellness benefits. In addition, we benchmark our compensation and benefits packages periodically to remain competitive with our peers and attract and support our talent acquisition and retention efforts.
Employee Recruitment, Retention, and Development
We believe our corporate culture, competitive compensation and benefits programs, and career growth and development opportunities promote employee tenure and retention and reduce employee turnover. We have maintained high employee retention since becoming an independent company in 2021 and continue to monitor employee turnover rates closely, as our success depends on retaining and investing in our highly skilled technical staff.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We believe that an inclusive environment, that recognizes and values the unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of our employees, enhances our organizational effectiveness. Accordingly, we seek to cultivate a culture in which all employees are empowered to contribute meaningfully to the Company’s success.
Safety, Health, and Wellness
We prioritize the safety, health, and well-being of our employees. We are committed to an injury-free workplace and provide comprehensive workplace training and support to reduce or eliminate health and safety risks.
Available Information
We are a public company, and our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to such reports are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC"). We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and file or furnish reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. Such reports and other information filed by us with the SEC will be available free of charge on our website at www.serverobotics.com when such reports are available on the SEC’s website. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that issuers file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov. Our website is www.serverobotics.com, and we can be contacted at investor.relations@serverobotics.com.
The contents of the websites referred to above are not incorporated into this filing. Further, our references to the URLs for these websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Investment in our stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks described below, together with other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC, before making investment decisions regarding our stock. If any of the following risks and uncertainties, or if any other risks and uncertainties, actually occurs, our business, financial condition, or operating results could differ materially from the plans, projections, and other forward-looking statements included in Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other public filings. In addition, if any of the following risks and uncertainties, or if any other risks and uncertainties, actually occurs, our business, financial condition, or operating results could be harmed substantially, which could cause the market price of our stock to decline, perhaps significantly. Moreover, the risks described below are not the only ones that we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.
Summary Risk Factors
Our business is subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and prospects. These risks are discussed more fully below and include, but are not limited to, risks related to:
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
•our status as an early-stage company with minimal revenue, a history of losses, and a limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluate the future of our business and prospects;
•our ability to execute our business strategy to expand our addressable market and effectively manage our growth;
•our use of AI and machine learning technologies, which introduces new risks and uncertainties related to accuracy, bias, intellectual property, and regulatory scrutiny;
•a significant portion of our revenue being concentrated with a small number of customers;
•our ability to commercialize our products at a large scale efficiently and effectively;
•our substantial reliance on relationships with suppliers and service providers for the parts and components in our robots, as well as for the manufacture of our robots;
•our ability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, including engineers, robotics experts, and machine learning specialists; and
•the requirement for significant capital to fund our operations and growth, and the risk that financing may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms.
Risks Related to Our Products and Technology
•our robots’ reliance on sophisticated software technology that incorporates third-party components and networks to operate;
•potential defects, glitches, or malfunctions in our products that could compromise performance, lead to injury or property damage, and result in product recalls or product liability claims;
•safety incidents arising from human supervision, connectivity issues, third-party software, or automation that could cause injury, trigger recalls, or result in uninsured product liability and warranty claims;
•accessibility concerns or failure to comply with disability access laws may result in claims, operational restrictions, or reputational harm; and
•the inability of our supply chain to deliver certain key electrical components, such as semiconductors.
Risks Related to Our Industry and External Environment
•unfavorable changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, and inflationary pressures that may increase our operating costs;
•our dependence on discretionary spending patterns in the areas in which we operate and in the economy at large;
•competition in an industry subject to rapid technological change, where competitors may have or attain more resources and greater market recognition than we do; and
•important assumptions about the market demand, pricing, adoption rates, and sales cycle for our current and future products and services being inaccurate.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
•our ability to protect, maintain, and enforce our intellectual property rights;
•potential claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights; and
•the unproven nature of our video and LiDAR licensing model and our ability to generate recurring revenue at expected levels.
Risks Related to Cybersecurity and Privacy
•security breaches and other disruptions that could compromise our proprietary information and expose us to liability;
•cybersecurity risks to our operational systems, security systems, infrastructure, integrated software in our products, and data processed by us or third-party vendors;
•evolving laws, regulations, standards, policies, and contractual obligations related to privacy and data security, including the CCPA, BIPA, GDPR, and HIPAA; and
•our internal use of AI, generative AI, and machine learning tools that may expose us to heightened cybersecurity risks.
Risks Related to Our Regulatory Environment
•tariffs imposed by the United States and other countries, as well as changing trade relations, regional and international conflicts, and political conditions;
•the use of emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and generative AI requiring us to navigate an uncertain legal and regulatory landscape;
•evolving privacy, data protection, and AI regulation that may restrict our ability to collect, process, and license video and LiDAR datasets;
•the evolving regulations around personal delivery devices, which could materially impact our business and growth prospects in new markets; and
•compliance with complex laws and regulations in multiple jurisdictions, including product safety, data privacy, healthcare, and environmental regulations.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
•the market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile and could decline significantly; and
•our obligation to develop and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, and the presence of material weaknesses that increase the risk of material misstatement of our consolidated financial statements.
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
We are an early-stage company with minimal revenue, a history of losses, and a limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluate the future of our business and prospects, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to operate profitably.
We are an early-stage company. We were formed and commenced operations in January 2021. We face all the risks faced by newer companies, including significant competition from existing and emerging competitors, some of which are established and have better access to capital. In addition, as a new business, we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other known and unknown factors. We will need to transition from an early-stage company to a company capable of supporting larger scale commercial activities. If we are not successful in such a transition, our business, results, and financial condition will be harmed.
We have a limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluate the future of our business and prospects. Any evaluation of our business and our prospects must be considered in light of the uncertainties, delays, difficulties and expenses commonly experienced by companies at this stage, which generally include unanticipated problems and additional costs relating to the development and testing of products, product approval or clearance, regulatory compliance, production, product introduction and marketing, and competition.
We have not been profitable to date, and we expect operating losses for the near future. During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we generated revenue of $2.7 million and $1.8 million, respectively, and incurred a net loss of $101.4 million and $39.2 million, respectively. Our losses are driven mainly by our investments in research and development costs, and there can be no assurance that we will not continue to incur net losses in the future. We may not succeed in expanding our customer base and product offerings and even if we do, may never generate revenue that is significant enough to achieve profitability. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Furthermore, we may not be able to control overhead expenses even if our operations successfully expand. Our failure to become and remain profitable would depress our value and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify our product offerings, or even continue our operations.
As a company with a limited operating history, it is difficult to accurately forecast our revenues and operating results, and these could fluctuate in the future due to a number of factors. These factors may include adverse changes in companies’ interests in our robotic and branding services, companies’ available dollars to invest in our services, general economic conditions, our ability to market our company to other companies, headcount and other operating costs, and general industry and regulatory conditions and requirements. Our operating results may fluctuate from year to year due to the factors listed above and others not listed, which may make it difficult to evaluate the future of our business and prospects. At times, these fluctuations may be significant and could impact our ability to operate our business. There can be no assurance that our efforts will be successful or that we will ultimately be able to attain profitability.
If we fail to execute our business strategy to expand our addressable market and effectively manage our growth, we may not be able to design, develop, manufacture, market and launch new generations of our robotic systems successfully, which could negatively impact our long-term growth prospects.
We intend to invest significantly in order to expand our business. Any failure to manage our growth effectively could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. We expect our expansion to include:
•expanding our management, engineering, and product teams;
•identifying and recruiting individuals with the appropriate relevant experience;
•launching commercialization of new products and services;
•forecasting production and revenue;
•entering into relationships with one or more third-party design for manufacturing partners and third-party contract manufacturers and/or expanding our internal manufacturing capabilities;
•controlling expenses and investments in anticipation of expanded operations;
•carrying out acquisitions and entering into collaborations, in-licensing arrangements, joint ventures, strategic alliances or partnerships;
•expanding and enhancing internal information technology, safety, and security systems;
•conducting demonstrations;
•expanding into new markets and geographies;
•expanding our ODD into new environments;
•entering into new agreements with suppliers, manufacturers and service providers; and
•implementing and enhancing administrative infrastructure, systems, and processes.
Growing our business is critical to our ability to continually invest in research and development, expand our manufacturing capacity, and commercialize new generations of our robots. A key part of this strategy is to leverage our robotic technology leadership and expand our addressable market into complementary and adjacent markets by investing in new technologies and geographies. Many of these markets are emerging or dynamic, and it is difficult to predict trends of these markets, including any potential growth. Moreover, we have a limited history of commercializing and selling our robots into these markets. This expansion strategy may require a significant investment of capital and human resources, disrupt our operations, and impose substantial demands on management time. If these markets do not develop as we anticipate, or if we are unable to commercialize, increase market awareness of, or gain adoption of our solutions within them, our ability to design, develop, manufacture, market, and launch new generations of our robots may be impaired and our business, financial performance, and long-term growth prospects could be adversely affected.
We have acquired, and may in the future acquire, other companies, employee teams, or technologies, which could divert our management’s attention, result in additional indebtedness or dilution to our stockholders, or otherwise disrupt our operations and adversely affect our operating results.
We have acquired, and may in the future acquire, other companies, employee teams, or technologies to complement or expand our applications, enhance our technical capabilities, obtain personnel, or otherwise offer growth opportunities. The pursuit of acquisitions may divert the attention of management, disrupt ongoing business, and cause us to incur various expenses in identifying, investigating, and pursuing suitable acquisitions, whether or not they are consummated. These impacts may continue through integration activities.
Moreover, we may be unable to complete proposed transactions in a timely manner or at all, due to a failure to obtain any necessary funding to complete an acquisition in a timely manner or on favorable terms, the failure to obtain required regulatory or other approvals, litigation, or other disputes, which may obligate us to pay a termination fee.
