Energous Corp - Quarter Report: 2019 September (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

OR

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 001-36379

ENERGOUS CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

3590 North First Street, Suite 210, San Jose, CA  95134

(Address of principal executive office)        (Zip code)

(408) 963-0200

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes ☑     No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).  Yes ☑     No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.  

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).     Yes ☐          No ☑

As of November 7, 2019, there were 31,500,084 shares of our Common Stock, par value $0.00001 per share, outstanding.

ENERGOUS CORPORATION

FORM 10-Q

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

INDEX

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.  Financial Statements

Energous Corporation

BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

3

Energous Corporation

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

4

Energous Corporation

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

5

Energous Corporation

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (CONTINUED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

6

Energous Corporation

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.

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Note 1 - Business Organization, Nature of Operations

Energous Corporation (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on October 30, 2012. The Company has developed its WattUp® technology, consisting of proprietary semiconductor chipsets, software, hardware designs and antennas, that enables radio frequency (“RF”) based charging for electronic devices, providing wire-free contact and non-contact charging solutions, with the potential to enable charging with mobility. The Company believes its proprietary WattUp technology can be utilized in consumer electronics such as wearables, hearing aids, earbuds, Bluetooth headsets, Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices, smartphones, tablets, e-book readers, keyboards, mice, remote controls, rechargeable lights, cylindrical batteries, medical devices and other devices with charging requirements that would otherwise require battery replacement or wired power connection.

Note 2 – Liquidity and Management Plans

During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company recorded revenue of $40,500 and $154,500, respectively, and during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company recorded revenue of $228,000 and $458,773, respectively. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company recorded net losses of $8,184,227 and $29,007,691, respectively, and during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company recorded net losses of $12,645,291 and $38,387,119, respectively. Net cash used in operating activities was $20,968,817 and $24,398,264 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Company is currently meeting its liquidity requirements through the proceeds of securities offerings that raised net proceeds of $23,319,156 in March 2019 and $38,846,815 in January 2018, along with payments received under product development projects. Also, the Company expects to receive financing proceeds from an at-market issuance financing facility that was established in October 2019 (see Note 9 – Subsequent Events).

As of September 30, 2019, the Company had cash on hand of $22,800,024. The Company expects that cash on hand as of September 30, 2019, together with anticipated revenues and expected financing, will be sufficient to fund the Company’s operations into the fourth quarter of 2020.

Research and development of new technologies is by its nature unpredictable. Although the Company intends to continue its research and development activities, there can be no assurance that its available resources and business operations will generate revenues sufficient to sustain operations. Accordingly, the Company expects to pursue additional financing, which could include offerings of equity or debt securities, bank financings, commercial agreements with customers or strategic partners, and other alternatives, depending upon market conditions. There is no assurance that such financing would be available on terms that the Company would find acceptable, or at all.

The market for products using the Company’s technology is broad and evolving, but remains nascent and unproven, so the Company’s success is dependent upon many factors, including customer acceptance of our existing products, technical feasibility of future products, regulatory approvals, competition and global market fluctuations.

Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”), and pursuant to the accounting and disclosure rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

These unaudited condensed interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2019.  The accounting policies used in preparing these unaudited condensed interim financial statements are consistent with those described in the Company’s December 31, 2018 audited financial statements.

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Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, continued

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the reported expenses during the reporting periods.  

The Company’s significant estimates and assumptions include the valuation of stock-based compensation instruments, recognition of revenue, the useful lives of long-lived assets, and income tax expense. Some of these judgments can be subjective and complex, and, consequently, actual results may differ from these estimates. Although the Company believes that its estimates and assumptions are reasonable, they are based upon information available at the time the estimates and assumptions were made. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all short-term, highly liquid investments with an original maturity at the date of purchase of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company maintains cash balances that may be uninsured or in deposit accounts that exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limits. The Company maintains its cash deposits with major financial institutions.

Revenue Recognition

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" (Topic 606), which is described below in Recent Accounting Pronouncements.

In accordance with Topic 606, the Company recognizes revenue using the following five-step approach:

The Company’s revenue currently consists of services revenue from product development projects and royalty revenue from Dialog.

The Company records revenue associated with product development projects that it enters into with certain customers. In general, these development projects are complex, and the Company does not have certainty about its ability to achieve the project milestones. The achievement of a milestone is dependent on the Company’s performance obligation and requires acceptance by the customer.  The Company recognizes revenue based on when the performance obligation is met. The payment associated with achieving the performance obligation is generally commensurate with the Company’s effort or the value of the deliverable and is nonrefundable. The Company records the expenses related to these projects in research and development expense, in the periods such expenses were incurred.

The Company records royalty revenue from its manufacturing partner, Dialog, based on shipments from Dialog to its customers.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses are charged to operations as incurred. For internally developed patents, all patent application costs are expensed as incurred as research and development expense. Patent application costs, which are generally legal costs, are expensed as research and development costs until such time as the future economic benefits of such patents become more certain. The Company incurred research and development costs of $5,190,056 and $8,442,698 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and the Company incurred research and development costs of $17,505,751 and $24,804,224 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

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Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, continued

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for equity instruments issued to employees, board members and contractors in accordance with accounting guidance that requires awards to be recorded at their fair value on the date of grant and are amortized over the vesting period of the award. The Company recognizes compensation costs on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award, which is typically the vesting term of the equity instrument issued.

Under the Energous Corporation Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”), employees may purchase a limited number of shares of the Company’s common stock at a 15% discount from the lower of the closing market prices measured on the first and last days of each half-year period. The Company recognizes compensation expense for the fair value of the purchase options, as measured on the grant date.

Income Taxes

Tax benefits are recognized only for tax positions that are more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by tax authorities. The amount recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely to be realized upon settlement. A liability for “unrecognized tax benefits” is recorded for any tax benefits claimed in the Company’s tax returns that do not meet these recognition and measurement standards. As of September 30, 2019, no liability for unrecognized tax benefits was required to be reported. The Company’s policy is to record interest and penalties on uncertain tax positions as a component of income tax expense. No interest or penalties were recorded during the three or nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

Net Loss Per Common Share

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options and warrants (using the treasury stock method), the vesting of restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance stock units (“PSUs”) and the shares issuable from the enrollment of employees in the ESPP. The computation of diluted loss per share excludes potentially dilutive securities of 6,876,595 and 6,840,737 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and 6,876,595 and 6,840,737 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, because their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.

Potentially dilutive securities outlined in the table below have been excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share because the effect of their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive.  

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Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, continued

Leases

As of January 1, 2019, the Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at the inception of the arrangement. The Company applies the short-term lease recognition exemption and recognizes lease payments in profit or loss at lease commencement for facility or equipment leases that have a lease term of 12 months or less and do not include a purchase option whose exercise is reasonably certain. Operating leases are included in operating lease right-of-use (ROU) assets and operating lease liabilities.

ROU assets represent the right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent the obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are measured and recorded at the later of the adoption date, January 1, 2019, or the service commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company uses the implicit interest rate when readily determinable; however, most leases do not establish an implicit rate, so the Company uses an estimate of the incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the time of measurement. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. See Note 4 – Commitments and Contingencies, Operating Leases for further discussion of the Company’s operating leases.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In July 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-07, “Codification Updates to SEC Sections.” ASU 2019-07 updates the SEC portion of the FASB’s codification literature to reflect the changes the SEC made to simplify disclosures. It is effective immediately. The Company adopted ASU 2019-07 and it adoption had no material impact on its financial statements.

Management’s Evaluation of Subsequent Events

The Company evaluates events that have occurred after the balance sheet date of September 30, 2019, through the date which the financial statements are issued. See Note 9 – Subsequent Events for the subsequent event disclosed this quarter.

Note 4 – Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Leases

On September 10, 2014, the Company entered into a lease agreement with Balzer Family Investments, L.P. (the “Landlord”) related to space located at Northpointe Business Center, 3590 North First Street, San Jose, California. The initial term of the lease was 60 months, with initial monthly base rent of $36,720 and the lease was subject to certain annual escalations as defined in the agreement. On March 13, 2019, the Company amended its lease agreement with the Landlord which combined both the first-floor space and the second-floor space for the final three months of the original lease term for the second floor, which expired on September 30, 2019. Effective July 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019, the new monthly rent payment was $48,372.

On February 26, 2015, the Company entered into a sub-lease agreement for space in its San Jose location on the first floor and was amended on August 25, 2015 to include additional space. The sub-lease agreement had a term which expired on June 30, 2019.