We also may not achieve the anticipated benefits from an acquisition due to a number of factors, including:
•increased competition for suitable acquisition and strategic transaction targets, which could increase prices and adversely affect our ability to consummate deals on favorable or acceptable terms;
•transaction-related lawsuits or claims;
•difficulties associated with managing a larger, more complex, combined company;
•difficulties integrating the technologies and operations, including compensation structures, existing contracts, and personnel of an acquired business;
•difficulties retaining, integrating, and motivating key employees or business partners of an acquired business, and difficulties retaining or motivating our existing key employees or business partners after an acquisition;
•difficulties retaining key customers or suppliers, as applicable, of an acquired business;
•challenges integrating internal controls, procedures and policies and accounting, finance and forecasting practices of acquired businesses with our own, especially in the context of international businesses;
•challenges relating to the structure of an investment, such as governance, accountability, operations, expense sharing and decision-making conflicts that may arise in the context of a joint venture or other majority ownership investments;
•challenges with integrating the brand identity of an acquired company with our own, as applicable;
•difficulties in operating a geographically dispersed organization, including as a result of different time zones, languages, and cultural, political and business practices;
•currency, regulatory and compliance risks associated with non-U.S. jurisdictions and entry into new markets;
•diversion of financial and management resources from existing operations or alternative acquisition or investment opportunities;
•failure to identify the problems, liabilities, or other shortcomings or challenges of an investment or acquired business, technology, or asset, including issues related to intellectual property, regulatory compliance practices, litigation, security vulnerabilities, trust and safety practices, brand management, revenue recognition or other accounting practices, or employee or user issues;
•the enactment of new laws or regulations that are adverse to an investment or acquired business, or impede our ability to achieve the expected benefits of such investments;
•new or expanded licensing, permitting, and compliance obligations as we enter new markets or lines of business (including sector-specific, privacy and data security, AI, labor, tax, import/export, and foreign investment controls), which may require costly operational changes and ongoing compliance expenditures;
•regulatory challenges from antitrust or other regulatory authorities that may block, delay, or impose conditions (such as divestitures, ownership, or operational restrictions or other structural or behavioral remedies) on the completion of transactions or the integration of acquired businesses;
•an acquired business or investment in new technologies, products, or services cannibalizing a portion of our existing business;
•additional stock-based compensation issued or assumed in connection with an acquisition or strategic transaction, which could dilute existing stockholders, reduce earnings per share, and adversely affect our stock price and results of operations;
•impairment charges associated with goodwill, long-lived assets, investments and other acquired intangible assets;
•lack of experience in new markets, products, or technologies;
•difficulty in integrating operations and assets of an acquired foreign entity with differences in language, culture, or country-specific currency and regulatory risks;
•the inability to obtain (or a material delay in obtaining) regulatory approvals necessary to complete transactions or to integrate operations, or potential remedies imposed by regulatory authorities as a condition to or following the completion of a transaction, which may include divestitures, ownership or operational restrictions or other structural or behavioral remedies;
•the failure of strategic acquisitions to perform as expected or to meet financial projections, which may be heightened due to recent macroeconomic events and market volatility;
•counterparty delays or deferrals of business decisions or shifts to competitors by third parties with whom we or an acquired business work as a result of an acquisition; and
•adverse market reaction to an acquisition, particularly if we are unable to achieve any expected benefits in our results of operations, or if the anticipated benefits are not realized as rapidly or to the extent anticipated or if the transaction costs are greater than expected.
In addition, a significant portion of the purchase price of companies we acquire may be allocated to acquired goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets, which must be assessed for impairment at least annually. In the future, if our acquisitions do not yield expected returns, we may be required to take charges to our operating results based on this impairment assessment process, which could adversely affect our operating results. Moreover, we may experience
additional or unexpected changes in how we are required to account for our acquisitions pursuant to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”), including arrangements that we may assume in an acquisition.
Acquisitions could also result in use of substantial portions of our available cash, which may limit other potential uses of cash, and dilutive issuances of equity securities or the issuance of debt, which could adversely affect our operating results. If we finance acquisitions by issuing debt, we could face constraints related to the terms of and repayment obligation related to the incurrence of such indebtedness. In addition, if an acquired business fails to meet our expectations, our business, financial condition, and operating results may suffer.
Our use of AI and machine learning technologies introduces new risks and uncertainties.
We operate in a highly competitive environment in which innovation is critical, and our future success depends on many factors, including our use of developing technologies. However, our use of new AI technologies introduces new risks and uncertainties. The development, adoption and use of AI technologies is still in the early stages and involves significant risks and uncertainties, which may expose us to legal, reputational, and financial harm. AI algorithms and training methodologies may be flawed and datasets may be overbroad, insufficient, or contain biased or inaccurate information. Additionally, rapid technological changes and competitive pressures may require significant ongoing investment to maintain effective and responsible AI capabilities. While we aim to develop and use AI responsibly and attempt to identify and mitigate ethical and legal issues presented by its use, we may be unsuccessful in identifying or resolving issues before they arise. The use of AI may give rise to risks related to harmful content, accuracy, bias, intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, defamation, privacy, cybersecurity and health and safety, among others, and also bring the possibility of new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation or other legal liability, or ethical concerns that could adversely affect our business, reputation or financial results.
If we fail to develop AI solutions and services that meet our customers’ and our own internal needs, we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of our investments in AI or lose our competitive advantage, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our success depends on our ability to differentiate our product and keep pace with emerging technologies. We are increasingly applying AI-based technologies to our robotics platforms and services and to our own internal operations. We have made significant investments in AI and are continuing to incur significant development and operational costs to develop and deploy our AI solutions and services for ourselves and for our customers. These investments may not generate the expected returns in the timeframe anticipated or at all, due to, among other things, rapid technological change, evolving and uncertain regulatory frameworks, restrictions on data use, privacy, security, and export controls, third-party licensing and IP risks related to data, models, and tools, potential bias, errors, or unpredictability in model outputs, and increased competition. If we fail to continue to develop AI solutions and services that meet our customers’ and our own internal needs, we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of our investments in AI, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, failure to innovate or match the pace of AI advancements in our industry could put us at a competitive disadvantage.
If we choose to expand into international markets, we may be exposed to new and heightened risks.
Historically, we have generated our revenues from customers in the United States. As we expand our operations internationally as part of our long-term growth strategy, this expansion of our international operations will subject us to a variety of risks and challenges, including:
•sales and customer service challenges associated with operating in different countries;
•increased management travel, infrastructure and legal compliance costs associated with having multiple international operations;
•difficulties in receiving payments from different geographies, including difficulties associated with currency fluctuations, payment cycles, transfer of funds or collecting accounts receivable, especially in emerging markets;
•variations in economic or political conditions between each country or region;
•economic and political uncertainty around the world and adverse effects arising from economic interdependencies across countries and regions;
•uncertainty around a potential reverse or renegotiation of international trade agreements and partnerships;
•compliance with foreign laws and regulations (including local regulations relating to sidewalks and other pedestrian utilized areas, privacy, security, and AI) and the risks and costs of non-compliance with such laws and regulations;
•ability to hire, retain and train local employees and the ability to comply with foreign labor laws and local labor requirements, such as representations by an internal labor committee in France which is affiliated with an external trade union and the applicability of collective bargaining arrangements at the national level in certain European countries;
•compliance with laws and regulations for foreign operations, import and export control laws, tariffs, trade barriers, economic sanctions and other regulatory or contractual limitations on our ability to sell our software in certain foreign markets, and the risks and costs of non-compliance;
•heightened risks of unfair or corrupt business practices in certain geographies and of improper or fraudulent sales arrangements that may impact financial results and result in restatements of financial statements and irregularities in financial statements;
•reduced protection for intellectual property rights in certain countries and practical difficulties and costs of enforcing rights abroad; and
•compliance with the laws of numerous foreign taxing jurisdictions and overlapping of different tax regimes and digital tax imposed on our operations in foreign taxing jurisdictions.
Any of these risks could adversely affect our international operations, reduce our revenues from outside the United States or increase our operating costs, adversely affecting our business, results of operations and financial condition and growth prospects. There can be no assurance that all of our employees, independent contractors and business partners will comply with the formal policies we have and will implement, or applicable laws and regulations. Violations of laws or key control policies by our employees, independent contractors and channel partners could result in delays in revenue recognition, financial reporting misstatements, fines, penalties or the prohibition of the importation or exportation of our robots and services and could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities, occupy a considerable amount of our management’s time and attention, and damage our reputation.
We may, from time to time, be a party to various litigation claims and legal proceedings. We will evaluate these claims and proceedings to assess the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes and estimate, if possible, the amount of potential losses. Claims made or threatened by our suppliers, distributors, customers, competitors, or current or former employees could adversely affect our relationships, damage our reputation or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. The costs associated with defending legal claims and paying damages could be substantial. Our reputation could also be adversely affected by such claims, whether or not such claims are successful.
We may in the future become subject to claims and litigation alleging violations of the securities laws or other related claims, which could harm our business and require us to incur significant costs. Significant litigation costs could impact our ability to comply with certain financial covenants under our credit agreement. We are generally obliged, to the extent permitted by law, to indemnify our current and former directors and officers who are named as defendants in these types of lawsuits. Regardless of the outcome, such litigation may require significant attention from management and could result in significant legal expenses, settlement costs or damage awards that could have a material impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our management team has broad discretion in making strategic decisions to execute our growth plans, and there can be no assurance that our management’s decisions will result in successful achievement of our business objectives or will not have unintended consequences that negatively impact our growth prospects.
Our management team will have broad discretion in making strategic decisions to execute our growth plans and may devote time and company resources to new or expanded solution offerings, potential acquisitions, prospective customers or other initiatives that may not necessarily improve our operating results or contribute to our growth. Management’s failure to make strategic decisions that are ultimately accretive to our growth may result in unfavorable returns and uncertainty about our prospects, each of which could cause the price of our common stock to decline.
Our management as a group has limited experience operating a publicly traded company.
Our management team may not successfully or effectively manage operating as a public company subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under U.S. securities laws. Our executive officers as a group have limited experience in the management of a publicly traded company. Given their limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws governing public companies, they may need to devote more time to compliance activities, leaving less time to manage and grow our business. Complying with these obligations requires significant additional costs and resources, including implementing new systems and hiring experienced finance and legal personnel, and we may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal control over financial reporting required of public companies. Furthermore, deficiencies in our disclosures or controls could result in SEC inquiries, enforcement actions, shareholder litigation, or penalties. Any failure by us to effectively and efficiently meet our obligations as a publicly traded company could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results and/or result in legal liability or other negative consequences.
Our directors may be engaged in a range of business activities that could result in conflicts of interest.
We may be subject to various potential conflicts of interest because some of our officers and directors may be engaged in a range of business activities that could result in conflicts of interest. In addition, our executive officers and directors may devote time to their outside business interests, so long as such activities do not materially or adversely interfere with their duties owed to us. In some cases, our executive officers and directors may have fiduciary obligations associated with these business interests that interfere with their ability to devote time to our business and affairs and that could adversely affect our operations. These business interests could require significant time and attention from our executive officers and directors. In addition, we may also become involved in other transactions which conflict with the interests of our directors and the officers who may from time-to-time deal with persons, firms, institutions or companies with which we may be dealing, or which may be seeking investments similar to those desired by us. The interests of these persons could conflict with our interests.
Our failure to attract and retain highly qualified personnel in the future could harm our business.
We are an innovative technology company. We intend to continue hiring a significant number of additional personnel, including engineers, design, production and operations personnel and service technicians for our robotic systems and services. Because of the innovative nature of our technology, we may struggle to locate or attract qualified individuals for important positions, such as software engineers, robotics engineers, machine vision and machine learning experts and others, which could affect our ability to grow and expand our business. Competition for individuals with experience designing, producing and servicing robots and their software is intense, and we may also face strong competition for qualified individuals from numerous other companies, including other similarly situated technology companies, many of whom have greater financial and other resources than we do.
In addition, new hires often require significant training and, in many cases, take significant time before they achieve full productivity. We may incur significant costs to attract and retain qualified personnel, including significant expenditures related to salaries and benefits and compensation expenses related to equity awards, and we may lose new employees to our competitors or other companies before we realize the benefit of our investment in recruiting and training them. Moreover, new employees may not be or become as productive as we expect, as we may face challenges in adequately or appropriately integrating them into our workforce and culture. If we are unable to attract, integrate and retain suitably qualified individuals who can meet our technical, operational and managerial requirements, on a timely basis or at all, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
A significant portion of our revenue is concentrated with a small number of customers.
A significant portion of our revenue is concentrated with a limited number of customers. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, sales to the customers individually representing more than 10% of total revenues accounted for 55% and 91% of our total revenue, respectively. There are inherent risks whenever a large percentage of total revenues are concentrated with a limited number of customers. If any of these customers were to breach, cancel or amend our agreement, it may have an outsized effect on our revenue, cash on hand, and profitability. In addition, we may have an increased interest in accepting less favorable terms of any amendment as a result.
Failure to retain existing or attract future partnerships with merchants and consumers could have an effect on our revenue, revenue growth and margins, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our projected revenue relies on our ability to maximize utilization of our robot fleet and our ability to cost-effectively grow our partnerships, including in new markets. Our sidewalk delivery robots may be unable to maximize utilization due to a variety of reasons, including insufficient merchant participation, platform partner matching algorithms, failure to deliver a commercial grade product and a lack of product acceptance by merchants and/or delivery recipients. To date, we have been able to continually increase our robot utilization through our existing strategic partnerships driven by the continued improvement in our integration, high merchant participation and widespread product acceptance by users of the partnered food delivery platforms. We are in varying stages of integration with our strategic partners and therefore have not yet achieved desired levels of utilization with our partners. To achieve profitability, we will need to continue to improve our utilization targets with all strategic partners above current levels and maintain those levels with other partners as well. As this requires cooperation by third parties, there is no guarantee that it will be achieved within a specific timeframe.
Our financial projections also anticipate generating revenues from brand sponsors who would pay to place their branding on our robots as a form of OOH branding. OOH branding on robots is a new phenomenon and as such, an unproven model. To date, for our limited number of robots, we have been able to run periodic OOH advertising campaigns with several brands in varying sectors including real estate, fashion and entertainment. OOH advertising represented 15% and 16% of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. In the future, if we are unable to realize these sales, our business model and go-to-market strategy will be jeopardized.
Our revenue and other financial projections also include revenue generated through software services. These partnerships are typically short-term for the duration of the project or subscription. Partners have no obligation to renew their contracts or subscriptions after they expire, and these contracts and subscriptions may not be renewed on the same or more profitable terms. We may not be able to accurately predict future trends of our partnerships, and our project rates may decline or fluctuate because of several factors, including their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our products and services, the prices of our services, the prices of the products and services offered by our competitors or reductions in partner spending levels.
We have limited experience commercializing our products at a large scale and may not be able to do so efficiently or effectively.
We have limited experience commercializing robotic systems at a large scale and may not be able to do so efficiently or effectively. A key element of our long-term business strategy is the continued growth in sales, marketing, training, customer service and maintenance and servicing operations, including hiring personnel with the necessary experience. Managing and maintaining these operations is expensive and time consuming, and an inability to leverage such an organization effectively or at all could inhibit potential sales or subscriptions and the penetration and adoption of our products into new markets. In addition, certain decisions we make regarding staffing in these areas in our efforts to maintain an adequate spending level could have unintended negative effects on our revenues, such as by weakening the sales, marketing and maintenance and servicing infrastructures or lowering the quality of customer service.
Our ability to deploy, operate and scale our Moxi robots depends on hospital access, operational practices and financial health, which can change and may be outside our control.
Our Moxi robots operate in hospital environments and are subject to a range of healthcare regulations and hospital-specific policies. Changes in hospital leadership, shifts in strategic priorities or evolving regulatory requirements, or the adoption of new internal policies or risk management procedures could restrict or prohibit the use of our robots and may impact our ability to maintain or expand our presence in existing facilities or enter new ones. Additionally, hospitals can face staffing constraints, cost pressures and liquidity challenges that may limit capital spending, delay purchases or interrupt operations, which could in turn reduce orders, delay deployments or reduce utilization of our robots in their facilities. Hospitals or regulators may also require modifications to, suspension of, or limitations on the use of third‑party equipment, which could disrupt or reduce our robot operations at customer sites. Any of these factors could negatively impact our ability to deploy, operate or scale our robots, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We will require significant capital to fund our operations and growth, and financing may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms. Additionally, any equity or equity‑linked financing could dilute our stockholders, and any debt financing could impose restrictive covenants and increase our financial obligations.
We will require significant capital to operate our business and fund our capital expenditures for the next several years. We will not be able to continue product development and our commercial deliveries, or scale our operations, if we cannot raise additional debt and/or equity financing. The level and timing of future expenditure will depend on a number of factors, many of which are outside our control. While we expect that we will have sufficient capital to fund our currently planned operations, it is possible that we will need to raise additional capital to fund our business, including to finance ongoing research and development costs, manufacturing, any significant unplanned or accelerated expenses, and new strategic alliances or acquisitions. The fact that we have limited experience commercializing our robotic systems on a large scale, coupled with the fact that our products represent a new product category in the commercial and robotic market, means we have limited historical data on the demand for our robotic systems. In addition, we expect our capital expenditures to continue to be significant in the foreseeable future as we continue generational improvements for our commercial products, and that our level of capital expenditures will be significantly affected by customer demand for our robotic systems. As a result, our future capital requirements may be uncertain and actual capital requirements may be different from those we currently anticipate. Our future capital needs and other business reasons could require us to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. Such financing might not be available to us in a timely manner or on terms that are acceptable, or at all, and there is no guarantee that such funds, if raised, would be sufficient. Furthermore, the sale of additional equity or equity-linked securities could dilute our existing stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations.
Our ability to obtain the necessary financing to carry out our business plan is subject to a number of factors, including general market conditions and investor acceptance of our business model. These factors may make the timing, amount, terms, and conditions of such financing unattractive or unavailable to us. If we are unable to raise sufficient funds, we will have to significantly reduce our spending, delay or cancel our planned activities or substantially change our corporate structure. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need or want them, we may be forced to curtail or discontinue our operations or abandon our growth plans, which could adversely impact the Company, its business, development, financial condition, operating results or prospects.
Earnout or other contingent consideration from acquisitions may not be attained and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In connection with acquisitions or other strategic transactions, we have, and may agree in the future, to pay earnout or other contingent consideration tied to the post‑closing performance of the acquired business or achievement of certain specified milestones, and there is no assurance such milestones will be attained. Failure to achieve earnout targets may reflect integration challenges, changes in market conditions, strategic or operational adjustments, or regulatory and compliance constraints encountered by the combined business. If earnout consideration is not earned or is disputed, we could face disagreements or litigation with sellers, incur additional costs to manage or resolve disputes, and divert management attention from ongoing operations. Conversely, if earnout milestones are achieved, we may be required to make additional cash payments or issue equity or other consideration, which could increase our expenses, reduce our cash, dilute our existing stockholders, or contribute to volatility in our results depending on the structure and accounting for such arrangements. Earnout consideration can also create misaligned incentives or short‑term decision‑making at acquired businesses and may complicate integration planning. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may be unable to adequately control the costs associated with our operations.
We will require significant capital to develop and grow our business, including developing and producing our commercial robotic systems and other products, establishing or expanding design, research and development, production, operations and maintenance and service facilities and building our brand and partnerships. We have incurred and expect to continue incurring significant expenses which will impact our profitability, including research and development expenses, procurement costs, business development, operation and integration expenses as we build and deploy our robotic fleet, and general and administrative expenses as we scale our operations, identify and commit resources to investigate new areas of demand and incur costs as a public company. In addition, we may incur significant costs servicing, maintaining and refurbishing our robots, and we expect that the cost to repair and service our robots will increase over time as they age. Our ability to become profitable in the future will not only depend on our ability to complete the design and development of our
robots to meet projected performance metrics, identify and investigate new areas of demand and successfully market our robotic services, but also to sell, whether outright or through subscriptions, our systems at prices needed to achieve our expected margins and control our costs, including the risks and costs associated with operating, maintaining and financing our robots. If we are unable to efficiently design, develop, manufacture, market, deploy, distribute and service our robots in a cost-effective manner, our margins, profitability and prospects would be materially and adversely affected.
Our robots rely on sophisticated software technology that may incorporate third-party components and networks to operate.
Our robots may require certain third-party software and networks to function safely and effectively. As such, our future revenues and financial projections rely on our ability to maintain access to third-party components that are currently utilized to operate our fleet or may become necessary to operate our fleet in the future. There is a risk that these third-party components may become difficult or costly to replace.
In addition, integration of new third-party components 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 new license agreements with third parties, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Furthermore, performance degradation, including failure of integration, or lack of access to necessary third-party components could result in poor performance or even grounding of our entire fleet, which could adversely impact our ability to continue our operations.
Additionally, the software powering our technology systems incorporates software covered by open-source licenses. The terms of many open-source licenses have not been interpreted by U.S. courts, and there is a risk that the licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to operate our systems. In the event that portions of our proprietary software are determined to be subject to an open-source license, we could be required to publicly release the affected portions of our source code or re-engineer all or a portion of our technology systems, each of which could reduce or eliminate the value of our technology systems. Such risk could be difficult or impossible to eliminate and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The benefits to customers of our products could be supplanted by other technologies or solutions or competitors’ products that utilize similar technology to ours in a more effective way.
The benefits to customers of our products could be supplanted by other technologies or solutions or competitors’ products that utilize similar technology to ours in a more effective way. We cannot be sure that alternative technologies or improvements to AI, industrial automation or other technologies, processes or industries will not match or exceed the benefits of our products or be more cost effective than our products. The development of any alternative technology that could compete with or supplant our products may materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results, including in ways we do not currently anticipate. 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, which could result in the loss of competitiveness of our robotic systems and solutions, decreased revenue and a loss of market share to competitors. Our research and development efforts may not be sufficient to adapt to new or changing technologies. While we plan to upgrade and adapt our robotic systems and solutions as we or others develop new technology, our robotic systems and solutions may not compete effectively with alternative products if we are not able to source and integrate the latest technology into our systems and solutions.