On July 1, 2019, the Company signed a new lease agreement for the lease of its office space at its corporate headquarters in San Jose, California for an additional three years. The lease agreement includes space on the first floor of the building that had been previously subleased. Upon expiration of the original lease on September 30, 2019, the new monthly lease payment starting October 1, 2019 is $52,970 and is subject to annual escalations up to a maximum monthly lease payment of $64,941.

On May 31, 2017, the Company renewed a lease agreement for the Company’s space in Costa Mesa, California. The agreement had a term that expired on September 30, 2019 with initial monthly rent of $9,040 and was subject to certain annual escalations as defined in the agreement.

On July 15, 2019, the Company signed a new lease agreement for the lease of office space in Costa Mesa, California for an additional two years. Upon expiration of the original lease on September 30, 2019, the new monthly lease payment starting October 1, 2019 will be $9,773 and is subject to an annual escalation up to a maximum monthly lease payment of $10,200.

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Note 4 – Commitments and Contingencies, continued

Operating Leases, continued

In February 2016, the FASB issued its final standard on lease accounting, ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” which superseded Topic 840, “Leases,” which was further modified in ASU No. 2018-10, “Codification Improvements” to clarify the implementation guidance. The new accounting standard was effective for the Company beginning on January 1, 2019 and required the recognition on the balance sheet of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. The Company elected the optional transition method and adopted the new guidance on January 1, 2019 on a modified retrospective basis with no restatement of prior period amounts. The Company’s adoption of the new standard resulted in the recognition of right-of-use assets of $414,426 and operating lease liabilities of $485,747, with no material cumulative effect adjustment to equity as of the date of adoption. The Company anticipates having future total lease payments of $2,429,376 during the period from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2022. As of September 30, 2019, the company has total operating lease right-of-use assets of $2,244,336, current portion operating lease liabilities of $682,163 and long-term portion of operating lease liabilities of $1,610,319. The weighted average remaining lease term is 2.9 years as of September 30, 2019.

A reconciliation of undiscounted cash flows to lease liabilities recognized as of September 30, 2019 is as follows:

Hosted Design Solution Agreement

In June 2015, the Company entered into a three-year agreement to license electronic design automation software in a hosted environment. Pursuant to the agreement, under which services began in July 2015, the Company is required to remit quarterly payments in the amount of approximately $101,000 with the last payment due in March 2018. In December 2015, the agreement was amended to update and redefine the hosted hardware and software licensed by the Company and the quarterly payments increased to approximately $198,000. In July 2018, the Company renewed the three-year agreement, and the Company is required to remit quarterly payments in the amount of approximately $218,000, with the last payment due in March 2021.

Litigations, Claims, and Assessments

The Company is from time to time involved in various disputes, claims, liens and litigation matters arising in the normal course of business. While the outcome of these disputes, claims, liens and litigation matters cannot be predicted with certainty, after consulting with legal counsel, management does not believe that the outcome of these matters will have a material adverse effect on the Company's combined financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

MBO Bonus Plan

On March 15, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors (“Board”), on the recommendation of the Board’s Compensation Committee (“Compensation Committee”), approved the Energous Corporation MBO Bonus Plan (“Bonus Plan”) for executive officers of the Company. To be eligible to receive a bonus under the Bonus Plan, an executive officer must be continuously employed throughout the applicable performance period, and in good standing, and achieve the performance objectives selected by the Compensation Committee.

Under the Bonus Plan, the Compensation Committee is responsible for selecting the amounts of potential bonuses for executive officers, the performance metrics used to determine whether any such bonuses will be paid and determining whether those performance metrics have been achieved.

During the three months ended September 30, 2019, the Company accrued $167,740 in expense under the Bonus Plan, which will be paid during the fourth quarter of 2019. During the three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company accrued $445,883 in expense, which was paid during the fourth quarter of 2018. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company incurred $691,928 and $1,205,997 in expense under the Bonus Plan.

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Note 4 – Commitments and Contingencies, continued

Severance and Change in Control Agreement

On March 15, 2018, the Compensation Committee approved a form of Severance and Change in Control Agreement (“Severance Agreement”) that the Company may enter into with executive officers (“Executive”).

Under the Severance Agreement, if an Executive is terminated in a qualifying termination, the Company agrees to pay the Executive six to 12 months of that Executive’s monthly base salary and bonuses, in some circumstances. If the Executive elects continued coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended (“COBRA”) the Company agrees to pay the full amount of Executive’s premiums under the Company’s health, dental and vision plans, including coverage for the Executive’s eligible dependents, for the six to 12 month period following the Executive’s termination.

Employee Agreement – Stephen Rizzone

On April 3, 2015, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Executive Employment Agreement with Stephen R. Rizzone, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer (“Employment Agreement”).

The Employment Agreement was effective as of January 1, 2015, had an initial term of four years and renews automatically each year after the initial term. The Employment Agreement provides for an annual base salary of $365,000, and Mr. Rizzone is eligible to receive quarterly cash bonuses from the Bonus Plan with a total target amount equal to 100% of his base salary based upon achievement of performance-based objectives established by the Board.

Mr. Rizzone is also eligible to receive all customary and usual benefits generally available to senior executives of the Company.

Strategic Alliance Agreement

In November 2016, the Company and Dialog Semiconductor plc (“Dialog”), a related party (see Note 7—Related Party Transactions), entered into a Strategic Alliance Agreement (“Alliance Agreement”) for the manufacture, distribution and commercialization of products incorporating the Company’s wire-free charging technology (“Licensed Products”). Pursuant to the terms of the Alliance Agreement, the Company agreed to engage Dialog as the exclusive supplier of the Licensed Products for specified fields of use, subject to certain exceptions (the “Company Exclusivity Requirement”). Dialog agreed to not distribute, sell or work with any third party to develop any competing products without the Company’s approval (the “Dialog Exclusivity Requirement”). In addition, both parties agreed on a revenue sharing arrangement and will collaborate on the commercialization of Licensed Products based on a mutually-agreed upon plan. Each party will retain all of its intellectual property.

The Alliance Agreement has an initial term of seven years and will automatically renew annually thereafter unless terminated by either party upon 180 days’ prior written notice. The Company may terminate the Alliance Agreement at any time after the third anniversary of the Agreement upon 180 days’ prior written notice to Dialog, or if Dialog breaches certain exclusivity obligations. Dialog may terminate the Alliance Agreement if sales of Licensed Products do not meet specified targets. The Company Exclusivity Requirement will terminate upon the earlier of January 1, 2021 or the occurrence of certain events relating to the Company’s pre-existing exclusivity obligations.

Note 5 – Stockholders’ Equity

Authorized Capital

The holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote per share. Holders of common stock are entitled to receive ratably such dividends, if any, as may be declared by the Board out of legally available funds. Upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets of the Company that are legally available for distribution.

Public Offerings

Pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 filed on April 24, 2015, in January 2018, the Company raised $38,846,815 (net of $1,153,715 in underwriter’s discount and issuance costs) from the sale of stock in an “at-the-market” offering of its common stock.

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Note 5 – Stockholders’ Equity, continued

On August 9, 2018, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, which became effective on August 17, 2018. This shelf registration statement allows the Company to sell, from time to time, any combination of debt or equity securities described in the registration statement up to aggregate proceeds of $75,000,000. Pursuant to this registration statement, in March 2019 the Company raised $23,319,156 (net of $1,680,844 in issuance costs) from an offering of shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase 1,666,666 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $10.00 per share.

Common Stock Outstanding

In August 2019, an aggregate of 38,666 shares of common stock were returned to the Company and retired in connection with the rescission of restricted stock unit agreements.

Note 6 – Stock-Based Compensation

Equity Incentive Plans

2013 Equity Incentive Plan

Effective on May 16, 2018, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance through equity-based instruments thereunder by 1,600,000 shares, bringing to 6,085,967 the total number of shares approved for issuance under that plan. 

As of September 30, 2019, 1,697,263 shares of common stock remain available to be issued under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan.

2014 Non-Employee Equity Compensation Plan

Effective on May 16, 2018, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance through equity-based instruments thereunder by 250,000 shares, bringing to 850,000 the total number of shares approved for issuance under that plan.

As of September 30, 2019, 214,057 shares of common stock remain available to be issued through equity-based instruments under the 2014 Non-Employee Equity Compensation Plan.