The benefits of our products to customers and projected return on investment have not been substantiated through long-term trials or use.
Our core products’ benefits to customers and projected return on investment have not been substantiated through long-term trials or use. We currently have a limited frame of reference by which to evaluate the performance of our robotic systems upon which our business prospects depend. There can be no assurance that such robotic systems will provide their expected benefit to customers. Our robotic systems may not perform consistently with customers’ expectations or effectively compete with other robotics products which may become available. Any failure of our robotic systems and software to perform as expected could harm our reputation and result in adverse publicity, lost revenue, delivery delays, product recalls, product liability claims and significant warranty and other expenses and could have a material adverse impact on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Additionally, problems and defects experienced by competitors or others in the robotics market could, by association, have a negative impact on perception and customer demand for our robotic systems.
Defects, glitches, or malfunctions in our products could compromise the performance of our products, lead to injury or property damage, and result in product recalls or lower than expected return on investment for customers, each of which could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and our reputation.
The design, manufacture and marketing of our products involve certain inherent risks, and our software or hardware may experience errors or performance problems in the future. Our products incorporate sophisticated computer software and hardware, both of which are subject to potential errors or failures, particularly when new features are introduced. Such issues, including manufacturing or design defects, glitches, malfunctions, connectivity issues between the central processing unit and peripheral vehicle subsystems, operator errors, unanticipated use of our robotic systems, or inadequate disclosure of risks relating to the use of our robots, among others, could compromise the performance of our products, lead to injury or property damage, and result in product recalls or lower than expected return on investment for customers.
We conduct extensive testing of our robots, in some instances in collaboration with our customers, to ensure that any such issues can be identified and addressed in advance of commercial launch of the products. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to identify all such issues or that, if identified, our efforts to address them will be effective in all cases. In addition, although we intend to be involved in material decisions in the supply chain and manufacturing process, given that we also rely on our partners to meet our quality standards, we may not always be aware of manufacturing defects that could occur at our third-party manufacturers.
Such adverse events could lead to unexpected failures in our products and could result, in certain cases, in the removal of our products from the market, which could result in significant costs. To the extent any manufacturing defect occurs, our agreement with the third-party manufacturer may contain a limitation on the third-party manufacturer’s liability, and therefore we could be required to incur the majority of related costs. Product defects or recalls could also result in negative publicity, damage to our reputation or, in the event of regulatory developments, delays in new product acceptance.
Because our robots operate in public spaces, safety incidents arising from human supervision, connectivity issues, third-party software or automation could cause injury, trigger recalls or result in uninsured product liability and warranty claims that adversely affect our business.
Our ability to attract and retain customers (including merchants, platform partners and brand sponsors) is heavily dependent on our reputation for safety and reliability. Our safety track record has been instrumental in helping us attract and retain our existing customers. Because we operate in public spaces, the performance of our robots is highly visible and we must maintain the highest standards for public safety. For our sidewalk delivery robots, our operating procedures and automated systems are designed to ensure that they yield the right of way to vehicles, pedestrians or sidewalk and road users, as they are programmed to cross only at controlled intersections during a pedestrian “walk” signal and to slow down or stop if a pedestrian approaches the delivery robot from any direction. Our partners require timely reporting of any material safety incidents, and if they are not confident in our ability to maintain safe operations, our commercial relationships may be jeopardized.
To date, we have not experienced material safety incidents, nor have our partners raised any concerns about our safety standards and track record. However, any actual or perceived public safety incidents, whether caused by human error, technical malfunction, or other factors, or any actual or perceived association with public health and safety incidents or regulatory inquiry, in the case of our Moxi robots, could put our commercial relationships and financial viability at risk. Any such occurrence could delay market acceptance of our products, damage our reputation, result in product recalls, increase service and warranty costs, lead to product liability claims and cause a loss of revenue.
Furthermore, the use of our robots, including our sidewalk delivery robots and Moxi robots, in public and commercial environments could result in bodily injury, property damage, or other harms, and we anticipate that as part of our ordinary course of business we may be subject to product liability and warranty claims alleging defects in the design or manufacture of our products. A product liability claim, regardless of its merit or eventual outcome, could result in significant legal defense costs and high punitive damage payments. Although we maintain product liability insurance, the coverage is subject to deductibles and limitations, and may not be adequate to cover future claims. Additionally, we may be unable to maintain our existing product liability insurance in the future at satisfactory rates or adequate amounts. Our insurance coverage is subject to deductibles, exclusions, limits, and renewal risk and may not cover all damages in the event of a claim. Contractual indemnities from suppliers or manufacturing partners may be limited, disputed, or unenforceable. Any significant claim, recall, or adverse safety event could harm our reputation and materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Accessibility concerns or failure to comply with disability access laws may result in claims, operational restrictions, or reputational harm.
Our sidewalk delivery robots operate on public sidewalks in high-density urban environments across multiple U.S. markets. In these environments, our sidewalk delivery robots share pedestrian infrastructure with individuals with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs, mobility devices, or canes. If our sidewalk delivery robots obstruct pathways or curb ramps, or otherwise impede access for individuals with disabilities, or if we fail to comply with applicable accessibility laws, we could face claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, state accessibility laws, or local disability access ordinances, as well as negative publicity and increased regulatory scrutiny.
As our fleet of sidewalk delivery robots has grown, we have faced increased public attention regarding accessibility concerns. Incidents involving sidewalk delivery robots and individuals with disabilities have led some jurisdictions to ban or restrict sidewalk delivery operations.
If additional jurisdictions adopt similar restrictions, or if regulators in our current or target markets impose new accessibility requirements, revoke or decline to renew our permits, or terminate our pilot programs, our ability to maintain or expand operations could be materially adversely affected. We proactively engage with disability rights advocates and work with municipal regulators to address accessibility and safety concerns, but there can be no assurance these efforts will prevent adverse regulatory actions, permit denials, or operational restrictions.
Any claims, litigation, regulatory restrictions, or high-profile incidents involving our robots and individuals with disabilities could harm our reputation and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Even if we successfully market our robotic systems, the purchase or subscription, adoption and use of these systems may be materially and negatively impacted if our customers resist their use and adoption.
We have designed and developed our robotic systems with the goal of reducing operating costs and greenhouse gases. Even if we successfully market our products and services to customers, the purchase, adoption and the use of the products may be materially and negatively impacted if our customers resist or delay the use and adoption of these new technology products and services. Customers may resist or delay the adoption of our products and services for several reasons, including lack of confidence in autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. If our customers resist or delay adoption of our robotic services, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results will be materially and adversely affected.
We are substantially reliant on our relationships with suppliers and service providers for the parts and components in our robots, as well as for the manufacture of our robots, and disruptions or loss of these partners could delay production and harm our business.
Our future business depends in large part on our ability to execute our plans to design, develop, manufacture, market, deploy and service our robots on time. Our robots contain hundreds of components that are assembled by third-party manufacturing partners. Collaboration with third parties for the engineering, design, manufacturing and testing of robots is subject to risks related to operations outside our control. We could experience delays if our current or future partners cease doing business with us, miss agreed-upon timelines, experience capacity constraints or otherwise fail to deliver components or manufacture robots as expected, or experience outages, transitions, or other disruptions. Similarly, the expiration of agreements governing such arrangements or the transition of services between providers could lead to the loss of institutional knowledge or service disruptions.
For example, certain of our remote piloting services are currently provided by third-party vendors, including service centers outside of the United States. Services provided pursuant to arrangements with these third-party vendors could be disrupted due to events outside of their control such as power failures, cybersecurity incidents, internet traffic congestion or increased latency, natural disasters, or deterioration in their economic condition. Furthermore, we may experience potential disputes with partners, and we could be affected by adverse publicity related to our partners whether or not such publicity is related to their collaboration with us, any of which could adversely affect our relationships, brand or prospects. Our ability to successfully build a premium brand could also be adversely affected by perceptions about the quality of robots we produce with our manufacturing partners or of other robots they manufacture. Any such disputes could lead to a loss of these relationships.
While we have not experienced any material impacts of such disruptions to date, disruptions that result from our reliance on third parties as service providers or the loss of these relationships, whether for these reasons or others, could delay production and harm our business.
Severe weather conditions and climate change could have a material adverse impact on our business by negatively impacting the operations of our robots.
Our robots are designed to operate in a range of environmental conditions commonly encountered in markets in which we operate. While earlier deployments focused on warm and dry climates, our current generation of robots is capable of operating in rain and snow, and we have launched and expect to continue launching in regions that experience such conditions.
Notwithstanding these expanded capabilities, severe weather events and the effects of climate change, including extreme temperatures, heavy precipitation, flooding, or other adverse conditions, may exceed the operating limits of our robots or require us to temporarily suspend operations to ensure safety and reliability. While we intend to continue enhancing our robots’ environmental resilience with each new generation, there can be no assurance that these efforts will fully mitigate the risks posed by severe or extreme weather conditions, which could reduce our operating hours, increase maintenance costs, delay geographic expansion, or otherwise adversely affect our business.
The inability of our supply chain to deliver certain key electrical components, such as semiconductors, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Certain highly complex components used to manufacture our robots are obtained from single or limited sources that we may have to compete for with other participants in the robotics, consumer electronics and automotive markets. Global supply chain problems directly impact our ability to obtain these components cost-effectively. If our supply chain fails to deliver products to us in sufficient quality or quantity on a timely basis, we will be challenged to meet our target production and development timelines and could incur significant additional expenses for expedited freight and other related costs. Our supply chain may also be adversely impacted by events outside of our control, including macroeconomic events, trade restrictions and economic recessions.
Our robots are reliant on semiconductors. In recent years, there has been an ongoing shortage of semiconductors. The semiconductor supply chain is complex, with capacity constraints occurring throughout. We have and will continue to work closely with our suppliers to minimize any potential adverse impacts of the global semiconductor chip shortage and monitor the availability of semiconductor chips and other key components and any other supply chain inefficiencies that may arise. In an effort to mitigate these risks, in some cases, we may have to incur higher costs due to investment in supply chain resiliency and to secure available inventory or make non-cancelable purchase commitments with semiconductor suppliers, which introduce inventory risk if our forecasts and assumptions prove inaccurate. Furthermore, if we are not able to mitigate the impact of the semiconductor chip shortage, any direct or indirect supply chain disruptions may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We, any manufacturing partners and suppliers may rely on complex machinery for production, which involves a significant degree of risk and uncertainty in terms of operational performance and costs.
We, any third-party manufacturing partners and suppliers may rely on complex machinery for the production, assembly, repair and maintenance of our robotic systems, which involves a significant degree of uncertainty and risk in terms of operational performance and costs. Our operational facilities, and those of any third-party manufacturing partners and suppliers, consist, or are expected to consist, of large-scale machinery combining many components. These components may suffer unexpected malfunctions from time to time and may require repairs and spare parts to resume operations, which may not be available when needed. Unexpected malfunctions of these components may significantly affect the intended operational efficiency of such machinery. Operational performance and costs can be difficult to predict and are often influenced by factors outside of our or any third-party manufacturing partners’ and suppliers’ 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, fire, seismic activity and natural disasters. Should these operational risks materialize, they may result in the personal injury to or death of workers, 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, all which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
Consolidation in the healthcare industry could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The healthcare industry has been consolidating, and organizations continue to consolidate purchasing decisions for many of our healthcare provider customers. As the healthcare industry consolidates, competition to provide products and services is
expected to continue to intensify, resulting in pricing pressures and decreased average selling prices. In addition, for smaller hospitals or groups that do not consolidate with larger networks, these entities may face increasing cost and/or competitive pressures, which could impact their ability to purchase our products or services or make contractual payments over time. We expect that market demand, government regulation, third-party payer coverage and reimbursement policies, government contracting requirements, new entrants, technology and societal pressures will continue to change the worldwide healthcare industry, resulting in further consolidation, which may exert further downward pressure on prices of our Moxi robot and may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
If we cannot protect, maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitive position and business could be adversely affected.
Our success, in large part, depends on our ability to protect and maintain the proprietary nature of our technology. We must prosecute and maintain our existing patents and obtain new patents. However, some of our proprietary information may not be patentable, and there can be no assurance that others will not utilize similar or superior solutions to compete with us. We cannot guarantee that we will develop proprietary products that are patentable, or that, if issued, any patent will give us a competitive advantage, or that such patent will not be challenged by third parties. The process of obtaining patents can be time consuming and offers no guarantee of success, as a patent may not be granted or may provide insufficient scope or strength to protect the intended intellectual property. We cannot guarantee that our means of protecting our proprietary rights will suffice or that others will not independently develop competitive technology or design around patents or other intellectual property rights issued to us. Any patents that we or our licensors have obtained or obtain in the future may be challenged, invalidated, or unenforceable. If necessary, we intend to initiate actions to protect our intellectual property, which will be costly and time consuming. If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, we could lose valuable competitive advantages, and our business could suffer as a result.
We may be subject to claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.
Our operating results may be adversely affected if third parties claim that our products infringed their patent, copyright, or other intellectual property rights. We cannot assure that our products do not, or will not in the future, infringe patents held by others. Although there have been no allegations made to this effect, we cannot be sure that we will not receive such correspondence from third parties or competitors in the future. Such assertions could lead to expensive and unpredictable litigation, diverting the attention of management and technical personnel. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others, or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity, misappropriation, or other claims. Any such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources. Moreover, any settlement of or adverse judgment resulting from such litigation could require us to obtain a license to continue to use the technology that is the subject of the claim, or otherwise restrict or prohibit our use of the technology. Any required licenses may not be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. An unsuccessful result in such litigation could adversely affect our business, including injunctions, exclusion orders, and royalty payments to third parties.
Because our video and LiDAR licensing model is new and operates within an evolving legal and commercial framework, we may be unable to generate recurring revenue at expected levels, which could impair our planned data licensing revenue stream.
We have limited experience with licensing our video and LiDAR data for use by third‑party AI companies to train their models. Our ability to generate recurring and scalable revenue from this strategy is unproven. Demand for our datasets may be unpredictable and episodic, as model training needs can be irregular and may not translate into renewals. Pricing, usage rights, and volume commitments are still developing in this market, and counterparties with substantial purchasing power, including major technology companies and brokers, may exert pressure for lower prices, broader usage rights, exclusivity or other terms that may be less favorable to us. If we are unable to effectively market our datasets, secure repeat purchases, or expand usage with existing customers, or if counterparties shift to alternative sources of data, synthetic data, internally generated data, or open datasets, our growth and margins could be negatively impacted.
Our data licensing model also depends on our continued ability to lawfully collect and distribute the video and LiDAR data we obtain through our robots. Changes in laws or interpretations could limit what we can capture or sell, require costly modifications to our collection and processing workflows or necessitate contractual restructuring. If we fail to obtain and maintain necessary rights and permissions, adhere to usage restrictions or adequately address data quality, traceability and safety concerns associated with model training, we could face customer disputes, termination rights, indemnification claims, reputational harm or regulatory inquiries, all of which could impair our planned data licensing revenue stream.
Risks Related to Cybersecurity and Privacy
Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our proprietary information and expose us to liability, including class action litigation and regulatory penalties, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.
We rely on trade secrets, technical know-how, and other unpatented proprietary information relating to our product development and manufacturing activities to provide us with competitive advantages. We protect this information by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, strategic partners and other third parties. We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for computer systems and networks to prevent unauthorized access to, and the dissemination of, our proprietary information.
We face internal and external physical and data security threats. For example, current, departing, or former employees or third parties could attempt to improperly use or access our facilities, robots, computer systems or networks to copy, obtain, or misappropriate our proprietary information or otherwise interrupt our business. Like others, we are also subject to significant operational and system or network disruptions from numerous causes, including environmental threats, utility outages, IP theft, facilities access issues, ransomware attacks, computer viruses, data loss, denial-of-service and other common cyber-attacks.
Security breaches, computer malware, phishing, spoofing and other cyber-attacks have become more prevalent and sophisticated in recent years. We do not believe that such attacks have caused us any material damage to date, but because the techniques used by computer hackers and others to access or sabotage networks constantly evolve and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate, counter or ameliorate all these techniques. As a result, our business confidential and our customers’ proprietary information may be misappropriated, and we cannot predict the impact of any future incident. Any loss of such information could harm our competitive position, result in a loss of customer confidence in the adequacy of our threat mitigation and detection processes and procedures, cause us to incur significant costs to remedy the damages caused by the incident, and divert management and other resources. In addition, the costs related to cyber-attacks or other security threats or computer systems and our ability to timely recover disruptions to our business operations may not be fully insured or indemnified by others.
We routinely implement improvements to our facilities, robot fleet, computer and network security safeguards, and we are devoting increasing resources to the security of our information technology systems. However, we cannot be sure that such system improvements will be sufficient to deter, prevent or limit the damage from any physical threat, future cyber-attack, network or operational disruptions. As a result, the occurrence of any of the events described above could result in the loss or theft of our intellectual property or client data and other sensitive information due to cybersecurity breaches, diversion of the management’s attention and other resources, or otherwise adversely affect our internal operations, reputation, financial results or stock price.
We are subject to cybersecurity risks to our robot fleet, operational systems, security systems, infrastructure, integrated software in our products and data processed by us or third-party vendors.
Our business and operations involve the collection, storage, processing and transmission of personal data and certain other sensitive and proprietary data of collaborators, customers and others. Additionally, we maintain sensitive and proprietary information relating to our business, such as our own proprietary information and personal data relating to our employees. We may be a target for attacks by state-sponsored actors and others designed to disrupt our operations or to attempt to gain access to our systems or data that is processed or maintained in our business. Additionally, we are subject to increased security risks due to many personnel and third-party partners working remotely, some of which are located outside of the United States.
We are at risk for interruptions, outages and breaches of our: (a) operational systems, including business, financial, accounting, product development, data processing or production processes, owned by us or our third-party vendors or suppliers; (b) facility security systems, owned by us or our third-party vendors or suppliers; (c) transmission control modules or other in-product technology, owned by us or our third-party vendors or suppliers; (d) the integrated software in our units; (e) customer data that we process or that our third-party vendors or suppliers process on our behalf; or (f) to describe the cybersecurity and operational risks that are related to outsourced overseas hardware and electronics supply chain manufacturers. If any of the supply chain (parts) (manufacturers) have interruptions or cybersecurity deficiencies, that would also have a direct impact on our operations. Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or to sabotage information systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate or prevent these attacks, react in a timely manner, or implement adequate preventive measures, and may face delays in our detection or remediation of, or other responses to, security breaches and other privacy-and security-related
incidents. Such incidents could: materially disrupt our operational systems; result in loss of intellectual property, competitive advantage, trade secrets or other proprietary or competitively sensitive information; compromise certain information of customers, employees, suppliers, or others; jeopardize the security of our facilities; or affect the performance of in-product technology and the integrated software in our units. Certain efforts may be state-sponsored or supported by significant financial and technological resources, making them even more difficult to detect, remediate, and otherwise respond to.
We have included products and services that utilize data connectivity to monitor performance and identify opportunities to enhance performance and for safety and cost-saving preventative maintenance, but these products and services cannot guarantee we have identified all performance, cost-savings and safety issues. The availability and effectiveness of these products and services depend on the continued operation of information technology and communications systems. Our systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from, among others, physical theft, fire, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, power loss, war, telecommunications failures, viruses, denial or degradation of service attacks, ransomware, social engineering schemes, insider theft or misuse or other attempts to harm our systems.
We have implemented certain systems and processes that are designed to protect our data and systems, prevent data loss, and prevent other security breaches and security incidents, but these security measures cannot guarantee security. The IT, infrastructure, business processes and third-party service providers used in our business may be vulnerable to cyberattacks or security breaches, and third parties may be able to access data, including personal data and other sensitive and proprietary data of us and our customers, collaborators and partners, our employees’ personal data, or other sensitive and proprietary data, accessible through those systems. Employee error, malfeasance, or other errors in the storage, use, or transmission of any of these types of data could result in an actual or perceived privacy or security breach or other security incident.
Moreover, there are inherent risks associated with developing, improving, expanding and updating our current systems, such as 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 manufacture, deploy, deliver and service our units, 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 these 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.
Any actual or perceived security breach or security incident, or any systems outages or other disruption to systems used in our business, could interrupt our operations, result in loss or improper access to, or acquisition or disclosure of, data or a loss of intellectual property protection, harm our reputation and competitive position, reduce demand for our products, damage our relationships with consumers, partners, collaborators, or others, or result in claims, including class action litigation, regulatory investigations, and proceedings and significant legal, regulatory and financial exposure, and any such incidents or any perception that our security measures are inadequate could lead to loss of confidence in us and harm to our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If consumer trust is affected due to safety or cybersecurity concerns, it could reduce the adoption or selected use of our services. Any actual or perceived breach of privacy or security, or other security incident, impacting any entities with which we share or disclose data (including, for example, our third-party technology providers) could have similar effects. We expect to incur significant costs in an effort to detect and prevent privacy and security breaches and other privacy- and security-related incidents and may face increased costs and requirements to expend substantial resources in the event of an actual or perceived privacy or security breach or other incident.