2015 Performance Share Unit Plan

Effective on May 16, 2018, the Company’s stockholders approved the amendment and restatement of the 2015 Performance Share Unit Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance through equity-based instruments thereunder by 1,400,000 shares, bringing to 2,710,104 the total number of shares approved for issuance under that plan.

As of September 30, 2019, 1,431,951 shares of common stock remain available to be issued through equity-based instruments under the 2015 Performance Share Unit Plan.

2017 Equity Inducement Plan

On December 28, 2017, the Board approved the 2017 Equity Inducement Plan. Under the plan, the Board reserved 600,000 shares of common stock for the grant of RSUs. These grants will be administered by the Board or a committee of the Board. These awards will be granted to individuals who (a) are being hired as an employee by the Company or any subsidiary and such award is a material inducement to such person being hired; (b) are being rehired as an employee following a bona fide period of interruption of employment with the Company or any subsidiary; or (c) will become an employee of the Company or any subsidiary in connection with a merger or acquisition.

As of September 30, 2019, 303,469 shares of common stock remain available to be issued through equity-based instruments under the 2017 Equity Inducement Plan.

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Note 6 – Stock-Based Compensation, continued

Equity Incentive Plans, continued

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

In April 2015, the Company’s Board approved the ESPP, under which 600,000 shares of common stock were reserved for purchase by the Company’s employees, and on May 21, 2015, the Company’s stockholders approved the ESPP. Under the ESPP, employees may designate an amount not less than 1% but not more than 10% of their annual compensation for the purchase of Company shares. No more than 7,500 shares may be purchased by an employee under the ESPP during an offering period. An offering period shall be six months in duration commencing on or about January 1 and July 1 of each year. The exercise price of the purchase option will be the lesser of 85% of the fair market of the common stock on the first business day of the offering period and 85% of the fair market value of the common stock on the applicable exercise date.

As of September 30, 2019, 257,988 shares of common stock remain available to be issued under the ESPP. As of September 30, 2019, employees have contributed $147,809 through payroll withholdings to the ESPP for the current offering period. Shares will be deemed delivered on December 31, 2019 for the current offering period.

Stock Option Activity

The following is a summary of the Company’s stock option activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2019:

As of September 30, 2019, the unamortized value of options was $0.     

Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”)                                                          

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Compensation Committee granted various directors and consultants RSUs covering 288,176 shares of common stock under the 2014 Non-Employee Equity Compensation Plan. The awards vest over terms from one to three years.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Compensation Committee granted various employees RSUs covering 311,750 shares of common stock under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. The awards vest over terms ranging from one to four years.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Compensation Committee granted employees RSUs covering 40,500 shares of common stock under the 2017 Equity Inducement Plan. The awards vest over four years.

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Note 6 – Stock Based Compensation, continued

As of September 30, 2019, the unamortized value of the RSUs was $14,201,155. The unamortized amount will be expensed over a weighted average period of 1.8 years. A summary of the activity related to RSUs for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 is presented below:

Performance Share Units (“PSUs”)

Performance share units (“PSUs”) are grants that vest upon the achievement of certain performance goals. The performance goals are related to the Company’s market capitalization or market price of the common stock.

Amortization for all PSU awards was $0 and $207,206 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $0 and $614,862 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

At September 30, 2019, all PSUs had either vested or expired and were no longer outstanding.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”)

The recently completed offering period under the ESPP was January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019. During the year ended December 31, 2018, there were two offering periods for the ESPP. The first offering period started on January 1, 2018 and concluded on June 30, 2018. The second offering period started on July 1, 2018 and concluded on December 31, 2018.  

The weighted-average grant-date fair value of the purchase option for each designated share purchased under this plan was approximately $2.05 and $9.72 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, which represents the fair value of the option, consisting of three main components: (i) the value of the discount on the enrollment date, (ii) the proportionate value of the call option for 85% of the stock and (iii) the proportionate value of the put option for 15% of the stock. The Company recognized compensation expense for the plan of $62,055 and $67,174 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $272,629 and $474,920 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The Company estimated the fair value of ESPP purchase options granted during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair values of stock options granted were estimated using the following assumptions:

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Note 6 – Stock Based Compensation, continued

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

The following tables summarize total stock-based compensation costs recognized for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018:

The total amount of stock-based compensation was reflected within the statements of operations as:

Note 7 – Related Party Transactions

In November 2016, the Company and Dialog entered into an alliance agreement for the manufacture, distribution and commercialization of products incorporating the Company’s wire-free charging technology (See Note 4 – Commitments and Contingencies, Strategic Alliance Agreement). On November 7, 2016 and June 28, 2017, the Company and Dialog entered into securities purchase agreements under which Dialog acquired a total of 1,739,691 shares and received warrants to purchase up to 1,417,565 shares. As of September 30, 2019, Dialog owns approximately 5.6% of the Company’s outstanding common shares and could potentially own approximately 9.8% of the Company’s outstanding common shares if it exercised all of its warrants for common shares. The Company did not pay Dialog for chip development costs for the three or nine months ended September 30, 2019. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company paid $0 and $43,700, respectively, to Dialog for chip development costs incurred, which is recorded under research and development expense. The Company recorded $0 and $7,100 in revenue pursuant to the Strategic Alliance Agreement for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, and $0 and $5,773 in revenue pursuant to the Strategic Alliance Agreement for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively.

Note 8 – Customer Concentrations

Three customers accounted for 100% of the Company’s revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and one customer accounted for approximately 99% of the Company’s revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2018. Three customers accounted for approximately 55% of the Company’s revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and one customer accounted for approximately 98% of the Company’s revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. Five customers accounted for 100% of the accounts receivable balance as of September 30, 2019. Three customers accounted for approximately 86% of the accounts receivable balance as of December 31, 2018.

Note 9 – Subsequent Events

On October 11, 2019, the Company entered into an at-market issuance sales agreement pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell up to an aggregate of $20.0 million aggregate gross purchase price in shares of its common stock to the public, from time to time. The offer and sale of the shares will be made pursuant to an existing shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Item 2.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Forward-Looking Statements

As used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, unless the context otherwise requires the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” and “Energous” refer to Energous Corporation, a Delaware corporation.  This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this report regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding expectations for revenues, liquidity cash flows and financial performance, the anticipated results of our development efforts and the timing for receipt of required regulatory approvals and product launches. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and generally outside of our control, so actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others: our ability to develop commercially feasible technology; timing of customer implementations of our technology in consumer products; timing of regulatory approvals in the United States and internationally; our ability to find and maintain development partners; our ability to protect our intellectual property; competition; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis sections of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any of our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Overview

We have developed our WattUp® wireless power technology, consisting of proprietary semiconductor chipsets, software controls, hardware designs and antennas, that enables radio frequency (“RF”) based charging for electronic devices. The WattUp technology has a broad spectrum of capabilities, including contact-based wireless charging and wireless charging at various distances. We have demonstrated that, for non-contact applications, our transmitter technology is able to mesh into a wire-free charging network that will allow users to charge their devices even as the devices are moved about in three-dimensional space (“mobility charging”). In November 2016 we entered into a Strategic Alliance Agreement with Dialog Semiconductor plc (“Dialog”), an industry leader in Bluetooth low energy semiconductors and power management semiconductors. In conjunction with the Strategic Alliance Agreement, Dialog manufactures and is the exclusive distributor of integrated circuit (“IC”) products that incorporate our designs and provides sales and logistic support to customers on a global basis. We believe our proprietary WattUp technology can be utilized in consumer electronics such as wearables, hearing aids, earbuds, Bluetooth headsets, Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, fitness bands, keyboards, mice, remote controls, rechargeable lights, batteries, medical devices, and other devices with charging requirements that would otherwise require battery replacement or a wired power connection.

We believe our technology is innovative in its approach, in that we are developing solutions that charge electronic devices by surrounding them with a focused RF energy pocket. We are engineering solutions that deliver wire-free energy for contact-based charging applications and are also developing non-contact charging at distances up to approximately three feet, as well as low-power charging for distances up to 15 feet and in some use cases mobility charging. To-date, we have developed multiple transmitters and receivers, including prototypes as well as partner production designs. The transmitters vary based on form factor, power specifications and frequencies, while the receivers are designed for applications including hearing aids, fitness bands, smartwatches, smartphones, smartglasses, sensors, industrial applications, keyboards, mice, headsets, earbuds, headphones, Bluetooth tracking tags and more. We are engaged with several consumer electronics (CE) and medical device companies that are in the pre-production or initial production stages of development. In 2019, our first customer product entered the market and we expect additional partner products to be announced before the end of 2019 and into 2020. We are also in discussion with potential customers in the consumer and industrial spaces that are considering our solutions to supply low power distance charging for products that could enter the market in late 2020.