Unauthorized access to or misuse of the data we sell or license could expose us to liability and harm our business.
If the video or LiDAR data we sell or license is accessed, used, or disclosed in an unauthorized manner due to a cybersecurity breach, third-party contractual non-compliance or inadvertent internal error or misconfiguration, insufficient contractual protections, misuse by third parties or other reasons, we could be subject to claims, including class action litigation, regulatory actions, or reputational harm. We rely on agreements with our customers and partners to protect the data we provide, but we cannot guarantee that these measures will be sufficient to prevent all unauthorized uses or
disclosures. Any such incident could result in loss of customer trust, legal liability, and adverse effects on our business and results of operations.
We are subject to evolving laws, regulations, standards, policies and contractual obligations related to privacy and security laws and regulations, and our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could result in litigation, harm our reputation, subject us to significant fines and liability, or otherwise adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We are subject to or affected by a number of federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as contractual obligations and industry standards, that impose certain obligations and restrictions with respect to data privacy and security, and govern our collection, storage, retention, protection, use, processing, transmission, sharing and disclosure of personal information, including that of our employees, customers and others. Most jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals, regulatory authorities and others of security breaches involving certain types of data. Such laws may be inconsistent or may change or additional laws may be adopted. Compliance with applicable privacy and data security laws and regulations is a continuously evolving, rigorous and time-intensive process, and as such, we cannot guarantee full compliance with all privacy and data security laws and regulations applicable to us. In addition, our agreements with certain customers may require us to notify them in the event of a security breach. Such mandatory disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, result in penalties or fines, result in litigation, may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and/or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach.
The global data protection landscape is rapidly evolving, and implementation standards and enforcement practices are likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. We may not be able to monitor and react to all developments in a timely manner. As we expand our operations, we may be subject to the CCPA, BIPA, and other similar state privacy laws and regulations relating to privacy and data security may increase our compliance costs and potential liability.
Additionally, as our international presence expands, we may become subject to or face increasing obligations under laws and regulations in countries outside the United States, many of which, such as the GDPR and national laws supplementing the GDPR, as well as legislation substantially implementing the GDPR in the United Kingdom, are significantly more stringent than those currently enforced in the United States. Many other jurisdictions globally are considering or have enacted legislation providing for local storage of data or otherwise imposing privacy, data protection and data security obligations in connection with the collection, use and other processing of personal data.
Aspects of our operations, including the operations of our Moxi robot, may create, receive, maintain, or transmit protected health information (“PHI”), causing us to be deemed a “business associate” under HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), and the implementing Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. In the United States, HIPAA imposes privacy, security, and breach notification obligations on covered entities and their business associates to limit the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information without patient consent and to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of individually identifiable health information in electronic form. Entities that are found to be in violation of HIPAA, as a result of a breach of unsecured protected health information, a complaint about privacy practices, or an audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), may be subject to significant civil, criminal, and administrative fines and penalties and/or additional reporting and oversight obligations if they are required to enter into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with HHS through settlement agreements. Further, in the case of a breach, litigation often ensues. Additionally, in the United States, whether or not HIPAA applies, according to the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), violating consumers’ privacy rights or failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers’ personal information secure may constitute unfair and/or deceptive acts or practices in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act. Additionally, federal and state consumer protection laws are increasingly being applied by the FTC and states’ attorneys general to regulate the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of personal information, through websites or otherwise. There are also state general privacy laws and health data specific privacy laws that place limits on the use and disclosure of non-HIPAA consumer health data.
We publish privacy policies and other documentation regarding our collection, processing, use and disclosure of personal information and/or other confidential information. Although we endeavor to comply with our published policies and other documentation, we may at times fail to do so or may be perceived to have failed to do so. Moreover, despite our efforts, we may not be successful in achieving compliance, including if our employees, contractors, service providers or vendors fail to comply with our published policies and documentation. Such failures can subject us to potential action by governmental or regulatory authorities if they are found to be deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our actual practices. We are also aware of certain media reports relating to the alleged use of our robots as elements in law enforcement surveillance efforts.
As a general policy, we do not share data with law enforcement, except in certain narrow circumstances where (1) we are required to share data when served with a warrant or subpoena, or (2) there are insurance claims, active incident investigations, or acts of armed violence or theft attempts involving our personnel or property. Public perception of our involvement in such surveillance activities could harm our reputation, and consequently, our business prospects and financial condition. Any actual or perceived inability of us to adequately address privacy and security concerns or comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations relating to privacy, data protection or data security, or applicable privacy notices, could lead to investigations, claims and proceedings by governmental entities and private parties, damages for contract breach and other significant costs, penalties and other liabilities. Any such claims or other proceedings could be expensive and time-consuming to defend and could result in adverse publicity. Any of the foregoing may have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
Because we operate our Moxi robots in hospitals, we may face evolving and uncertain regulatory and compliance requirements that could restrict or delay deployments, increase costs and materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our Moxi robots do not perform clinical functions or provide patient care; however, we operate within regulated healthcare environments and rely on access to hospitals, which subjects us to an evolving and uncertain regulatory landscape. Changes in laws, regulations, such as those governing infection control, workplace safety or the use of autonomous equipment, could increase compliance burdens or restrict our operations. For example, regulators could determine that certain features or use cases of our robots render them subject to medical device or other healthcare-specific regulation, triggering additional requirements related to design controls, quality systems, labeling, reporting or premarket clearance or approval. Separately, workplace safety, robotics, autonomous systems or other rules could impose constraints on how our robots are deployed, where they can operate, or the level of human oversight required. Hospitals may adopt or tighten internal policies, credentialing, and vendor risk management standards that are more restrictive than applicable law, which could delay or prevent deployments or require costly modifications. Failure to timely comply with existing or new requirements, or adverse findings in audits, inspections, or incident investigations, could lead to penalties, contractual remedies, loss of facility access, forced product changes, product holds, reputational harm or loss of revenue. Even the perception that our systems could be regulated more stringently may cause customers to defer purchasing decisions, extend sales cycles or demand pricing or indemnity concessions. Any of these outcomes could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our internal use of AI, generative AI, and machine learning tools may expose us to heightened cybersecurity risks.
As we expand our use of AI, generative AI, and machine learning tools in our day-to-day business activities, the associated cybersecurity risks are intensifying, increasing the potential for system vulnerabilities and exposure to malicious threats. Our use of AI, generative AI, and machine learning tools in our internal operations could expose us to cybersecurity-related costs and risks, including: (i) the potential introduction of new vulnerabilities or cybersecurity risks within our information technology systems; (ii) the potential inadvertent or unauthorized release of our confidential or proprietary information resulting from the use (whether or not authorized) of AI or machine learning tools by our employees, contractors, agents, representatives, vendors or customers; (iii) the potential loss of our intellectual property or our potential infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties resulting from the use (whether or not authorized) of AI or machine learning tools in our operations; (iv) potential legal or reputational harms due to unauthorized exposure of sensitive data or unauthorized use of intellectual property resulting from the use of AI, generative AI, and machine learning tools; (v) potential compromise to safety if AI-related cybersecurity incidents affect our operational systems or result in decision-making based on biased, incorrect, or compromised AI models or information; and (vi) the increased difficulty in detecting, containing, or mitigating cyberattacks due to the rapid evolution and increased adoption of AI, generative AI, and machine learning tools by threat actors. While we aim to develop and use AI, generative AI, and machine learning tools responsibly and to proactively identify and mitigate cybersecurity issues presented by their use, we may be unsuccessful in identifying or resolving such issues before they arise. Any of these risks could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to our Industry and External Environment
Unfavorable changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates may adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Fluctuations in interest rates and foreign exchange rates may negatively impact our business. These rates are highly sensitive to many factors beyond our control, including general economic conditions, both domestic and foreign, and the monetary and fiscal policies of various governmental and regulatory authorities. Any of such widespread economic
conditions could negatively impact our supply chain partners and the industry as a whole, which could materially decrease our profits and cash flow. For example, we have experienced increased costs in acquiring parts for our robots as a result of the global semiconductor industry facing shortages in supply as well as inflation and increased interest rates. If adverse macroeconomic conditions persist, including inflationary pressures, unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates or further increases in interest rates, we and our supply chain partners may be forced to raise prices or incur additional costs, which could further impact our profitability and cash flow.
Our business depends on discretionary spending patterns in the areas in which the restaurants on our partners’ platforms operate and in the economy at large. Economic downturns or other events (like widespread health/pandemic outbreaks) impacting the United States and global economy could materially adversely affect our results of operations.
Purchases at restaurants and food and beverage hospitality services locations are discretionary for consumers and we are therefore susceptible to changes in discretionary spending patterns or economic slowdowns in the geographic areas in which restaurants on our partners’ platforms operate and in the economy at large. Discretionary consumer spending can be impacted by general economic conditions, unemployment, consumer debt, inflation, rising gasoline prices, interest rates, consumer confidence and other macroeconomic factors. We believe that consumers generally are more willing to make discretionary purchases, including delivery, dine-in or carryout of restaurant meals, during favorable economic conditions. Disruptions in the overall economy, including high unemployment, pandemic events, inflation, rising gasoline prices, financial market volatility and unpredictability, and the related reduction in consumer confidence, could negatively affect food and beverage sales throughout the restaurant industry, including orders through our partners’ platforms. Additionally, merchants on our partners’ platforms may be negatively impacted by general economic conditions, supply chain issues, labor shortages, inflation, or other macroeconomic factors, which could negatively impact their ability to fulfill orders. There is also a risk that if uncertain economic conditions persist for an extended period of time or worsen, consumers might make long-lasting changes to their discretionary spending behavior, including ordering food for delivery, dine-in or carryout less frequently. The ability of the U.S. economy to handle this uncertainty is likely to be affected by many national and international factors that are beyond our control. These factors, including national, regional and local politics and economic conditions, disposable consumer income and consumer confidence, also affect discretionary consumer spending. If any of these factors cause restaurants to cease operations or cease using our partners’ platforms, it could also significantly harm our financial results, for the reasons set forth elsewhere in these risk factors. Continued uncertainty in or a worsening of the economy, generally or in a number of our markets, and diners’ reactions to these trends could adversely affect our business and cause us to, among other things, reduce the number and frequency of new market openings or cease operations in existing markets.
Inflationary pressures may increase our operating costs and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Inflation increases the cost of labor and materials needed to build and operate robots. For example, we have observed an increase in cost of labor for managing and maintaining robots in the field over the past several years. Over a longer time horizon, technological improvements may continue to reduce the cost of our key components such as sensors, batteries and computers; however, such reductions may not occur as quickly or as extensively as we expect, or at all. While we expect the unit cost of labor for operating robots to increase over time with inflation, robotic solutions leverage labor more efficiently than human labor. As such, we believe labor inflation increases the cost of human labor and similar alternatives to robots more than it increases the cost of robots, and that improvements in robot autonomy will continue to reduce the rate of labor usage over time. Nevertheless, our relative cost advantage could narrow if inflation accelerates, if component cost reductions slow, if wage growth outpaces productivity gains, or if improvements in robot autonomy do not reduce the rate of labor usage as anticipated. Any of these developments could require us to raise prices, accept lower margins, or both, which could reduce customer demand and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We operate in a competitive industry that is subject to rapid technological change, and competitors may have or attain more resources and/or greater market recognition than we do.
Our competitor base may change or expand as we continue to develop and commercialize our robotic systems in the future. Some of these companies are direct competitors, while others provide adjacent services such as delivery with autonomous vehicles on streets that could impact our market. A number of these companies may have, or may attain, more resources and/or greater market recognition than we do. These or other competitors may develop new technologies or products that provide superior results to customers or are less expensive than our products. Our technologies and products could have reduced competitiveness by such developments.
Our competitors may respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies, undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, have greater financial, marketing, manufacturing and other resources than we do, or may be more successful in attracting potential customers, employees and strategic partners. In addition, potential customers could have long-standing or contractual relationships with competitors. Potential customers may be reluctant to adopt our products, particularly if they compete with or have the potential to compete with or diminish the need/utilization of products or technologies supported through these existing relationships. If we are not able to compete effectively, our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results will be negatively impacted.
In addition, because we operate in a new market, the actions of our competitors could adversely affect our business. Adverse events such as product defects or legal claims with respect to competing or similar products could cause reputational harm to the robotics market on the whole and, accordingly, our business.
If use of the internet via websites, mobile devices and other platforms, particularly with respect to online food ordering, does not continue, our business and growth prospects will be harmed.
Our business and growth prospects are substantially dependent upon the continued use of the internet as an effective medium of transactions by diners. Internet use may not continue to develop at historical rates, and diners may not continue to use the internet and other online services to order their food at current or increased growth rates or at all, which could adversely impact our business, results of operation and financial condition. In addition, the internet and mobile applications may not continue to be accepted as a viable platform or resource for a number of reasons, including:
•actual or perceived lack of security of information or privacy protection;
•possible disruptions, computer viruses or other damage to internet servers, users’ computers or mobile applications;
•excessive governmental regulation; and
•unacceptable delays due to actual or perceived limitations of wireless networks.
Any of these developments could reduce online order volumes, increase customer acquisition costs or impair engagement, which could harm our growth prospects.
Our products and services are disruptive, and important assumptions about the market demand, pricing, adoption rates and sales cycle, for our current and future products and services may be inaccurate.
The market demand for and adoption of our robots is unproven, and important assumptions about the characteristics of targeted markets, pricing and sales cycles may be inaccurate, including due to evolving regulatory and safety standards, or resistance by customer employees and labor unions, all of which are outside of our control, could cause delays or otherwise impair adoption of these new technologies, which may adversely affect our growth, financial position and prospects. Given the evolving nature of the markets in which we operate, it is difficult to predict customer demand or adoption rates for our products or the future growth of the markets we expect to target. If one or more of the targeted markets experience a shift in customer or prospective customer demand, our products may not compete as effectively, if at all, and they may not be fully developed into commercial products. If demand for our robots does not develop as expected or if we cannot accurately forecast pricing, adoption rates and sales cycle for our products, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults, or non-performance by domestic and international financial institutions or transactional counterparties, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Actual events involving reduced or limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect domestic and international financial institutions or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. However, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all. Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to meet our operating expenses, financial obligations or fulfill our other obligations, or result in breaches of our financial and/or contractual obligations. Any of these impacts, or
any other impacts resulting from the factors described above or other related or similar factors not described above, could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity and our current and/or projected business operations, financial condition and results of operations.
We are dependent on general economic conditions.
Our future performance will be subject to factors beyond our control, including general economic conditions and conditions in the robotics industry. Our business model depends on companies purchasing our robotic and branding services, and is thus dependent on national and international economic conditions. Uncertain economic conditions have created volatility in the United States. Such adverse national and international economic conditions may reduce the future availability of dollars companies have to spend on our services, which would negatively impact our revenues and possibly our ability to continue operations. For example, rising labor costs in recent years have led to increased interest in last-mile automation, while higher interest rates have resulted in a decrease in investment activity and overall capital allocation to hardware startups. The worsening of global economic conditions has in the past adversely affected, and could in the future adversely affect, our business, financial condition or results of operations, and the worsening of economic conditions in certain specific regions of the country could impact the expansion and success of our businesses in such areas.
We face risks related to natural disasters, health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt our operations.
Our facilities or operations, or those of any third-party manufacturers or suppliers, could be adversely affected by events outside of our or their control, such as natural disasters, wars, health epidemics and other calamities. Our robots are charged overnight and rely on broadband internet connectivity to operate; therefore, power outages and broadband connectivity disruptions would adversely impact our operations. Furthermore, as hardware, our robots can be damaged or irreparably destroyed by the effects of fire, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures, break-ins, war, riots, terrorist or malicious attacks or similar events.
Risks Related to our Regulatory Environment
Tariffs imposed by the United States and other countries, as well as changing trade relations, regional and international conflicts, and political conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Changes in United States and foreign governments’ trade policies, as well as volatility caused by regional and international conflicts, and the political climate in the United States, have resulted in, and may continue to result in, tariffs on imports into and exports from the United States. Tariffs on certain products can increase our costs of doing business. If we are unable to recover these costs, our business may be adversely impacted. Diminished trade relations, conflicts between the United States and other countries, and any escalation of tariffs could have a material adverse effect on our financial performance and results of operations.
Use of emerging technologies like AI, machine learning and generative AI, will require us to navigate an uncertain legal and regulatory landscape, and failure to comply with these rapidly evolving laws and regulations may negatively impact our ability to grow our business.
We continue to utilize and evaluate emerging technologies like AI, machine learning and generative AI for incorporation into our business. The domestic and international regulatory landscape surrounding these emerging technologies including AI, is rapidly evolving and uncertain, and may require us to incur significant costs to modify, maintain, or align our business practices, solutions and services to comply with domestic and foreign rules and regulations, the nature of which cannot be determined at this time and may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
This increasing divergence globally among AI regulations, which will require us to navigate a fragmented regulatory landscape, may impose significant requirements on how we design, build and deploy AI and handle non-personal data for ourselves or limit our ability to incorporate certain AI capabilities into our offerings. As we expand into new markets and scale deployments, we may be required to implement new governance controls, documentation, testing, monitoring, auditability, transparency, and human oversight measures, and to modify our models, datasets, and product designs to meet jurisdiction-specific requirements. This may negatively impact our ability to expand into new markets if we are unable to comply with their regulatory requirements. Violations of these laws or regulations may lead to reputational damage, financial penalties and increased regulatory scrutiny and oversight. This could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Evolving privacy, data protection, and AI regulation may restrict our ability to collect, process, and license video and LiDAR datasets, increase our compliance costs or expose us to investigations, fines or litigation.
Our business model includes collecting, processing, and licensing large-scale video and LiDAR datasets to third parties for model training. Global, federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing privacy, data protection, and AI technologies are rapidly evolving and, in some cases, unclear or inconsistent, including with respect to biometric identifiers, geolocation, in-vehicle or bystander recordings, profiling, and automated decision-making. Regulators may impose or expand requirements such as consent, notice, purpose limitation, data minimization, security safeguards, impact assessments, algorithmic transparency, and opt-out rights, as well as restrictions on cross-border data transfers and broker registration. Compliance may require significant changes to our data collection practices, technical infrastructure, and contractual frameworks, and may increase costs and delay product and licensing timelines. Any perceived or actual noncompliance by us or our vendors or customers could result in regulatory inquiries, enforcement actions, administrative orders, fines, data deletion or use restrictions, mandatory remediation, private litigation (including class actions), or suspension of our data licensing activities, any of which could adversely affect our reputation, operations and financial results.
We may become subject to new or changing governmental regulations relating to the design, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, servicing or use of our products, including as a result of climate change, and a failure to comply with such regulations could have an adverse effect on our business operations.
We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations in the United States as well as applicable laws and regulations in each foreign jurisdiction in which we do business. These laws and regulations govern, among other things, the design, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, servicing, or use of our products. A failure to comply with such regulations could lead to withdrawal or recall of our products from the market, delay our projected revenues, increase cost, or make our business unviable if we are unable to modify our products to comply. Such laws and regulations may require us to pause sales and modify our products, which could result in a material adverse effect on our revenues and financial condition. Such laws and regulations can also give rise to liability such as fines and penalties, property damage, bodily injury and cleanup costs. Capital and operating expenses needed to comply with 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. Any failure to comply with such laws or regulations could lead to withdrawal or recall of our products from the market.
Further, 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. These changes could directly increase the cost of energy, which may have an effect on the way we manufacture products or utilize 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 may require us to reduce product energy usage and to participate in compulsory recovery and recycling of our products or components. We are unable to predict how any future changes will impact us and if such impacts will be material to our business.
Climate change laws, environmental regulations, and other similar measures may also have an effect on the operating activities of our customers, which may, in turn, reduce the demand for our products and services. To the extent increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, floods and other climatic events, such events could have a material adverse effect on the Company and potentially subject the Company to further regulation.
Foreign and domestic antitrust laws could significantly affect our ability to expand our business through acquisitions, joint ventures or other strategic transactions.
Acquisitions and strategic investments as part of our growth strategy could subject us to enhanced scrutiny under U.S. and foreign antitrust and competition laws and foreign investment review regimes. Certain transactions may require premerger notification and clearance (including under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act in the United States) and reviews by other regulators, which can result in lengthy investigations, extensive information requests, operational restrictions, or injunctions that delay or prevent closing. Competition or foreign investment authorities may challenge a transaction or require commitments that limit how we integrate or operate the acquired business or otherwise diminish the strategic value of the transaction. Increasing scrutiny of acquisitions involving robotics, automation, AI, data, and other sensitive technologies may heighten the risk of extended reviews, mitigation agreements, or prohibition in certain jurisdictions. We could incur substantial costs, devote significant management time, and experience business disruption responding to these reviews and operating under hold‑separate or other constraints. Failure to comply with premerger
notification, “gun‑jumping,” information‑sharing, or interlocking directorate rules could result in significant fines and penalties and harm our reputation and ability to consummate current or future transactions. Even after closing, we may be subject to ongoing monitoring, consent decrees, or private litigation challenging our transactions. Any delay, prohibition, required remedy, or related enforcement action could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
We are subject to domestic and foreign anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws and regulations. We can face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations, which can harm our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.