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When the company was founded in 2012, we recognized the need to design and build an enterprise-class network management and control software (“NMS”) system that would be integral to supporting our customers’ rapid and cost-effective deployment of our wire-free charging technology. Our NMS system is robust and flexible enough to scale up to control thousands of devices across an enterprise, or scaled down to meet the needs of a home or IoT environment.

In December 2017, we announced Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) certification of our first-generation WattUp Mid Field transmitter, which simultaneously powers multiple devices at a distance of up to three feet. This transmitter underwent rigorous, multi-month testing to verify that it met consumer safety and regulatory requirements. We believe this was the first certification of a Part 18 FCC-approved non-contact wireless charging transmitter, and that it establishes engineering design precedents that can streamline future regulatory approvals for our technology and for our customers’ end-products that employ our technology.

Our technology solution consists principally of transmitter controller ICs, power amplifier ICs and receiver ICs, as well as novel antenna designs, application prototypes and proprietary software algorithms. We submitted our first IC design for wafer fabrication in 2013 and have developed many generations of transmitter and receiver ICs, antenna designs, and software algorithms.  We have endeavored to optimize our technology by reducing size and cost, while at the same time increasing performance which enables our designs to be integrated into a broad range of devices. We have developed a “building block” approach that allows us to scale our product implementations by combining multiple transmitter building blocks or multiple receiver building blocks to meet the power, distance, size and cost requirements of customer applications requirements. Our technology is readily scalable because the same ICs that are used for contact-based charging can be used for distance-based charging solutions. We have developed two classes of chip solutions, a CMOS-based technology focused on low cost, small footprint and low power (less than 5 watts) and a GaAs/GAn-based technology capable of delivering higher power with greater efficiency. We intend to continue to invest in research and development with high power capabilities of 20 watts and beyond at high levels of efficiency. We intend to continue to invest in improving product performance, efficiency, cost-performance and miniaturization as required to reach multiple markets and expand the power-at-a-distance ecosystem, while maintaining a technology lead on potential competitors.

We deliver evaluation kits to potential licensees of our technology, to allow their respective engineering and product management departments to test and evaluate the technology. Our customers’ product development, technology integration and product introduction cycles occur over multiple quarters and generally more than a year can elapse before first evaluation and final shipment of the customer’s product. Once our customers begin to sell products to end customers that incorporate our technology, we would expect the commercialization cycle to shorten over time as the technology matures and market acceptance grows.

We generally maintain exclusive rights to all intellectual property in our technology.  Our intellectual property strategy includes pursuing patent protection for new innovations. As of September 30, 2019, we had 215 patents granted/allowed applications from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In addition to the inventions covered by these patents, we have also identified specific inventions that we believe are novel and patentable. In addition to the inventions covered by these patents and patent applications, we have also identified specific inventions that we believe are novel and patentable. We intend to file for patent protection for the most valuable of these, and for other inventions that we expect to develop. This is a significant annual expense and we continually monitor the costs and benefits of each patent application and pursue those that we believe are most protective for our business and expand the core value of the Company.

Our seasoned management team has both private and public company experience, as well as relevant industry experience. In addition, we have identified and hired key engineering resources in the areas of IC development, antenna development, hardware, software and firmware engineering as well as integration and testing, which will allow us to continue to expand our technology and intellectual property and to meet our customers’ support requirements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Revenue Recognition

On January 1, 2018 we adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers" (Topic 606), which is described in Note 3 of the accompanying financial statements.

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In accordance with Topic 606, the Company recognizes revenue using the following five-step approach:

We record revenue associated with product development projects that we enter into with certain customers.  In general, these projects are associated with complex technology development, and as such we do not have certainty about our ability to achieve the program milestones. Achievement of the milestone is dependent on our performance and typically requires acceptance by the customer. The payment associated with achieving the milestone is generally commensurate with our effort or the value of the deliverable and is nonrefundable. We record the expenses related to these projects, generally in research and development expense, in the periods incurred.

We record royalty revenue from our manufacturing partner, Dialog, based on the number of shipments from Dialog to its customers.

Currently, other than royalty revenue from Dialog, our other revenue source is product development projects.

Results of Operations

Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018

Revenue.  During the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we recorded revenue of $40,500 and $228,000, respectively.

Operating Expenses and Loss from Operations.  Operating expenses are made up of research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses. Losses from operations for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were $8,302,069 and $12,651,961, respectively.

Research and Development Costs. Research and development costs were $5,190,056 and $8,442,698, respectively, for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. The decrease of $3,252,642 is primarily due to a $1,477,479 decrease in engineering supplies, components and chip development costs due to project timing, a $1,445,751 decrease in compensation, consisting of a $548,445 decrease in payroll costs from a lower headcount within the department and lower bonus payments, as well as an $897,306 decrease in stock-based compensation, primarily from a lower headcount within the department, a $183,098 decrease in consulting and third party services costs, an $85,393 decrease in regulatory testing, and a $47,386 decrease in regulatory legal fees, partially offset by a $198,986 increase in legal fees pertaining to patents and intellectual property.

Sales and Marketing Costs.  Sales and marketing costs for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were $1,242,105 and $1,546,227, respectively. The decrease of $304,122 is primarily due to a $173,127 decrease in compensation, consisting of a $210,377 decrease in payroll costs from a lower headcount within the department, partially offset by a $37,251 increase in stock-based compensation from new employee grants, a $71,749 decrease in supplies utilized for customer demonstrations, and a $37,346 decrease in graphic design and website maintenance expense.

General and Administrative Expenses.  General and administrative expenses include costs for general and corporate functions, including personnel compensation, facility fees, travel, telecommunications, insurance, professional fees, consulting fees, general office expenses, and other overhead. General and administrative costs for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were $1,910,408 and $2,891,036, respectively. The decrease of $980,628 is primarily due to a $1,012,910 decrease in compensation, consisting of an $892,926 decrease in stock-based compensation due to certain equity awards reaching full expense amortization during the previous year and a $119,984 decrease in payroll costs from lower bonus payments to executives and a $183,837 decrease in legal and accounting fees, partially offset by a $126,950 increase in recruiting expenses relating to appointment of three new board members.

Interest Income. Interest income for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was $117,842 as compared to interest income of $6,670 for the three months ended September 30, 2018. The increase of $111,172 is due to a more favorable interest rate from a short-term certificate of deposit.

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Net Loss. As a result of the above, net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was $8,184,227 as compared to $12,645,291 for the three months ended September 30, 2018.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018

Revenue.  During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we recorded revenue of $154,500 and $458,773, respectively.

Operating Expenses and Loss from Operations.  Operating expenses are made up of research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses. Losses from operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were $29,344,266 and $38,405,490, respectively.

Research and Development Costs.  Research and development costs were $17,505,751 and $24,804,224, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. The decrease of $7,298,473 is primarily due to a $4,044,361 decrease in compensation from a lower headcount within the department, consisting of a $3,421,751 decrease in stock-based compensation and a $622,610 decrease in payroll costs, a $1,778,916 decrease in engineering supplies, component and chip development costs due to project timing, a $322,826 decrease in legal patent costs, a $305,924 decrease in regulatory testing costs, a $171,884 decrease in legal costs pertaining to obtaining regulatory approvals and a $134,600 decrease in recruiting fees.

Sales and Marketing Costs.  Sales and marketing costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were $3,985,467 and $4,620,760, respectively. The decrease of $635,293 is primarily due to a $364,131 decrease in compensation costs, consisting of a $452,484 decrease in payroll costs, partially offset by a $88,353 increase in stock-based compensation, a $75,110 decrease in supplies utilized for customer demonstrations, a $93,646 decrease in promotional and graphic design costs, a $60,000 decrease in recruiting fees, and a $53,007 decrease in travel expense.

General and Administrative Expenses.  General and administrative expenses include costs for general and corporate functions, including personnel compensation, facility fees, travel, telecommunications, insurance, professional fees, consulting fees, general office expenses, and other overhead. General and administrative costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were $8,007,548 and $9,439,279, respectively. The decrease of $1,431,731 is primarily due to $1,574,888 decrease in compensation, consisting of a $1,402,346 decrease in stock-based compensation due to certain equity awards reaching full expense amortization during the previous year, as well as a $172,542 decrease in payroll costs, primarily from lower bonus payments, and a $89,783 decrease in general office expenses, partially offset by a $146,522 increase in recruiting expenses relating to appointment of three new board members.

Interest Income. Interest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was $336,575 as compared to interest income of $18,371 for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. The increase of $318,204 is due to a more favorable interest rate from a short-term certificate of deposit.

Net Loss. As a result of the above, net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was $29,007,691 as compared to $38,387,119 for the nine months ended September 30, 2018.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we recorded revenue of $154,500 and $458,773, respectively. We incurred net losses of $29,007,691 and $38,387,119 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Net cash used in operating activities was $20,968,817 and $24,398,264 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Company is currently meeting its liquidity requirements through the proceeds securities offerings that raised net proceeds of $23,319,156 in March 2019 and $38,846,815 in January 2018, along with payments received under product development projects. Also, the Company expects to receive financing proceeds from an at-market issuance financing facility that was established in October 2019 (see Note 9 – Subsequent Events).

We believe our current cash on hand, together with anticipated revenues and expected financing, will be sufficient to fund our operations into the fourth quarter of 2020. Although we intend to continue our research and development activities, there can be no assurance that our available resources will be sufficient to enable us to generate revenues sufficient to sustain operations. Accordingly, we will likely pursue additional financing, which could include offerings of equity or debt securities, bank financings, commercial agreements with customers or strategic partners, and other alternatives, depending upon market conditions. There is no assurance that such financing would be available on terms that we would find acceptable, or at all.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, cash flows used in operating activities were $20,968,817, consisting of a net loss of $29,007,691, less non-cash expenses aggregating $9,320,848 (principally stock-based compensation of $8,069,000, depreciation and amortization expense of $652,266 and amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets of $599,582), a $556,150 decrease in accounts payable, a $494,768 decrease in operating lease liabilities and a $174,603 decrease in accrued expenses.

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During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, cash flows used in operating activities were $24,398,264, consisting of a net loss of $38,387,119, less non-cash expenses aggregating $13,686,046 (representing principally stock-based compensation of $12,804,744 and depreciation expense of $820,714), a $497,684 decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets, a $296,668 increase in accrued expenses, partially offset by a $204,722 decrease in accounts payable and a $208,773 increase in accounts receivable.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, cash flows used in investing activities were $183,935 and $561,793, respectively. The cash used in investing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 primarily consisted of leasehold improvements related to the construction of a regulatory testing chamber within our office space. The cash used in investing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 primarily consisted of the purchase of software and laboratory equipment.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, cash flows provided by financing activities were $23,846,291, which consisted of $23,319,156 in net proceeds from a private offering of shares and warrants pursuant to a shelf registration, $466,398 in proceeds from contributions to the ESPP and $400,103 in proceeds from the exercise of stock options, partially offset by $339,366 in shares withheld for the payment of payroll taxes for the delivery of RSUs and PSUs. During the nine months ended September 30, 2018, cash flows provided by financing activities were $40,716,673, which consisted of $38,846,815 in net proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock to the public in an ATM offering, $1,319,461 in proceeds from the exercise of stock options and $550,397 in proceeds from contributions to the ESPP.

Research and development of new technologies is, by its nature, unpredictable. Although we intend to continue our research and undertake development activities, there can be no assurance that our available resources will be sufficient to enable us to generate revenues sufficient to sustain operations.

Furthermore, since we have no committed source of financing, there can be no assurance that we will be able to raise capital as and when we need it to continue our operations.

Off Balance Sheet Transactions

As of September 30, 2019, we did not have any off-balance sheet transactions.

Material Changes in Specified Contractual Obligations

A table of our specified contractual obligations was provided in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. There were no material changes outside the ordinary course of our business in the specified contractual obligations during the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

Item 3.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk

There has been no material change in our exposure to market risk during the three months ended September 30, 2019. Please refer to "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk" contained in Part II, Item 7A of our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 for a discussion of our exposure to market risk.

Item 4.  Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We have established disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information relating to us is made known to the officers who certify our financial reports and the Board.

Based on their evaluation as of September 30, 2019, our principal executive and principal financial and accounting officers have concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were effective as of September 30, 2019 to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported, within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms and that information required to be disclosed by us in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

For the quarter ended September 30, 2019, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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PART II – OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1.  Legal Proceedings

We are not currently a party to any pending legal proceedings that we believe will have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition. We may, however, be subject to various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business from time to time.

Item 1A.  Risk Factors

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2019. These factors could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and capital position, and could cause our actual results to differ materially from our historical results or the results contemplated by any forward-looking statements contained in this report.  

We are subject to many risks that may harm our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. This discussion highlights some of the risks that might adversely affect our future operating results in material ways. We believe these are the risks and uncertainties that are the most important ones we face. We cannot be certain that we will successfully address these risks, and if we are unable to address them, our business may not grow, our stock price may suffer and you could lose the value of your investment in our company. Other risks and uncertainties that we do not currently recognize as material risks, or that are similar to risks faced by other companies in our industry, may also impair our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. The risks discussed below include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from what is in these forward-looking statements.

Risks Related to Our Business

We have no history of generating meaningful product revenue, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability.

We have a limited operating history upon which investors may rely in evaluating our business and prospects. We have generated limited revenues to date, and as of September 30, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $254 million. Our ability to generate revenues and achieve profitability will depend on our ability to execute our business plan, complete the development and approval of our technology, incorporate the technology into products that customers wish to buy, and if necessary, secure additional financing. There can be no assurance that our technology will be adopted widely, that we will ever earn revenues sufficient to support our operations, or that we will ever be profitable. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that we will be able to raise capital as and when we need it to continue our operations. If we are unable to raise sufficient additional capital, we may be required to delay, reduce or severely curtail our research and development or other operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, long-term prospects and ability to continue as a viable business. If we are unable to generate revenues of significant scale to cover our costs of doing business, our losses will continue and we may not achieve profitability, which could negatively impact the value of your investment in our securities.

We will need additional financing to achieve our long-term business plans, and there is no guarantee that it will be available on acceptable terms, or at all.

We do not have sufficient funds to fully implement our long-term business plans. It is likely that we will need to raise additional capital through new financings, even if we begin to generate meaningful commercial revenue. For example, new product development for business partners may require considerable expense in advance of substantial revenue for such products. Such financings could include equity financing, which may be dilutive to stockholders, or debt financing, which could restrict our ability to borrow from other sources. In addition, such securities may contain rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of current stockholders. As a result of economic conditions, general global economic uncertainty, political change, and other factors, we do not know whether additional capital will be available when needed, or that, if available, we will be able to obtain additional capital on reasonable terms. If we are unable to raise additional capital due to the volatile global financial markets, general economic uncertainty or other factors, we may be required to curtail development of our technology or reduce operations as a result, or to sell or dispose of assets. Any inability to raise adequate funds on commercially reasonable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, including the possibility that a lack of funds could cause our business to fail and liquidate with little or no return to investors.

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We may not be able to develop all the features we seek to include in our technology.

We have developed working prototypes of commercial products that utilize our technology. Additional features and performance specifications we seek to include in our technology have not yet been developed. For example, some customer applications may require specific combinations of cost, footprint, efficiencies and capabilities at various frequencies, charging power levels and distances. We believe our research and development efforts will yield additional functionality and capabilities over time. However, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in achieving all the features we are targeting and our inability to do so may limit the appeal of our technology to consumers.

We may be unable to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of the full capability of our technology.

We have developed working prototypes of products using our technology at differing power levels and charging distances, but additional research and development is required to realize the potential of our technology for applications at increasing power levels and distances that can be successfully integrated into commercial products. Research and development of new technologies is, by its nature, unpredictable.  We could encounter unanticipated technical problems, the inability to identify products utilizing our technology that will be in demand with customers, getting our technology designed into those products, designing new products for manufacturability, regulatory hurdles and achieving acceptable price points for final products. Although we intend to undertake development efforts with commercially reasonable diligence, there can be no assurance that our available resources will be sufficient to enable us to develop our technology to the extent needed to create future revenues to sustain our operations.

Our technology must satisfy customer expectations and be suitable for them to use in consumer applications. Any delays in developing our technology that arise from factors of this sort would aggravate our exposure to the risk of having inadequate capital to fund the research and development needed to complete development of these products. Technical problems leading to delays would cause us to incur additional expenses that would increase our operating losses. If we experience significant delays in developing our technology and products based on it for use in potential commercial applications, particularly after incurring significant expenditures, our business may fail, and you could lose the value of your investment in our company. If we fail to develop practical and economical commercial products based on our technology, our business may fail and you could lose the value of your investment in our stock.

It is difficult and costly to protect our intellectual property and our proprietary technologies, and we may not be able to ensure their protection.

Our success depends significantly on our ability to obtain, maintain and protect our proprietary rights to the technologies used in products incorporating our technologies. Patents and other proprietary rights provide uncertain protections, and we may be unable to protect our intellectual property. For example, we may be unsuccessful in defending our patents and other proprietary rights against third party challenges. If we do not have the resources to defend our intellectual property, the value of our intellectual property and our licensed technology will decline, In addition, some companies that integrate our technology into their products may acquire rights in the technology that limit our business or increase our costs.  If we are not successful in protecting our intellectual property effectively, our financial results may be adversely affected and the price of our common stock could decline.

We depend upon a combination of patent, trade secrets, copyright and trademark laws to protect our intellectual property and technology.

We rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets, copyright and trademark laws, nondisclosure agreements and other contractual provisions and technical security measures to protect our intellectual property rights. These measures may not be adequate to safeguard our technology. If they do not protect our rights adequately, third parties could use our technology, and our ability to compete in the market would be reduced. Although we are attempting to obtain patent coverage for our technology where available and where we believe appropriate, there are aspects of the technology for which patent coverage may never be sought or received. We may not possess the resources to or may not choose to pursue patent protection outside the United States or any or every country other than the United States where we may eventually decide to sell our future products. Our ability to prevent others from making or selling duplicate or similar technologies will be impaired in those countries in which we would have no patent protection. Although we have patent applications on file in the United States and elsewhere, the patents might not issue, might issue only with limited coverage, or might issue and be subsequently successfully challenged by others and held invalid or unenforceable.   

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Similarly, even if patents are issued based on our applications or future applications, any issued patents may not provide us with any competitive advantages. Competitors may be able to design around our patents or develop products that provide outcomes comparable or superior to ours. Our patents may be held invalid or unenforceable as a result of legal challenges or claims of prior art by third parties, and others may challenge the inventorship or ownership of our patents and pending patent applications. In addition, if we secure protection in countries outside the United States, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. In the event a competitor infringes upon our patent or other intellectual property rights, enforcing those rights may be difficult and time consuming. Even if successful, litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights or to defend our patents against challenge could be expensive and time consuming and could divert our management’s attention. We may not have sufficient resources to enforce our intellectual property rights or to defend our patents against a challenge.

Our strategy is to deploy our technology into the market by licensing patent and other proprietary rights to third parties and customers. Disputes with our licensees may arise regarding the scope and content of these licenses. Further, our ability to expand into additional fields with our technologies may be restricted by existing licenses or licenses we may grant to third parties in the future.

The policies we use to protect our trade secrets might not be effective in preventing misappropriation of our trade secrets by others. In addition, confidentiality agreements executed by our employees, consultants and advisors might not be enforceable or might not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets or other proprietary information in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. Litigating a trade secret claim is expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge methods and know-how. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, we may be unable to prevent competitors from using our own inventions and intellectual property to compete against us, and our business may be harmed.   

Domestic and international regulators may deny approval for our technology, and future legislative or regulatory changes may impair our business.

Our charging technology involves power transmission using radio frequency (RF) energy, which is subject to regulation by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States and by comparable regulatory agencies worldwide. It may also be subject to regulation by other agencies. Regulatory concerns include whether human exposure to radio frequency emissions are below specified thresholds. Higher levels of exposure require separate approval.  For example, transmitting more power over a certain distance or transmitting power over a greater distance may require separate regulatory approvals. In addition, we design our technology to operate in a RF band that is also used for Wi-Fi routers and other wireless consumer electronics, and we also design it to operate at different frequencies as demanded for some customer applications. Applications at different frequencies may require separate regulatory approvals.  Efforts to obtain regulatory approval for devices using our technology is costly and time consuming, and there can be no assurance that requisite regulatory approvals will be forthcoming. If approvals are not obtained in a timely and cost-efficient manner, our business and operating results could be materially adversely affected. In addition, legal or regulatory developments could impose additional restrictions or costs on us that could require us to redesign our technology or future products, or that are difficult or impracticable to comply with, all of which would adversely affect our revenues and financial results.

We depend upon our strategic relationship with Dialog Semiconductor, a provider of electronics products, and there can be no assurance that we will achieve the expected benefits of this relationship.

We have entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Dialog Semiconductor, a provider of electronics products, pursuant to which we licensed our WattUp technology to Dialog and it became the exclusive provider of our technology. We intend to leverage Dialog’s sales and distribution channels and its operational capabilities to accelerate market adoption of our technology, while we focus our resources on research and development of our technology. There can be no assurance that Dialog will promote our technology successfully, or that it will be successful in producing and distributing related products to our customers’ specifications. Dialog may have other priorities or may encounter difficulties in its own business that interfere with the success of our relationship. If this strategic relationship does not work as we intend, then we may be required to seek an arrangement with another strategic partner, or to develop internal capabilities, which will require a commitment of management time and our financial resources to identify a replacement strategic partner, or to develop our own production and distribution capabilities. As a result, we may be unable without undue expense to replace this agreement with one or more new strategic relationships to promote and provide our technology which could increase our costs and delay revenues.

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Terms of one of our development and license agreements could limit our ability to license our technology in specific markets.

The terms of our development and license agreement with a tier-one consumer electronics company limit our ability to do business in some industry verticals, which could cause some potential customers not to choose our technology for use in their products, which could have a negative impact on our revenue opportunities and financial results.

Expanding our business operations as we intend will impose new demands on our financial, technical, operational and management resources.

To date we have operated primarily in the research and development phase of our business. If we are successful, we will need to expand our business operations, which will impose new demands on our financial, technical, operational and management resources. If we do not upgrade our technical, administrative, operating and financial control systems, or if unexpected expansion difficulties arise, including issues relating to our research and development activities, then retention of experienced scientists, managers and engineers could become more challenging having a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.  

If products incorporating our technology are launched commercially but do not achieve widespread market acceptance, we will not be able to generate the revenue necessary to support our business.

Market acceptance of a RF-based charging system as a preferred method for charging electronic devices will be crucial to our success. The following factors, among others, may affect the level of market acceptance of products in our industry:

If we are unable to achieve or maintain market acceptance of our technology, and if related products do not win widespread market acceptance, our business will be significantly harmed.

If products incorporating our technology are launched commercially, we may experience seasonality or other unevenness in our financial results in consumer markets or a long and variable sales cycle in enterprise markets.

Our strategy depends on our customers developing successful commercial products using our technology and selling them into the consumer, enterprise and commercial markets. We need to understand procurement and buying cycles to be successful in licensing our technology. We anticipate it is possible that demand for our technology may vary in different segments of the consumer electronics market, such as hearing aids, wearables, toys, watches, accessories, laptops, tablet, mobile phones and gaming systems. Such consumer markets are often seasonal, with peaks in and around the December holiday season and the August-September back-to-school season. Enterprises and commercial customers may have annual or other budgeting and buying cycles that could affect us, and, particularly if we are designated as a capital improvement project, we may have a long or unpredictable sales cycle.

Future products based on our technology may require the user to purchase additional products to use with existing devices. To the extent these additional purchases are inconvenient, the adoption of our technology under development or other future products could be slowed, which would harm our business.

For rechargeable devices that utilize our receiver technology, the technology may be embedded in a sleeve, case or other enclosure. For example, products such as remote controls or toys equipped with replaceable AA size or other batteries would need to be outfitted with enhanced batteries and other hardware enabling the devices to be rechargeable by our system. In each case, an end user would be required to retrofit the device with a receiver and may be required to upgrade the battery technology used with the device (unless, for example, compatible battery technology and a receiver are built into the device). These additional steps and expenses may offset the convenience for users and discourage customers from licensing our technology. Such factors may inhibit adoption of our technology, which could harm our business. We have not developed an enhanced battery for use in devices with our technology, and our ability to enable use of our technology with devices that require an enhanced battery will depend on our ability to develop a commercial version of such a battery that could be manufactured at a reasonable cost. If a commercially practicable enhanced battery of this nature is not developed, our business could be harmed, and we may need to change our strategy and target markets.

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Laboratory conditions differ from field conditions, which could reduce the effectiveness of our technology under development or other future products. Failures to move from laboratory to the field effectively would harm our business.

When used in the field, our technology may not perform as expected based on performance under controlled laboratory conditions. For example, in the case of distance charging, a laboratory configuration of transmission obstructions will be arranged for testing, but in the field receivers may be obstructed in many different and unpredictable ways. These conditions may significantly diminish the power received at the receiver or the effective range of the transmitter. The failure of products using our technology to meet the expectations of users in the field could harm our business.

Safety concerns and legal action by private parties may affect our business.

We believe that our technology is safe. However, it is possible that we could discover safety issues with our technology or that some people may be concerned with RF-based charging in a manner that has occurred with some other wireless technologies as they were put into residential and commercial use, such as the safety concerns that were raised by some regarding the use of cellular telephones and other devices to transmit data wirelessly in close proximity to the human body. In addition, while we believe our technology is safe, users of our technology under development or other future products who suffer medical ailments may blame the use of products incorporating our technology, as occurred with a small number of users of cellular telephones. A discovery of safety issues relating to our technology could have a material adverse effect on our business and any legal action against us claiming our technology caused harm could be expensive, divert management and adversely affect us or cause our business to fail, whether or not such legal actions were ultimately successful.  

We are no longer an “emerging growth company,” so we are no longer exempt from various reporting requirements as we were in the past.

In prior years we were classified as an “emerging growth company” and were exempt from various public company reporting requirements as a result.  We no longer have that status and accordingly will make these disclosures for the first time this year.  For example, we will now be required to provide auditor attestation of our internal control over financial reporting beginning with our fiscal year ending December 31, 2019, have greater disclosure obligations about executive compensation, and will no longer be exempt from the requirement to hold a nonbinding shareholder advisory vote on our executive compensation. It may be more difficult than we anticipate meeting such disclosure and other requirements for the first time and we expect to incur more expense and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with these requirements.

If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy of our financial reports.

As a public company, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal controls. Although our management has determined that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of September 30, 2019, we cannot assure you that we will not identify a material weakness in our internal control in the future.

If we experience a material weakness in our internal controls, we may fail to detect errors in our financial accounting, which may require a financial restatement or otherwise harm our operating results, cause us to fail to meet our SEC reporting obligations or Nasdaq listing requirements, adversely affect our reputation, cause our stock price to decline or result in inaccurate financial reporting or material misstatements in our annual or interim financial statements. Further, if there are material weaknesses or failures in our ability to meet any of the requirements related to the maintenance and reporting of our internal controls, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and that could cause the price of our common stock to decline. We could become subject to investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional management attention and which could adversely affect our business.

In addition, our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and fraud. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.

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Our industry is subject to intense competition and rapid technological change, which may result in technology that is superior to ours. If we do not keep pace with changes in the marketplace and the direction of technological innovation and customer demands, our technology and products may become less useful or obsolete and our operating results will suffer.

The consumer electronics industry in general, and the charging segments in particular, are subject to intense competition and rapidly evolving technologies. Because products incorporating our technology are expected to have long development cycles, we must anticipate changes in the marketplace and the direction of technological innovation and customer demands. To compete successfully, we will need to demonstrate the advantages of our products and technologies over established alternatives, and other emerging methods of power delivery. Traditional wall plug-in recharging remains an inexpensive alternative to our technology. Directly competing technologies such as inductive charging, magnetic resonance charging, conductive charging, ultrasound and other yet unidentified solutions may have greater consumer acceptance than the technology we have developed. Furthermore, some competitors may have greater resources than we have and may be better established in the market than we are. We cannot be certain which other companies may have already decided to or may in the future choose to enter our markets. For example, consumer electronics products companies may invest substantial resources in wireless power or other recharging technologies and may decide to enter our target markets. Successful developments of competitors that result in new approaches for recharging could reduce the attractiveness of our products and technologies or render them obsolete.

Our future success will depend in large part on our ability to establish and maintain a competitive position in current and future technologies. Rapid technological development may render our technology or future products based on our technology obsolete. Many of our competitors have more corporate, financial, operational, sales and marketing resources than we have, as well as more experience in research and development. We cannot assure you that our competitors will not develop or market technologies that are more effective or commercially attractive than our products or that would render our technologies and products obsolete. We may not have or the financial resources, technical expertise, marketing, distribution or support capabilities to compete successfully in the future. Our success will depend in large part on our ability to maintain a competitive position with our technologies.

Our competitive position also depends on our ability to:

If our technology does not compete well based on these or other factors, our business could be harmed.

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We may be subject to patent infringement or other intellectual property lawsuits that could be costly to defend.

Because our industry is characterized by competing intellectual property, we may become involved in litigation based on claims that we have violated the intellectual property rights of others. Determining whether a product infringes a patent involves complex legal and factual issues, and the outcome of patent litigation actions is often uncertain. No assurance can be given that third party patents containing claims covering our products, parts of our products, technology or methods do not exist, have not been filed, or could not be filed or issued. Because of the number of patents issued and patent applications filed in our technical areas or fields (including some pertaining specifically to wireless charging technologies), our competitors or other third parties may assert that our products and technology and the methods we employ in the use of our products and technology are covered by United States or foreign patents held by them. In addition, because patent applications can take many years to issue and because publication schedules for pending applications vary by jurisdiction, there may be applications now pending which may result in issued patents that our technology under development or other future products would infringe. Also, because the claims of published patent applications can change between publication and patent grant, there may be published patent applications that may ultimately issue with claims that we infringe. There could also be existing patents that one or more of our technologies, products or parts may infringe and of which we are unaware. As the number of competitors in the market for wire-free power and alternative recharging solutions increases, and as the number of patents issued in this area grows, the possibility of patent infringement claims against us increases. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations.

If we become subject to a patent infringement or other intellectual property lawsuit and if the relevant patents or other intellectual property were upheld as valid and enforceable and we were found to infringe or violate the terms of a license to which we are a party, we could be prevented from selling any infringing products of ours unless we could obtain a license or were able to redesign the product to avoid infringement. If we were unable to obtain a license or successfully redesign, we might be prevented from selling our technology under development or other future products. If there is a determination that we have infringed the intellectual property rights of a competitor or other person, we may be required to pay damages, pay a settlement, or pay ongoing royalties, or be enjoined. In these circumstances, we may be unable to sell our products or license our technology at competitive prices or at all, and our business and operating results could be harmed.

We could become subject to product liability claims, product recalls, and warranty claims that could be expensive, divert management’s attention and harm our business.

Our business exposes us to potential liability risks that are inherent in the marketing and sale of products used by consumers. We may be held liable if our technology causes injury or death or is found otherwise unsuitable. While we believe our technology is safe, users could allege or possibly prove defects (some of which could be alleged or proved to cause harm to users or others) because we design our technology to perform complex functions involving RF energy, possibly in close proximity to users. A product liability claim, regardless of its merit or eventual outcome, could result in significant legal defense costs. The coverage limits of our insurance policies we may choose to purchase to cover related risks may not be adequate to cover future claims. If sales of products incorporating our technology increase or we suffer future product liability claims, we may be unable to maintain product liability insurance in the future at satisfactory rates or with adequate amounts. A product liability claim, any product recalls or excessive warranty claims, whether arising from defects in design or manufacture or otherwise, could negatively affect our sales or require a change in the design or manufacturing process, any of which could harm our reputation and business, harm our relationship with licensors of our products, result in a decline in revenue and harm our business.  

In addition, if a product that we or a strategic partner design is defective, whether due to design or manufacturing defects, improper use of the product or other reasons, we or our strategic partner may be required to notify regulatory authorities and/or to recall the product. A required notification to a regulatory authority or recall could result in an investigation by regulatory authorities of products incorporating our technology, which could in turn result in required recalls, restrictions on the sale of such products or other penalties. The adverse publicity resulting from any of these actions could adversely affect the perception of our customers and potential customers. These investigations or recalls, especially if accompanied by unfavorable publicity, could result in our incurring substantial costs, losing revenues and damaging our reputation, each of which would harm our business.

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We are subject to risks associated with our utilization of consultants.

To improve productivity and accelerate our development efforts while we build out our own engineering team, we may use experienced consultants to assist in selected development projects. We take steps to monitor and regulate the performance of these independent third parties. However, arrangements with third party service providers may make our operations vulnerable if these consultants fail to satisfy their obligations to us as a result of their performance, changes in their own operations, financial condition, or other matters outside of our control. Effective management of our consultants is important to our business and strategy. The failure of our consultants to perform as anticipated could result in substantial costs, divert management’s attention from other strategic activities, or create other operational or financial problems for us. Terminating or transitioning arrangements with key consultants could result in additional costs and a risk of operational delays, potential errors and possible control issues as a result of the termination or during the transition.

If we are not able to secure advantageous license agreements for our technology, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

We pursue the licensing of our technology as a primary means of revenue generation. Creating a licensing business relationship often takes a substantial effort, as we expect to have to convince the counterparty of the efficacy of our technology, meet design and manufacturing requirements, satisfy marketing and product needs, and comply with selection, review and contracting requirements. There can be no assurance that we will be able to gain access to potential licensing partners, or that they will ultimately decide to integrate our technology with their products. We may not be able to secure license agreements with customers on advantageous terms, and the timing and volume of revenue earned from license agreements will be outside of our control. If the license agreements we enter into do not prove to be advantageous to us, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

Our business is subject to data security risks, including security breaches.

We collect, process, store and transmit substantial amounts of information, including information about our customers. We take steps to protect the security and integrity of the information we collect, process, store or transmit, but there is no guarantee that inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure will not occur or that third parties will not gain unauthorized access to this information despite such efforts. Security breaches, computer malware, computer hacking attacks and other compromises of information security measures have become more prevalent in the business world and may occur on our systems or those of our vendors in the future. Large Internet companies and websites have from time to time disclosed sophisticated

and targeted attacks on portions of their websites, and an increasing number have reported such attacks resulting in breaches of their information security. We and our third-party vendors are at risk of suffering from similar attacks and breaches. Although we take steps to maintain confidential and proprietary information on our information systems, these measures and technology may not adequately prevent security breaches and we rely on our third-party vendors to take appropriate measures to protect the security and integrity of the information on those information systems. Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or to sabotage information systems change frequently and may not be known until launched against us, we may be unable to anticipate or prevent these attacks. In addition, a party who is able to illicitly obtain a customer’s identification and password credentials may be able to access the customer’s account and certain account data.

Any actual or suspected security breach or other compromise of our security measures or those of our third-party vendors, whether as a result of hacking efforts, denial-of-service attacks, viruses, malicious software, break-ins, phishing attacks, social engineering or otherwise, could harm our reputation and business, damage our brand and make it harder to retain existing customers or acquire new ones, require us to expend significant capital and other resources to address the breach, and result in a violation of applicable laws, regulations or other legal obligations. Our insurance policies may not be adequate to reimburse us for direct losses caused by any such security breach or indirect losses due to resulting customer attrition.

We rely on email and other messaging services to connect with our existing and potential customers. Our customers may be targeted by parties using fraudulent spoofing and phishing emails to misappropriate passwords, payment information or other personal information or to introduce viruses through Trojan horse programs or otherwise through our customers’ computers, smartphones, tablets or other devices. Despite our efforts to mitigate the effectiveness of such malicious email campaigns through product improvements, spoofing and phishing may damage our brand and increase our costs. Any of these events or circumstances could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

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We are highly dependent on key members of our executive management team. Our inability to retain these individuals could impede our business plan and growth strategies, which could have a negative impact on our business and the value of your investment.

Our ability to implement our business plan depends, to a critical extent, on the continued efforts and services of a very small number of key executives. If we lose the services of any of these persons, we could be required to expend significant time and money in the pursuit of replacements, which may result in a delay in the implementation of our business plan and plan of operations. If necessary, we can give no assurance that we could find satisfactory replacements for these individuals on terms that would not be unduly expensive or burdensome to us. We do not currently carry any key-person life insurance that would help us recoup our costs in the event of the death or disability of any of these executives.

Our success and growth depend on our ability to attract, integrate and retain high-level engineering talent.

Because of the highly specialized and complex nature of our business, our success depends on our ability to attract, hire, train, integrate and retain high-level engineering talent. Competition for such personnel is intense because we compete for talent against many large profitable companies and our inability to adequately staff our operations with highly qualified and well-trained engineers could render us less efficient and impede our ability to develop and deliver a commercial product. Such a competitive market could put upward pressure on labor costs for engineering talent. We may incur significant costs to attract and retain highly qualified talent, and we may lose new employees to our competitors or other technology companies before we realize the benefit of our investment in recruiting and training them. Volatility or lack of performance in our stock price may also affect our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

You might lose all of your investment.

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. As an investor, you might never recoup all, or even part of, your investment and you may never realize any return on your investment. You must be prepared to lose all your investment.

Our stock price is likely to continue to be volatile.

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated significantly since our initial public offering in 2014. Our common stock has experienced an intra-day trading high of $11.54 per share and a low of $1.93 per share on The Nasdaq Stock Market over the last 52 weeks, as of November 8, 2019. The price of our common stock is likely to continue to fluctuate significantly in response to many factors that are beyond our control, including:

We have not paid dividends in the past and have no immediate plans to pay dividends.

We plan to reinvest all of our earnings, to the extent we have earnings, in order to market our products and technology and to cover operating costs and to otherwise become and remain competitive. We do not plan to pay any cash dividends with respect to our securities in the foreseeable future. We cannot assure you that we would, at any time, generate sufficient surplus cash that would be available for distribution to the holders of our common stock as a dividend.

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Concentration of ownership among our existing executive officers, directors and significant stockholders may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.

All decisions with respect to the management of our company are made by our board of directors and our officers, who beneficially own approximately 6.4% of our common stock collectively as of November 1, 2019. In addition, our greater than 5% stockholders such as Dialog Semiconductor plc, Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn, and DvineWave Holdings LLC beneficially owned approximately 9.8%, 5.7%, and 5.1%, respectively, of our common stock as of November 1, 2019. As a result, these stockholders will be able to exercise a significant level of control over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions. This control could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company or changes in management and will make the approval of certain transactions difficult or impossible without the support of these stockholders.

We expect to continue to incur significant costs as a result of being a public reporting company and our management will be required to devote substantial time to meet our compliance obligations.

As a public reporting company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. We are subject to reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and rules subsequently implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission that require us to establish and maintain effective disclosure controls and financial controls, as well as some specific corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel are expected to devote a substantial amount of time to compliance initiatives associated with our public reporting company status.  

We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.

Our stock price has fluctuated in the past, most recently following our announcement of FCC approval of our Mid-Field transmitter technology, and it may be volatile in the future. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their securities have been subject to securities class action litigation, and we may be the target of litigation of this sort in the future. Securities litigation is costly and can divert management attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business and the value of your investment in our company.

An active trading market for our common stock may not be maintained.

Our stock is currently traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market, but we can provide no assurance that we will be able to maintain an active trading market on The Nasdaq Stock Market or any other exchange in the future. If an active market for our common stock is not maintained, it may be difficult for our stockholders to sell or purchase shares. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.  

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. There can be no assurance that analysts will continue to cover us or provide favorable coverage. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or change their opinion of our stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Our ability to use net operating loss carry forwards to reduce future tax payments may be limited if our taxable income does not reach sufficient levels.

As of December 31, 2018, we had a Federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforward of approximately $130,590,000. Under the U.S. Tax Code, NOLs prior to 2019 can generally be carried forward to offset future taxable income for a period of 20 years. Our ability to use our NOLs that are prior to 2018 during this period will be dependent on our ability to generate taxable income, and the NOLs could expire before we generate sufficient taxable income to take advantage of the NOLs. As of December 31, 2018, based on our history of operating losses it is possible that a portion of our NOLs will not be fully realizable.

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Our charter documents and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover that stockholders consider favorable.

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and applicable Delaware law, may delay or discourage transactions involving an actual or potential change in control or change in our management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares, or transactions that our stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests. The provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws:

In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may limit our ability to engage in any business combination with a person who beneficially owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock unless certain conditions are satisfied. This restriction lasts for a period of three years following the share acquisition. These provisions may have the effect of entrenching our management team and may deprive you of the opportunity to sell your shares to potential acquirers at a premium over prevailing prices. This potential inability to obtain a control premium could reduce the price of our common stock.

Item 2.  Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

Item 3.  Defaults Upon Senior Securities

Not applicable.

Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Item 5.  Other Information

Not applicable.

Item 6.  Exhibits

The exhibits required to be filed as a part of this report are listed in the Exhibit Index.  

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EXHIBIT INDEX

+This certification shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liability of that Section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended or the Exchange Act.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

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