We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (the “FCPA”), the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, and other anti-corruption, anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in countries in which we conduct activities. In addition, we may become subject to other anti-corruption, anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws if we expand our operations into new jurisdictions. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees, business partners, third-party intermediaries, representatives, and agents from authorizing, promising, offering or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or anything else of value to government officials, political candidates, political parties, or commercial partners for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or securing an improper business advantage.
We have direct and indirect interactions with foreign officials, including in furtherance of sales to governmental entities in non-U.S. countries. We sometimes leverage third parties to conduct our business abroad, and our third-party business partners, representatives, and agents may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or state-owned or affiliated entities. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our employees or these third parties, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. The FCPA and other applicable laws and regulations also require that we keep accurate books and records and maintain internal controls and compliance procedures designed to prevent any such actions. While we have policies and procedures to address compliance with such laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, business partners, third-party intermediaries, representatives and agents will not take actions in violation of our policies and applicable law, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. Our exposure for violating these laws increases as our international presence expands and as we increase sales and operations in foreign jurisdictions.
Any violations of the laws and regulations described above may result in whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, damages, settlements, prosecution, enforcement actions, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, suspension or debarment from government contracts, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm and other consequences, any of which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. In addition, responding to any investigation or action will likely result in a significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and significant defense costs and other professional fees.
The evolving regulations around personal delivery devices (or public mobile robots), could materially impact our business and growth prospects in new markets.
Sidewalk robots, as opposed to autonomous vehicles operating on public streets, are not by default prohibited from operations in most jurisdictions. But there is no guarantee that the current permissive environment will not change in the future, especially as more sidewalk robots get deployed. While we currently have the requisite permits and support from local municipalities in areas we operate, any change in regulations or permit requirements could adversely impact our business. While we proactively engage with lawmakers, academics, standards-setting organizations, urban planning nonprofits, disability rights advocates, senior citizen organizations, pedestrian advocacy groups and regional bicycle coalitions to anticipate and mitigate potential regulatory challenges, we cannot be assured that such efforts will be successful, and failure to achieve favorable outcomes may have an adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.
Over two dozen states across the United States have enacted legislation regulating personal delivery devices (“PDDs”), also known as public mobile robots (“PMRs”), using a definition that includes sidewalk delivery robots such as ours. While these regulations have been largely industry-friendly and intended to streamline the rollout of PDDs in those jurisdictions, they are not yet uniform and may present some challenges as we seek to deploy in new markets. For example, Washington state has an unladen weight restriction below 120lbs, and the City of Santa Monica and New York state both prohibit the operation of autonomous devices on sidewalks. These ordinances and statutes require amendments in order for us to expand into those jurisdictions.
In some municipal jurisdictions, such as the cities of Chicago and Los Angeles, PDDs are still regulated under pilot programs at the discretion of the cities’ departments of transportation. These frameworks may require ongoing discussions and positive community feedback to enable further deployment and market expansion. We expect that some number of jurisdictions that are granting their first PDD licenses will create pilot programs as well prior to full commercial regulatory licensing.
Furthermore, the cellular network and radio systems contained in our robots are regulated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”), which allocates cellular and wireless bandwidth to ensure minimal conflict between operators. And the battery packs within our robots use custom lithium-ion cells. The transportation and effective storage of lithium-ion batteries is tightly regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (the “DOT”) and other regulatory bodies. Any failure to comply with the DOT’s storage and transport requirements or the FCC’s regulations on wireless communications could result in fines, loss of permits and licenses or other regulatory consequences, which could limit our ability to manufacture and deliver our robotic systems and negatively affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Expanding our products, services, and geographic footprint may subject us to additional and evolving regulatory, licensing, and compliance obligations.
As we aim to introduce new products and services and expand into new markets, including through acquisitions, we expect to become subject to additional regulations, restrictions, and licensing requirements. As we expand and localize our international activities, we expect that our obligations in the markets in which we operate will continue to increase. This may include laws and regulations surrounding product safety and certification, data privacy and cybersecurity, healthcare and financial services regulations, labor and employment, environmental, import/export controls, and foreign investment or national security reviews, among others. Obtaining and maintaining required approvals, certifications, and licenses can be costly and time‑consuming, and failure or perceived failure to comply may result in fines, penalties, injunctions, mandated product changes, delays in launches or deployments, restrictions on data use or cross‑border transfers, and contractual liability. Moreover, overlapping or inconsistent requirements across jurisdictions may require us to modify products, features, or operational processes on a country‑by‑country basis, increase compliance costs, and divert management attention, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.
Changes to tax laws or exposure to additional tax liabilities may have a negative impact on our operating results.
Changes in U.S. federal and state tax laws and rates could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. It is also possible that changes in overall profitability, changes in U.S. GAAP, or changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets could adversely affect our future results of operations.
In addition, we regularly undergo tax audits in various jurisdictions in which we operate. Although we believe that our income tax provisions and accruals are reasonable and in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and that we prepare our tax filings in accordance with all applicable tax laws, the final determination with respect to any tax audits and any related litigation, could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals. The results of a tax audit or litigation could materially affect our operating results and cash flows in the periods for which that determination is made. In addition, future period net income may be adversely impacted by litigation costs, settlements, penalties and interest assessments.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile and could decline significantly.
Stock exchanges and quotation systems, including The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”), on which our common stock is listed or may be listed or quoted on in the future have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. Even if an active, liquid and orderly trading market develops and is sustained for our common stock, the market price of our common stock may be volatile and could decline significantly. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. If the market price of our common stock declines significantly, you may be unable to resell your shares at or above the market price of our common stock as of the date of purchase. We cannot assure you that the market price of our common stock will not fluctuate widely or decline significantly in the future in response to a number of factors, including, among others, the following:
•the realization of any of the risk factors presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K;
•actual or anticipated differences in our estimates, or in the estimates of analysts, for our revenues, results of operations, level of indebtedness, liquidity or financial condition;
•additions and departures of key personnel;
•our ability to maintain the listing of our common stock on Nasdaq;
•failure to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or other laws or regulations;
•future issuances, sales, resales or repurchases or anticipated issuances, sales, resales or repurchases, of our common stock;
•publication of research reports about us, or our industry;
•the performance and market valuations of other similar companies;
•broad disruptions in the financial markets, including sudden disruptions in the credit markets;
•speculation in the press or investment community;
•actual, potential or perceived control, accounting or reporting problems; and
•changes in accounting principles, policies and guidelines.
In the past, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their shares. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on us.
We are obligated to develop and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable laws and regulations could be impaired. In addition, the presence of a material weakness increases the risk of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements.
We are a public company and are required, pursuant to Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting on our Annual Report on Form 10-K. Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, such internal controls are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.
The report by management is required to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified in internal control over financial reporting. However, for as long as we are an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Management’s assessment of internal controls could detect problems with internal controls, and an independent assessment of the effectiveness of internal controls by our auditors could detect further problems that management’s assessment might not, and could result in the identification of material weaknesses that were not otherwise identified. Undetected material weaknesses in internal controls could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation. We are required to disclose changes made in internal control and procedures on a quarterly basis. To comply with the public company requirements, we may need to undertake various actions, such as implementing new internal controls and procedures and hiring accounting or internal audit staff. The design and implementation of internal control over financial reporting has required and will continue to require significant time and resources from management and other personnel.
As a result of management’s assessment of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, management identified multiple material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting. A “material weakness” is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is more than a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be
prevented or detected on a timely basis. Refer to Part II, Item 9A. “Controls and Procedures” within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a full discussion of the results of management’s assessment.
If we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of financial reports, which would cause the price of our common stock to decline, and we may be subject to investigation or sanctions by the SEC.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company, and any decision on our part to comply only with certain reduced reporting and disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and, for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies but not to emerging growth companies, including:
•not being required to have our independent registered public accounting firm audit our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;
•reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and Annual Report on Form 10-K; and
•exemptions from the requirements of holding non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the end of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the first sale of our common stock pursuant to a registration statement under the Securities Act; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have more than $1.235 billion in annual revenues; (iii) the date we become a “large accelerated filer,” with at least $700 million of equity securities held by non-affiliates; or (iv) the date on which we have issued, in any three-year period, more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities.
We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we choose to rely on any of the exemptions afforded emerging growth companies. If some investors find our common stock less attractive because we rely on any of these exemptions, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and the market price of our common stock may be more volatile.
Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this provision of the JOBS Act. As a result, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards at the same time as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. Therefore, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to those of companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
We are also a “smaller reporting company” as defined in the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a “smaller reporting company” even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies and will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or our annual revenues are less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of our company. These provisions could also make it difficult for stockholders to elect directors who are not nominated by current members of our Board or take other corporate actions, including effecting changes in our management. These provisions:
•establish a classified Board so that not all members of our board are elected at one time;
•permit only the Board to establish the number of directors and fill vacancies on the board;
•provide that directors may only be removed “for cause” and only with the approval of two-thirds of our stockholders;
•require super-majority voting to amend some provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws;
•authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that our board could use to implement a stockholder rights plan;
•eliminate the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings of stockholders;
•prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
•prohibit cumulative voting; and
•establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at annual stockholder meetings.
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for: any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or our amended and restated bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act (“Federal Forum Provision”). Our decision to adopt a Federal Forum Provision followed a decision by the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware holding that such provisions are facially valid under Delaware law. While there can be no assurance that federal courts or state courts will follow the holding of the Delaware Supreme Court or determine that the Federal Forum Provision should be enforced in a particular case, application of the Federal Forum Provision means that suits brought by our stockholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act must be brought in federal court and cannot be brought in state court. While neither the exclusive forum provision nor the Federal Forum Provision applies to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, actions by our stockholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder also must be brought in federal court. Our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to our exclusive forum provisions, including the Federal Forum Provision. These provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of their choosing for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees.
In addition, Section 203 of the DGCL may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company. Section 203 imposes certain restrictions on mergers, business combinations and other transactions between us and holders of 15% or more of our common stock.
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future and, as a result, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common stock.
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not intend to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments.