SIGMA ADDITIVE SOLUTIONS, INC. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

or

Commission file number: 001-38015

SIGMA LABS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

3900 Paseo del Sol

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507

(Address of principal executive offices)

(505) 438-2576

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code):

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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒.

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 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. (Check one):

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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☐ No ☒

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

Based on the closing price of the registrant’s common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Capital Market, the aggregate market value of the Registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2021 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was approximately $40,750,250. Shares of common stock held by directors and executive officers and any ten percent or greater stockholders and their respective affiliates have been excluded from this calculation, because such stockholders may be deemed to be “affiliates” of the registrant. This is not necessarily determinative of affiliate status for other purposes. The number of outstanding shares of the registrant’s common stock as of March 23, 2022 was 10,498,802.

Documents incorporated by reference: None

SIGMA LABS, INC.

FORM 10-K — FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DISCLOSURE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Report, including any documents which may be incorporated by reference into 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. All statements other than statements of historical fact are “Forward-Looking Statements” for purposes of these provisions, including, but not limited to, statements regarding our expectations about development and commercialization of our technology, any projections of revenues or statements regarding our anticipated revenues or other financial items, any statements of the plans and objectives of management for future operations, any statements concerning proposed new products or services, any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. All Forward-Looking Statements included in this document are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available to us as of such date. We assume no obligation to update any Forward-Looking Statement. In some cases, Forward-Looking Statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “believes,” “estimates,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the Forward-Looking Statements contained herein are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations or any of the Forward-Looking Statements will prove to be correct, and actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in the Forward-Looking Statements. Future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any Forward-Looking Statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, including any other factors referred to in our press releases and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). All subsequent Forward-Looking Statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Certain factors that may have a direct bearing on our operating results are described under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report.

Introductory Comment

Throughout this report, unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references to the “Company,” “Sigma,” “Sigma Labs,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Sigma Labs, Inc. On February 27, 2020, we effected a one-for-ten reverse stock split of the outstanding shares of our common stock and a corresponding decrease in the number of shares of our common stock that we are authorized to issue. All common stock and per share information (other than par value) contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been adjusted to reflect the foregoing reverse stock split.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

The Company:

Sigma is a software company that was founded by scientist-engineers composed of physicists and metallurgists then working at Los Alamos National Labs for the entrepreneurial purpose of developing sophisticated metallurgical products. Since 2016, the Company’s focus has been on solving the complex and challenging problem of how to best assure the high quality of metal parts manufactured in laser powder bed additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, machines. Sigma and many others believe that until this problem was solved, 3D manufacturing of metal parts would not be scalable enough to grow past prototyping and mature into a major industry enjoying high quality yields and cost-efficient production runs. The solution that Sigma developed to solve this problem is In-Process-Quality-Assurance (“IPQA®”) software known as PrintRite3D®.

In 2018, the Sigma team enhanced and added user features to its PrintRite3D® technology. In 2019, the Company began to productize and test PrintRite3D® on various 3D metal printers at customers’ sites through the Company’s Rapid Test and Evaluation (“RTE”) program. Upon receiving favorable responses from the various RTEs, in 2020 the Company began to aggressively market PrintRite3D®. However, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic caused a reduction, and in some cases a freeze, in capital spending within the Company’s targeted industries and had what the Company believes to be a short-term negative impact on the Company’s expected timing of generating meaningful revenue. Despite the pandemic, the Company moved forward with its plan to market PrintRite3D® to the following industry segments: (1) global manufacturing companies with Additive Manufacturing (“AM”) initiatives; (2) 3D printer Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”) for purchases of licenses and generating fees and royalties thereafter; (3) additive manufacturing software venders for alliances and licenses for co-sales; and (4) research foundations, standards organizations and universities, all in service of Sigma’s potential for setting the industry standard of measurement by providing data and analytics as a metrics-based quality standard of metal quality for all 3D laser powder bed manufactured parts, notwithstanding the design, metal, or brand of equipment upon which parts are manufactured.

Additive Metal Manufacturing and the role and need for Sigma’s technology:

The use of 3D printing technology dates back to the 1980s for polymer applications, but the ability to print functional parts from metal alloys has spurred significant interest and investment into AM over recent years. AM is now reshaping the product design process, entire supply chains, and the vast landscape of manufacturing. Engineers are embracing new design freedoms to realize valuable product performance improvements and cost efficiencies with lighter weight, better thermal management capability, better fluid mixing, customization, and/or the ability to make different structures and textures that yield better part integration.

We believe that there are several significant hurdles to be overcome for broader adoption of additive technologies for the production of industrial metal parts. Among these are lack of quality, consistency, and industry standards along with cost. The Company believes PrintRite3D® has the potential to contribute to widespread industrialization of 3D metal printing. Additionally, the disruption in complex and rigid supply chains caused by COVID-19 exposed the country’s vulnerability to shortages in times of crisis. In response, manufacturers are devising strategies to be able to be more agile, increase their ability to manufacture mission critical parts on demand, with more customization, and closer to where the end part will be needed.

PrintRite3D® Technology and Product Family

PrintRite3D® is an integrated hardware and software edge computing platform, or in-process quality assurance system that combines inspection, feedback, data collection and critical analysis. It is a 3D printer platform-independent solution that can be installed as a retrofit to an existing 3D printer or requested as a factory option from select 3D printer OEMs. PrintRite3D® provides a high-fidelity, accurate system that can confidently scale to multi-laser 3D metal printers. The PrintRite3D® system detects potential anomalies and incorporates machine learning in conjunction with developed metrics to map those metrics to the post-process data. This provides the ability to reduce post-production testing and costs, while creating a certification framework that serves the needs of end-users, printer manufacturers, and standards organizations.

PrintRite3D was initially developed to work with industrial 3D metal printers using the Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) process, which is the most widely used process for industrial metal applications. In 2020, we announced PrintRite3D for Direct Energy Deposition, or DED, for metal parts. PrintRite3D DED opens up another segment of the industrial metal market for Sigma to sell and distribute our technology. In 2021, the Company introduced PrintRite3D Selective Laser Sintering, or (SLS) for polymer materials. The polymer market is larger and more advanced than the metal market. There is an increasing need for quality and standards within the polymer market to support mission critical parts such as those being used in aerospace, space exploration, and defense. The Company’s entry into this market was customer driven by a supplier of critical equipment to the space exploration market. The Company believes that PrintRite3D’s ability to work across a different 3D printers, processes and materials gives it a competitive advantage and will help accelerate the adoption of 3D printing for industrial applications.

Distribution Methods

Sigma Labs employs a multi-channel distribution model for its IPQA products including a direct sales force, value added resellers (“VARs”) and 3D printer Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”). In 2021, the majority of the Company’s revenue was generated by direct sales in North America and Europe. VARs are currently used in Japan and India. The Company plans to extend its VAR channel outside of North America and Europe. Since 2020, the Company has moved aggressively to establish and extend relationships with 3D printer OEMs and began to generate revenue from this channel. The revenue generated by the OEMs in 2021 did not meet the Company’s projections due to several reasons, including but not limited to: (1) the ramp up time for the OEM’s sales force, (2) the ongoing impact of COVID on our European based OEM partners, and (3) the lack of OEM sales into select vertical markets (e.g., aerospace and space exploration) that require that parts conform to specific quality standards. We expect that the percentage of the Company’s revenue coming from OEMs will increase in 2022 and beyond.

The Company markets its products through webinars, email and social media campaigns, and participation, both in person and virtually, in industry events and tradeshows. In addition, the Company collaborates with international standards organizations in the establishment of standards for AM.

Sources and Availability of Parts and Materials

We have important relationships with several suppliers for critical components of our PrintRite3D® systems, in particular optics and data acquisition components, and development of our user interface. To-date, we have not experienced shortages of components, however, in some cases COVID-19 has resulted in increased lead times and cost for certain parts. We manage the risk of component shortages by sourcing backup suppliers, and in the case of our user interface, hiring engineers in-house to support the ongoing development and maintenance.

Dependence on a Few Major Customers and Partners

The Company has established distribution agreements with two international 3D printer OEMs. We expected each to contribute a significant percentage of our 2021 revenue, however due to the previously discussed reasons, revenue in the first year of the relationship did not meet either company’s expectations. The Company supports the OEMs with joint marketing programs, field sales and technical support personnel to assist in the sale of its technology. It is the Company’s intent to continue to build the OEM channel through distribution relationships with other 3D printer OEMs in the future.

Competition

PrintRite3D® is a third-party, agnostic In-Process Quality Assurance system designed to provide a consistent, standards-based measurement and prediction of quality across a heterogeneous collection of 3D printers. Competition has been primarily from the printer OEMs who offer their own monitoring system, usually as a separately priced option to its printers. Sigma believes that the future of AM will consist of factories with various generations of printers from various manufacturers. The primary reasons that global manufacturers will have machines from various vendors is that certain machines and technologies are better suited for different applications than others. Additionally, as the industry progresses, innovation will accelerate, and new leaders will emerge. Finally, many believe that there will be a consolidation of 3D metal manufacturers and the number of vendors will decrease from approximately 50 to a much small number over the next decade. Although standards for monitoring are slowly being set by various international standards organizations, it is highly unlikely that printer OEMs will modify their monitoring systems to work with other OEMs machines. Therefore, we believe that the only way to produce parts with a consistent level of quality is with a third-party, agnostic, standards based IPQA system, such as PrintRite3D®. Over the past year or so, new competitors have entered the market with monitoring technology that follows Sigma’s lead as a 3rd party agnostic system capable of working across 3D printer machine types. These systems use camera-based technology and machine learning to identify gross defects during the printing process. These solutions are useful; however, they fall short of determining root cause, and unlike PrintRite3D, are not capable of instructing the printer, through closed-loop control, to vary certain machine variables such as laser power to avoid creating the defects.

Intellectual Property

We regard our patents, trademarks, domain names, trade secrets, know-how, and other intellectual property as critical to our success. We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, trade secret, other intellectual property law, confidentiality procedures, and contractual provisions with employees, partners, and others to protect the technology and other proprietary rights, information and know-how that comprise the core of our business. The chart below summarizes our issued patents. We are currently prosecuting foreign and U.S. patent applications related to our IPQA® technology and rapid qualification of additive manufacturing for metal parts. There is no guarantee that the patent applications we have submitted will issue or that if issued, they will offer adequate protection under applicable law.

The Company believes that its patented PrintRite3D® technology is a significant barrier to entry to competitors attempting to replicate the Company’s strategy.

Government Regulation

Any contracts that we enter into with governmental agencies will be subject to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations. These regulations are aimed at preventing the inadvertent disclosure of munitions related data or the export of technical knowledge to foreign countries. The work we do with governmental units may also be subject to laws respecting the confidentiality of any classified or national security information we receive during the course of our activities under any government contract.

Additionally, with respect to our work with government agencies, our sales are driven by pricing based on costs incurred to produce products or perform services under contracts with the U.S. government. U.S. government contracts generally are subject to Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”), agency-specific regulations that implement or supplement FAR, such as the DoD’s Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations and other applicable laws and regulations. These regulations impose a broad range of requirements, many of which are unique to government contracting, including various procurement, import and export, security, contract pricing and cost, contract termination and adjustment, and audit requirements. A contractor’s failure to comply with these regulations and requirements could result in reductions of the value of contracts, contract modifications or termination, and the assessment of penalties and fines and could lead to suspension or debarment from government contracting or subcontracting for a period of time. In addition, government contractors are also subject to routine audits and investigations by U.S. government agencies such as the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”). These agencies review a contractor’s performance, cost structure, and compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards. The DCAA also reviews the adequacy of, and a contractor’s compliance with, its internal control systems and policies, including the contractor’s purchasing, property, estimating, compensation, and information systems.

As of March 23, 2022, we have several active contracts with government agencies. During fiscal year 2021, we entered into two contracts with government agencies, and we plan to increase this activity in the future.

Human Capital

As of December 31, 2021, we had 33 full-time employees. We continue to search for additional, qualified personnel, to support our expanding operations in the area of IPQA® for AM. We believe that our future success depends, in part, upon our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled employees and management and technical personnel. Employee engagement is important to us and we focus on continuously enhancing our corporate culture.

Compensation and Benefits

We strive to provide robust and competitive compensation and benefits to our employees. Our benefit programs include bonuses, stock-based compensation awards, a 401(k) plan with employer matching, healthcare and insurance benefits, flexible paid time off and other employee assistance programs.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The health and wellness of our employees is also critical to our success. In an effort to keep our employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have implemented a number of health-related measures including, but not limited to, protocols governing the use of face-masks while on company property, temperature taking protocols, a flexible work-from-home policy, cleaning procedures at our offices, and social-distancing protocols, which measures we will continue to monitor.

Corporate Information

We incorporated as Messidor Limited in Nevada on December 23, 1985 and changed our name to Framewaves Inc. in 2001. On September 27, 2010, we changed our name from Framewaves Inc. to Sigma Labs, Inc.

Our principal executive offices are located at 3900 Paseo del Sol, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507, and our current telephone number at that address is (505) 438-2576. Our website address is www.sigmalabsinc.com. The Company’s annual reports, quarterly reports, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to such reports filed or furnished pursuant to section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and other information related to the Company, are available, free of charge, on that website as soon as we electronically file those documents with, or otherwise furnish them to, the SEC. The Company’s website and the information contained therein, or connected thereto, are not and are not intended to be incorporated into this report.

Recent Developments

On February 17, 2022, we announced that Jacob Brunsberg was appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. In this position, Mr. Brunsberg will have responsibility for product direction, strategic relationships, sales, marketing, and engineering. As President and Chief Operating Officer, he will report to Mark K. Ruport, Sigma’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Brunsberg will oversee several strategic initiatives designed to accelerate the growth and performance of the company, including the transition to a software only offering, initiating and implementing a comprehensive OEM integration program, building strategic partnerships, and implementing a new subscription-based pricing model as an option to our existing perpetual pricing model. Each of these key initiatives is integral to lowering the additive manufacturing (“AM”) industry’s technology adoption barriers and easing entry and expansion for manufacturers and OEM partners.

On January 26, 2022, we announced that together with Materialise, a leading provider of additive manufacturing (AM) software and services, we had developed a breakthrough technology to enhance the scalability of metal AM applications. The new platform combines the Materialise Control Platform and Sigma Labs’ PrintRite3D® sensor technology to allow users to identify and correct metal build issues in real-time. With added control over their unique processes, manufacturers can optimize metal AM processes for consistency and repeatability, key factors in scaling AM operations for serial production.

On January 25, 2022, we announced that our PrintRite3D® in-process quality assurance solution had been purchased by Auburn University, based in Auburn, Alabama. The PrintRite3D solution will be installed on the university’s EOS M290 machine and is the start of an academic and industrial collaboration between the university and Sigma Labs, and we will deploy the system under a commercial lease/purchase program that provides more flexible and acceptable terms for academic institutions and early adopters.

PrintRite3D will be implemented to support several projects at the Auburn University National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME) to utilize 3D printed (additively manufactured) components to improve commercial air and space travel. As reported by the Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, NCAME is funded by a $3 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The objective is to address issues related to the variability in additive manufacturing machines, as well as generate an understanding of how microscopic anomalies in the 3D-printed metals affect overall fatigue and fracture properties.

On January 20, 2022, we announced that our PrintRite3D® in-process quality assurance solution will be certified to work with Aconity3D’s line of 3D metal printers and available as a standard option via Aconity3D’s online configurator. Aconity3D will designate their printers as ‘PrintRite3D Ready™’. As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Aconity3D will sell, install and support PrintRite3D as an integrated solution to its customers.

Aconity3D is a machine manufacturer for laser-based 3D printing of metals, with a focus on the buildup of customer specific systems for Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), in which metal particles are fused layer upon layer by a laser. The Aconity System Framework allows full customization of each machine for customers’ specific applications. Aconity3D’s customers and partners include leading industrial, aviation and automotive companies, and world-renowned institutes and universities at the forefront of the additive manufacturing (AM) landscape.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.

Our business is subject to numerous risks. We caution you that the following important factors, among others, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in statements made by us or on our behalf in filings with the SEC, press releases or communications with investors and others. Any or all of our statements in this annual report and in any other public statements we make may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. The factors mentioned in the discussion below will be important in determining future results. Consequently, actual future results may vary materially from those anticipated in this annual report or our other public statements. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could harm our financial condition, results of operations, business and prospects. In such an event, the market price of our common stock could decline. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may have similar adverse effects on us.

Risks Related to Our Business

We are not currently profitable and may never become profitable.

We have incurred losses in every reporting period since we commenced business operations in 2010 and expect to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future. Our net loss applicable to common stockholders for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were $7,488,172 and $7,009,414, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, our accumulated deficit was $40,593,180. There is no assurance that any revenues we generate will be sufficient for us to become profitable or to maintain profitability. Our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 were $1,651,765 and $807,488, respectively, and our operating expenses for those periods were $9,571,185 and $5,914,299, respectively. Our current revenues are not sufficient to fund our operations. We cannot predict when, if ever, we might achieve profitability and we are not certain that we will be able to sustain profitability, if achieved. If we fail to achieve or maintain profitability, the market price of our securities is likely to be adversely affected.

We will require additional financing to continue our operations, and there is no assurance that we will be able to obtain such financing on acceptable terms, or at all.

As of December 31, 2021, we had cash of $11,447,047. We will need to raise additional financings to fund our operations, maintain compliance with the NASDAQ listing requirements and implement our business plan. There is no assurance as to the amount and availability of any required future financing or the terms thereof. Such financing, if in the form of equity, may be highly dilutive to our existing stockholders and may otherwise include onerous terms. If in the form of debt, such financing may include covenants and repayment obligations which may be difficult to meet and that could adversely affect our business operations. To the extent that funds are not available to us, we may be required to delay, limit or terminate our business operations and may lose our NASDAQ listing.

Our operating history makes evaluation of our business difficult.

We are continuing to develop our technologies and to implement our business plan. Our ability to implement a successful business plan remains unproven, and there is no assurance that we will ever generate sufficient revenues to sustain our business. Our operating history, together with the other risks discussed in this “Risk Factors” section, may make it difficult for you to evaluate our business in connection with making a decision about whether to invest in our securities.

We face the risks normally associated with a new business.

We face all of the risks inherent in a new business, including the expenses, difficulties, complications and delays frequently encountered in connection with conducting new operations and efforts to develop and commercialize technologies. These uncertainties include developing our technologies and our brand name, raising capital to meet our working capital requirements and developing a customer base, among others. If we are not effective in addressing these risks, we will not be able to operate profitably in the future, and we may not have adequate working capital to meet our obligations as they become due.

Our business may be adversely affected by a global economic downturn.

Any economic downturn generally could cause a drop in government spending and business investment, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, as a result of the current global economic and geopolitical situation, there may be a disruption or delay in performance by our third-party contractors and suppliers. If such third parties are unable to adequately satisfy their contractual commitments to us in a timely manner, our business could be adversely affected.

We could incur significant damages if we are unable to adequately discharge our contractual obligations.

Our failure to comply with contract requirements or to meet our clients’ performance expectations on a contract could materially and adversely affect our financial performance and our reputation. This, in turn, would impact our ability to compete for new clients and contracts. Our failure to meet contractual obligations could also result in substantial actual and consequential damages under the terms of such contracts. In addition, some of our contracts require us to indemnify clients for our failure to meet performance standards and/or contain liquidated damages provisions and financial penalties related to performance failures. Although we do have liability insurance, the policy limits may not be adequate to provide protection against all such potential liabilities.

Some of our clients may terminate our contracts prior to completion, which could result in revenue shortfalls and reduce profitability or cause losses on contracts.

Some of our contracts with clients contain initial or base periods of one or more years, as well as option periods typically covering more than one-half of the contract’s initial duration. However, such clients are under no obligation to exercise the option to extend the contract term. The profitability of some of our contracts could be adversely impacted if such options are not exercised and the contract term is not extended accordingly. Additionally, our contracts contain provisions permitting a client to terminate the contract on short notice, with or without cause. The unexpected termination of significant contracts could result in significant revenue shortfalls. If revenue shortfalls occur and are not offset by corresponding reductions in expenses, our business could be adversely affected. We cannot anticipate if, when or to what extent a client might terminate its contracts with us.

We may not be able to effectively control and manage our growth, which would negatively impact our operations.

We have operated our current line of business for approximately eleven years, and we expect to grow in the near future as our business develops and becomes further established. If our business grows as we anticipate, it will be necessary for us to manage our expansion in an orderly fashion. Any significant growth in our activities or in the market for our services will require extension of our managerial, operational, marketing and other resources. Future growth will also impose significant additional responsibilities upon the members of management to identify, recruit, maintain, integrate, and motivate new employees. Our failure to manage growth effectively may lead to operational inefficiencies that will have a negative effect on our profitability. Additionally, if our growth comes at the expense of providing quality service and generating reasonable profits, our ability to successfully bid for contracts and our profitability will be adversely affected. We cannot assure investors that we will be able to effectively manage any future growth we may experience.

Failure to obtain adequate insurance coverage could put us at risk for uninsured losses.

Some or all of our customers may require insurance as a requirement to conduct business with us. Although we currently have product liability insurance, we may be unable to obtain or maintain adequate liability insurance on acceptable terms, if at all, and there is a risk that our insurance will not provide adequate coverage against our potential losses. Additionally, there are certain types of losses that may not be insurable at a cost that we can afford, and insurance may not be available at any cost with respect to certain losses. Claims or losses in excess of any insurance coverage we may obtain, or the lack of insurance coverage, could put us at risk of loss for any uninsured loss, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

We are dependent on key personnel, and the loss of any of these individuals could harm our business.

We depend on key scientific and other personnel. The loss of any of these individuals could harm our business and significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives. In addition, our delivery of services will be labor-intensive: when we are awarded a contract, we may need to quickly hire project leaders and project management personnel. The additional staff may also create a concurrent demand for increased administrative personnel. The success of our business will require that we attract, develop, motivate and retain:

Innovative, experienced and technically proficient individuals are in great demand and are likely to remain a limited resource. We may be unable to continue to attract and retain desirable executive officers, senior managers, and technology professionals. Our inability to hire sufficient personnel on a timely basis or the loss of significant numbers of executive officers and senior managers could adversely affect our business.

We may be dependent on cash flow and payments from customers in order to meet our expense obligations.

A number of factors may cause our revenues, cash flow and operating results to vary from quarter to quarter, including the following:

Changes in the volume of activity and the number of contracts commenced, completed or terminated during any quarter may cause significant variations in our cash flow from operations because a significant portion of our expenses are fixed. Fixed expenses include, rent, payroll, insurance, employee benefits, taxes and other administrative costs and overhead. Moreover, we expect to incur significant operating expenses during the start-up and early stages of large contracts and typically do not receive corresponding payments in that same quarter.

We may make acquisitions in the future that we are unable to effectively manage given our limited resources.

We may choose to grow our business by acquiring other entities. We may be unable to manage businesses that we have acquired or to integrate them successfully without incurring substantial expenses, delays or other problems that could negatively impact our results of operations. Moreover, business combinations involve additional risks, including:

Also, client dissatisfaction or performance problems with an acquired firm could materially and adversely affect our reputation as a whole. Further, the acquired businesses may not achieve the revenues and earnings that we anticipated.

We may be unable to develop or commercialize new and rapidly evolving technologies.

Many of our activities involve developing products or processes that are based upon new, rapidly evolving technologies. The ability to commercialize or further develop these technologies could fail for a variety of reasons, both within and outside of our control.

We may be unable to protect our intellectual property rights.

Our success in part depends on the ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology. To do so, we will be required to prosecute patent applications and maintain patents, obtain new patents and pursue trade secret and other intellectual property protection. There can be no assurance that our program for protection of intellectual property and proprietary technology will be sufficient to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology from competitors. Our business is also subject to the risk that our issued patents will not provide us with significant competitive advantages if, for example, a competitor was to independently develop or obtain similar or superior technologies. In addition, our issued patents may be challenged or infringed upon by third parties. The enforcement of intellectual property rights is subject to considerable uncertainty and can be expensive and time-consuming. Patent reform laws and court decisions interpreting such laws, may create additional uncertainty around our ability to obtain and enforce patent protection. Any significant impairment of our intellectual property rights could harm our business and our ability to compete. The unauthorized use of our intellectual property could make it more expensive to do business and harm our operating results. Proprietary trade secrets and unpatented know-how are also very important to our business; however, trade secrets are difficult to protect. Our employees, consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our confidential information to competitors, and confidentiality agreements may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential or proprietary information.

We may be sued by third parties who claim that we have infringed their intellectual property rights.

We may be exposed to future litigation by third parties based on claims that our research, development and commercialization activities infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties to which we do not hold licenses or other rights, or that we have misappropriated the trade secrets of others. Any litigation or claims against us, whether or not valid, could result in substantial costs, and could place a significant strain on our financial and human resources. In addition, if successful, such claims could cause us to pay substantial damages. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.

Our bylaws contain provisions indemnifying our officers and directors against all costs, charges, and expenses incurred by them.

Our bylaws contain provisions with respect to the indemnification of our officers and directors against all costs, charges and expenses actually and reasonably incurred by an officer or director paid to settle an action or satisfy a judgment in a civil, criminal or administrative action or proceeding to which he or she is made a party by reason of being or having been one of our directors or officers. To the extent that our directors’ and officers’ insurance policy does not provide reimbursement for such costs, charges, expenses and other amounts, we may incur substantial expenses in satisfying our indemnification obligations.

Our operating costs could be significantly higher than we expect, and this could reduce our future profitability.

In addition to general economic conditions, market fluctuations and international risks, significant increases in operating, development and implementation costs could adversely affect us due to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control.

A cyber incident could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.

Businesses have become increasingly dependent on digital technologies to conduct day-to-day operations. At the same time, cyber incidents, including deliberate attacks or unintentional events, have increased. A cyber-attack could include gaining unauthorized access to digital systems for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption or result in denial of service on websites. We depend on digital technology, including information systems and related infrastructure, to process and record financial and operating data, and communicate with our employees and business partners. Our technologies, systems, networks, and those of our business partners may become the target of cyber-attacks or information security breaches that could result in the unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of proprietary and other information, or other disruption of our business operations. Although to-date we have not experienced any losses relating to cyber-attacks, there is no assurance that we will not suffer such losses in the future. As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities.

Our results of operations may be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The spread of the coronavirus, which has caused a broad impact globally, including restrictions on travel and quarantine policies put in place by businesses and governments, may have a material economic effect on our business. Additionally, the coronavirus may result in disruption of financial markets, which may reduce our ability to access capital either at all or on favorable terms.

Risks Related to Our Securities

The price of our securities is subject to volatility related or unrelated to our operations, which could result in substantial losses for our stockholders.

Between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021, the trading price of our common stock has ranged from a low of $1.77 to a high of $7.64 and could be subject to wide fluctuations in the future in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include those discussed previously in this “Risk Factors” section and others, such as:

In addition, the stock market, in general, may experience broad market fluctuations, which may adversely affect the market price or liquidity of our securities.

We could be subject to securities class action litigation.

Any sudden decline in the market price of our securities could trigger securities class action lawsuits against us. If any of our stockholders were to bring such a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit and the time and attention of our management would be diverted from our business and operations. We also could be subject to damages claims if we are found to be at fault in connection with a decline in our market price of our securities.

Historically, there has been a limited trading market in our common stock, and you may therefore have difficulty selling your securities at a price that you determine is satisfactory.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market. Historically, there has been a limited trading market for our common stock. There is no assurance that our common stock will actively trade in the public market at or above a price that you consider acceptable. If an active market for our common stock is not maintained, it may be difficult for you to sell your shares of common stock when you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider satisfactory. An inactive trading market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling securities and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our securities as consideration.

There is no assurance that we will satisfy the continued listing requirements of The NASDAQ Capital Market.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to satisfy the continued listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market. For example, there is no assurance that our common stock will continue to have a bid price of at least $1.00 per share, which is the minimum bid price under such continued listing requirements, or that we will be able to satisfy other quantitative continued listing requirements, including the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement of at least $2,500,000 for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, which we have previously failed to satisfy. If we fail to satisfy a Nasdaq requirement for continued listing, Nasdaq could provide notice that our common stock will become subject to delisting. In such event, Nasdaq rules would permit us to appeal the decision to reject our proposed compliance plan or any delisting determination to a Nasdaq Hearings Panel. If our securities are de-listed from The Nasdaq Capital Market, our stockholders could incur material adverse consequences such as reduced liquidity for their securities and reduced market prices for their securities. Following such de-listing, we could encounter increased difficulty in issuing additional securities at an attractive price, or at all, in order to fund our operations.

You may experience additional dilution as a result of future equity offerings.

In order to raise additional capital, we may in the future offer additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock. The price per share at which we sell additional shares of our common stock, or securities convertible or exchangeable into common stock, in future transactions may be lower than the price per share that you paid for our common stock.

We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds of our securities offerings and may not use them effectively.

We intend to use our cash for the development of our products and services. Our management has broad discretion in the use of cash and will have the right to use our cash in ways that differ substantially from our current plans. Management may spend our cash in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our securities. The failure by management to apply funds effectively could result in financial losses that could have a material and adverse effect on our business and cause the market price of our securities to decline.

We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock, and your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the market price of our securities.

We currently intend to invest our future earnings, if any, to fund our growth and not to pay any cash dividends on our common stock. Since we do not intend to pay dividends, your ability to receive a return on your investment will depend on any future appreciation in the market price of our securities. There is no assurance that our securities will appreciate in price.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about us, or if they issue adverse or misleading opinions regarding us or our securities, the market price of our securities and their trading volume could decline.

If we do not obtain and maintain research coverage by securities and industry analysts, the market price for our securities may be adversely affected. The market price of our securities also may decline if any analyst who covers us issues an adverse or erroneous opinion regarding us, our business model, our intellectual property or our performance. If one or more analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the market price of our securities and their trading volume to decline and possibly adversely affect our ability to engage in future financings.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. As of December 31, 2021, we had 10,498,802 outstanding shares of common stock. Future sales of a large number of our shares or upon exercise of our outstanding warrants and stock options, or the perception that a large number of shares may be sold, could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.

We will incur significant costs to ensure compliance with U.S. and Nasdaq reporting and corporate governance requirements.

We incur significant costs associated with our public company reporting requirements and with applicable U.S. and Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other rules implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq. These applicable rules and regulations also make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be difficult for us to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.

If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, the market price of our securities may be adversely affected.

As a public reporting company, we are required to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. Failure to establish such internal control, or any failure of such internal control once established, could adversely impact our public disclosures regarding our business, financial condition or results of operations. Any failure of our internal control over financial reporting could also prevent us from maintaining accurate accounting records and discovering accounting errors and financial frauds.

Rules adopted by the SEC pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 require annual assessment of our internal control over financial reporting. The standards that must be met for management to assess the internal control over financial reporting as effective are complex, and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation to meet the detailed standards. We may encounter problems or delays in completing activities necessary to make an assessment of our internal control over financial reporting. If we cannot assess our internal control over financial reporting as effective, investor confidence and share value may be negatively impacted. In addition, management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting may identify weaknesses and conditions that need to be addressed in our internal control over financial reporting or other matters that may raise concerns for investors. Any actual or perceived weaknesses and conditions that need to be addressed in our internal control over financial reporting (including those weaknesses identified in our periodic reports), or disclosure of management’s assessment of our internal control over financial reporting may have an adverse impact on the price of our securities.

Provisions in our articles of incorporation and bylaws could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable and may lead to entrenchment of management.

Our articles of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent changes in control or changes in our management without the consent of our board of directors. These provisions include the following:

These provisions could inhibit or prevent possible transactions that some stockholders may consider attractive.

We could issue one or more additional series of shares of preferred stock with the effect of diluting existing stockholders and impairing their voting and other rights.

Our Board of Directors is authorized to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock and may determine the terms of future preferred stock offerings without further action by our stockholders. If we issue preferred stock, it could affect your rights or reduce the value of our outstanding common stock. In particular, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred stock may include voting rights, preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion, and redemption rights, sinking fund provisions, and restrictions on our ability to merge with or sell our assets to a third party. As of December 31, 2021, 465 shares of our preferred stock are outstanding, consisting of 132 shares of Series D Preferred Stock and 333 shares of Series E Preferred Stock. In addition to the possible negative effect on the market price of our common shares resulting from the public sale or perceived sale of common shares issuable upon conversion or exercise of these securities, the Certificate of Designations for the Series D Preferred Stock provides that upon occurrence of certain triggering events described in the Certificate, including but not limited to, payment defaults, breaches of the transaction documents pertaining to the Series D Preferred Stock and failure to maintain listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market, the Series D Preferred Shares would become subject to redemption, at the option of the holder, at a 125% premium to the underlying value of the Series D Shares being redeemed.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

Not applicable.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

We lease approximately 3,700 square feet of space at 3900 Paseo del Sol, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507, including 1,772 square feet of office space and 1,928 square feet of warehouse / production space for a monthly rent expense of approximately $6,115. The leases expire on July 31, 2022. In addition, we lease one office at a Regus Business Center at One Sun Plaza, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109 at a monthly rent expense of $1,115. The lease expires on January 31, 2023. We believe that our facilities are suitable for our current needs, but we are evaluating the need for a larger space as we grow.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

We are not currently a party to any legal proceedings. However, we may become subject to legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of our business.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not Applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

Market Information

Our common stock trades on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “SGLB.”

Shareholders

As of March 23, 2022, there were approximately 568 holders of record of our common stock based on information provided by our transfer agent.

Dividends

We have not paid any dividends on our common stock to date and do not anticipate that we will pay dividends in the foreseeable future. Any payment of cash dividends on our common stock in the future will be dependent upon the amount of funds legally available, our earnings, if any, our financial condition, our anticipated capital requirements and other factors that the board of directors may think are relevant. We have paid dividends on our preferred stock pursuant to an agreement with investors and may do so in the future pursuant to future financing agreements, if any. The Certificate of Designations of our Series D Preferred Stock prohibits us from declaring or paying any cash dividend or distribution on any of its capital stock, other than as required by the Certificate of Designations.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

In March 2021, the Company issued 1,500 shares of common stock valued at $4.99 per share to an investor relations firm as partial compensation for services previously rendered. The shares were issued without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in reliance upon the exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act for transactions not involving a public offering.

Repurchase of Shares

During fiscal 2021, we purchased 5,204 shares of our common stock at a price of $3.47 per share, the average of the Company’s opening and closing stock price on the date of purchase, upon the exercise of our right of first refusal in connection with an employee’s exercise of an option to purchase such shares.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.

Not applicable.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

Overview

Sigma is a leading provider of in-process quality assurance (IPQA®) software to the additive manufacturing industry. Sigma specializes in the development and commercialization of real-time monitoring solutions known as PrintRite3D® for 3D metal advanced manufacturing technologies. PrintRite3D detects and classifies defects and anomalies real-time during the manufacturing process, enabling significant cost-savings and production efficiencies. We are dedicated to setting the quality standard for Additive Manufacturing and accelerating the worldwide adoption of 3D metal printing. We work closely with international standards organizations, renowned universities, research organizations, advanced manufacturers, and leading design and simulation software companies. PrintRite3D is printer agnostic and works with most of the leading 3D metal printers.

Long-Term Strategic Direction

In January 2022, we announced the foundational elements of a three-year plan that we believe will increase the Company’s ability to achieve its mission of setting the quality standard for additive manufacturing. The combined strategies are geared at making our technology more consumable in terms of ease of use and cost by end users, both for initial purchases and expansion opportunities, making it easier for original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) to embed our technology and generate attractive revenue streams for the OEM, and finally increasing the Company’s gross margins by moving towards a software-only solution.

To lower the barrier for initial users and for expansion opportunities within end users with a large number of printers, the Company announced that it will be offering its current PrintRite3D integrated hardware and software solution on a subscription basis. The impact of the change will reduce the initial upfront cost to a new user from over $100,000 to approximately $3,000-$4,000 per month. In addition, the subscription model will smooth out the Company’s revenue and cash receipts while making them more predictable.

In order to expand the number of OEMs distributing our technology, we recently launched a three-tiered OEM program directed to: (1) new OEMs without their own quality assurance or monitoring solution; (2) established OEMs with a quality monitoring offering, but who have customers with multiple printers from multiple OEMs and want a single 3rd party quality and analytics solution with consistent quality metrics across printers, processes and materials; and (3) OEMs building open APIs to integrate components of Sigma’s proprietary technology with their current offerings.

In 2019, Sigma entered the market with a productized integrated hardware/software solution to address the retrofit market, i.e., end users that had purchased a printer, and wanted a 3rd party quality and analytics solution. Subsequently, the Company was successful in creating initial partnerships with OEMs such as Additive Industries and DMG Mori to offer PrintRite3D as an integrated hardware/software edge computing solution. We are now working with OEMs on their next generation printers to offer a software-only solution that will utilize the printer’s computing infrastructure and dramatically reduce the overall cost of its technology, enabling the opportunity to move towards a software only embedded solution on every printer sold by partner OEMs.

The combination of subscription pricing and the software-only embedded OEM offerings are intended to make our technology more affordable to acquire and easier for OEM’s to bundle, distribute and support in an effort to become the industry standard.

Covid-19 Business Update

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic caused a reduction, and in some cases a freeze, in capital spending within the Company’s targeted industries and had what the Company believes to be a short-term negative impact on the Company’s expected timing of generating meaningful revenue. Further, the future impact of the outbreak, including variations of the virus, is highly uncertain so that no assurance can be given that the outbreak will not have a material adverse impact on the future results of the Company. It is also uncertain as to any further disruption of the financial markets, which may reduce our ability to access capital, either at all, or on favorable terms.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported assets, liabilities, sales and expenses in the accompanying financial statements. Critical accounting policies are those that require the most subjective and complex judgments, often employing the use of estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. By their nature, changes in these assumptions and estimates could significantly affect our financial position or results of operations. Significant accounting estimates that may materially change in the near future are revenue recognition, impairment of long-lived assets, values of stock compensation awards and stock equivalents granted as offering costs, and allowance for bad debts and inventory obsolescence. Such critical accounting policies, including the assumptions and judgments underlying them, are disclosed in Note 1 to the Financial Statements included in this Annual Report. However, we do not believe that there are any alternative methods of accounting for our operations that would have a material effect on our financial statements.

The critical accounting policies and estimates addressed below reflect our most significant judgements and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements

Revenue Recognition - The Company’s revenue is derived primarily from sales of our software and related hardware suite and from providing engineering services under contracts. Generally, revenue is recognized upon the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Significant estimates and judgements for determining revenue recognition include: (1) identifying the contract, or contracts, with our customer; (2) identifying the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determining the transaction price; (4) allocating the transaction price to performance obligations in the contract; and (5) recognizing revenue when, or as, we satisfy performance obligations by transferring the promised goods or services.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts - Trade accounts receivable are carried at original invoice amount less an estimate made for doubtful accounts. We determine the allowance for doubtful accounts by identifying potential troubled accounts and by using historical experience and future expectations applied to an aging of accounts. Trade accounts receivable are written off when deemed uncollectible. Recoveries of trade accounts receivable previously written off are recorded as income when received.

Inventory Valuation - Inventories consist of raw materials used in the production of customized parts, work-in-process and finished goods components which will be sold to customers. Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value, using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. Charges for obsolete inventory are based on specific identification of inventory items resulting from regular, on ongoing reviews of our build of materials.

Long-Lived and Intangible Assets – Long-lived assets and certain identifiable definite life intangibles to be held and used by the Company are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company continuously evaluates the recoverability of its long-lived assets based on estimated future cash flows and the estimated liquidation value of such long-lived assets and provides for impairment if such undiscounted cash flows are insufficient to recover the carrying amount of the long-lived assets. If impairment exists, an adjustment is made to write the asset down to its fair value, and a loss is recorded as the difference between the carrying value and fair value. Fair values are determined based on quoted market values, discounted cash flows or internal and external appraisals, as applicable. Assets to be disposed of are carried at the lower of carrying value or estimated net realizable value. Utility patents are amortized over a 17-year period. Patents which are pending are not amortized.

Stock Based Compensation – We measure the compensation costs of share-based compensation arrangements based on the grant-date fair value and recognize the costs in the financial statements over the period during which employees are required to provide services. Share based compensation arrangements may include stock options, grants of shares of common stock with and without restrictions, performance-based awards, share appreciation rights and employee share purchase plans. Compensation cost is measured on the date of grant at its fair value.

Equity instruments issued to non-employees are recorded on the basis of the grant date fair value of the instruments. In general, the measurement date is either (a) when a performance commitment, as defined, is reached or (b) the earlier of the date that (i) the non-employee performance requirement is complete or (ii) the instruments are vested. The measured value related to the instruments is recognized over a period based on the facts and circumstances of each particular grant.

The grant date fair value of stock based and other equity instruments is calculated using the Black Scholes valuation model, and requires estimates of several inputs to the model, including risk-free interest rates, dividends, and expected volatility of our stock price.

Results of Operations

Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2020.

We generate revenues through hardware and software licensing of our PrintRite3D® technology to customers that seek to improve their manufacturing production processes, and through ongoing annual software upgrades and maintenance fees. Additionally, we generate revenues from our contract manufacturing activities in metal AM. Our ability to generate revenues in the future will depend on our ability to further commercialize and increase market presence of our PrintRite3D® technologies, and it will depend on whether key prospective customers continue to move from AM metal prototyping to production.

During fiscal 2021, we made a significant investment in both our employees and our infrastructure, adding resources to be in a position to grow our business.

Employees and Headcount

We added 13 full-time employees in 2021. We increased our sales team from two at the beginning of the year to seven in an effort to expand our business. Specifically, we hired a senior director of sales in the US Western region, an area sales manager for the European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA ) region, and three technical sales engineers, one of whom is in Europe, to support our business development and sales efforts. We also added a total of seven engineers including three software engineers and four applications engineers, who will be furthering our machine learning and artificial intelligence (“AI”) initiatives, as well as increasing our manufacturing capacity and ability to perform customer installations and field support. Finally, in September 2021, we hired a Senior VP of Product Management and Strategic Relationships.

The labor market is extremely competitive, and our highly trained, skilled, and talented employees are heavily recruited by others. To that end, we have made additional investments in our employees designed to ensure we remain competitive in the marketplace. This also aligns well with, and reinforces, our “employee first” culture. In addition to salaries, we improved our benefits by offering a premium health care plan option and increasing the Company’s contribution to premiums. We have also added a Company paid short-term disability insurance plan and optional long-term disability insurance plan. And finally, we have increased equity related compensation to everyone in our Company, from non-employee directors to executive management to employees and consultants. We believe that this is an important component of aligning shareholder, company, and employee interests and vests everyone in the growth and success of Sigma.

Gross Margin

In fiscal year 2021, we increased our gross margin to 66% from 27% in 2020. The primary reasons for the 39% improvement are: (1) sourcing components from multiple vendors has enabled us to secure alternative supply sources as well as lower material costs; (2) engineering enhancements, particularly around optics redesigns and computing power and storage, have lowered costs while improving unit performance; (3) we have become more efficient in our customer installations, through the use of virtual technology; (4) changes to our Rapid Test and Evaluation (“RTE”) program making them shorter in duration, with clearly defined objectives and more certain outcomes in terms of ultimately leading to unit sales; and (5) adopting lean manufacturing principles which has improved controls, lowered costs, and improved efficiency.

Infrastructure

In addition to the investments made to improve our manufacturing processes and engineering designs, in fiscal 2021 we added new software applications to assist us in achieving the leverage we need in our operations, both now and for the future. In particular, we added software subscriptions for a customer relationship management system (CRM”), a product lifecycle management system (“PLM”), and a project tracking and management system, all of which we believe will help us improve controls, efficiency and communication throughout the Company.

Revenue and Cost of Revenue

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (“fiscal 2021”), we generated an aggregate of $1,651,765 in revenues, as compared to an aggregate of $807,488 in revenues generated by us in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (“fiscal 2020”). The contributors to the $844,277 increase were: (1) increased new PrintRite3D® system sales of $888,954; (2) increased on-site engineering and installation revenues of $26,200; and (3) increased annual maintenance revenues of $12,402, partially offset by (1) a decrease in revenues from our Rapid Test and Evaluation (“RTE”) program of $82,064; and (2) decreased revenue from contract AM jobs of $1,215. Our cost of revenue for fiscal 2021 was $559,965 compared to $591,957 during the same period in 2020, a decrease of $31,992. The decrease is primarily due to a decrease in RTE program expenses and a decrease in the cost of manufacturing PrintRite 3D units through the aforementioned combination of lower component costs, engineering redesign and increased manufacturing efficiency, partially offset by increase in the cost of revenues due to increased sales volume in 2021. The Company sold 11 PrintRite3D units in 2021 as compared to 6 units in 2020.

Operating Expenses

Sigma’s operating expenses for fiscal 2021 were $9,571,185 as compared to $5,914,299 for fiscal 2020, a $3,656,886 increase.

In fiscal 2021, salaries and benefits costs were $4,286,368 as compared to $2,622,162 for the same period in fiscal 2020. The $1,664,206 increase is comprised of: (a) $657,298 related to the hire of 13 additional employees; (b) $486,168 related to salary increases for existing employees; (c) increased incentive bonuses of $179,250; (d) increased commissions of $57,580 as a result of increased sales in 2021; (e) increased taxes and benefits of $244,977; and (f) increased severance of $50,793. Partially offsetting these increases was a decrease in stock appreciation rights expense of $12,355 due to the year-end revaluation of the compensation liability.

Stock-based compensation for fiscal 2021 was $1,066,455 compared to $596,842 for the same period in fiscal 2020. This $469,613 increase resulted primarily from options granted to our new Senior Vice President of Product Management and Strategic Relationships of $264,352, initial options granted to 13 new employees totaling $56,123, and annual option grants to existing employees totaling $149,138.

During fiscal 2021 and 2020, Sigma incurred operations and research and development expenditures of $890,553 and $351,404 respectively. Of the total expense in 2021, $417,744 related to research and development and $472,809 related to operations expenses. Of the total expense in 2020, $126,292 related to research and development and $225,112 related to operations expenses. The increase of $291,452 in research and development costs in 2021 is primarily related to: (a) costs incurred in connection with PrintRite3D version 7.0 of $89,798 and $20,977 for PrintRite3D 8.0; (b) an increase in CT scans conducted for new development work and a simulation project totaling $87,988; (c) increased consulting expense related to our optics redesign of $67,189; and (d) $25,500 of expenses related to upgrading the date acquisition component of the PrintRite3D unit (“DAQ”). Operations expenses in fiscal year 2021 increased $247,698 from 2020, primarily due to: (a) increased purchases of lab supplies and equipment of $129,617; (b) write offs of three returned RTE systems with unusable parts of $34,273; and (c) write-off of metal powder and obsolete inventory of $111,158. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in consulting costs of $27,350 due to the full time hire of a consultant in 2021

Sigma’s investor and public relation fees incurred in fiscal 2021 were $503,823, compared to $408,717 in fiscal 2020. The $95,106 increase in the comparative expenditures results primarily from an increase in IR consulting costs of $48,847, and increased tradeshow and conference expenses of $90,548 based on increased attendance due to reduced COVID restrictions, partially offset by decreased advertising expenses of $44,316 due to discontinuation of our public relations firm and Network Newswire services.

Organizational costs for fiscal 2021 were $726,147, compared to $451,982 for the same period in fiscal 2020. The increase of $274,165 is primarily attributable to increased directors compensation, consisting of stock options expense of $298,706 partially offset by lower cash compensation of $22,717.

Legal and professional service fees in fiscal 2021 were $915,530 compared to $676,142 in fiscal 2020. The increase of $239,388 is primarily attributable to an increase in recruiting fees of $169,978 related to 9 of our 13 new hires, an increase in IT services fees of $10,814, and an increase in consulting fees of $64,494 due to the engagement of external HR, accounting, and manufacturing consultants as well as increased compensation for a consultant to our CEO of $72,000. These amounts were partially offset by reduced legal fees of $83,669 due to non-recurring expenses incurred in 2020, including expenses related to Nasdaq compliance, our reverse stock split, and an abandoned financing.

During fiscal 2021, Sigma’s office expenses were $734,386 compared to $416,580 in the same period of fiscal 2020. The $317,806 increase in these expenditures resulted primarily from: (a) increased payroll service fees of $18,314 due to 4 months of free service in 2020; (b) increased postage of $45,644 due to RTE returns, shipping PrintRite3D units to trade shows, and expedited shipping of parts and materials due to increased lead times; (c) an increase in computer hardware and office supplies of $40,171 due to the purchase of computers for new hires, promotional items, and cleaning, sanitary and safety supplies related to COVID pandemic; (d) an increase in dues and subscriptions expense of $50,330 for new customer relationship management, product lifecycle management, and project management software; (e) increased travel expenses of $148,507 due to virtually no travel in 2020 as a result of COVID 19 restrictions; and (f) an increase in training and education expense of $15,059 for cable manufacturing certification and employee team building exercises.

Other operating expenses for fiscal 2021 totaled $353,818, compared to $285,295 for fiscal 2020. The increase of $68,523 is primarily due to an increase in insurance premiums, in particular our director’s & officer’s policy premium.

In fiscal 2021, our net other income & expense was net income of $1,094,780, compared to net income of $498,629 in fiscal 2020. The increase of $596,151 was primarily due to a gain on the derivative liability of $1,092,441, as compared to the 2020 State of New Mexico’s high wage tax credit incentive program of $151,656, as well as the Payroll Protection Plan loan forgiveness of $361,700.

Sigma’s net loss before preferred dividends for fiscal 2021 increased by $2,184,466 and totaled $7,384,605, as compared to a net loss before preferred dividends of $5,200,139 for fiscal 2020. Net loss applicable to common stockholders for fiscal 2021 was $7,488,172, as compared to $7,009,414 for fiscal 2020. The 2021 net operating loss component of the overall loss being $2,768,405 higher than in 2020 and the other income component being a $596,151 higher. Preferred stock dividends were $103,567 in fiscal 2021 and $1,809,275 in fiscal 2020.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2021, we had $11,447,047 in cash and working capital of $11,702,358, as compared to $3,700,814 in cash and working capital of $4,332,053 as of December 31, 2020.

We believe that our existing cash on hand will be sufficient to fund our anticipated operating costs and capital expenditure requirements through 2022. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our capital resources sooner than we expect.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the research, development, and commercialization of our products, we are unable to estimate the exact amount of our working capital requirements. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

Our major sources of funding have been proceeds from public and private offerings of our equity securities (both common stock and preferred stock), and from warrant exercises. In January 2021, the Company closed a public offering of 1,711,783 shares of common stock at $3.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $4,532,444 after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by the Company. In March 2021, the Company closed a public offering of 2,190,000 shares of common stock at $4.445 per share, resulting in net proceeds to the Company of approximately $8,736,488 after deducting placement agent commissions and other offering costs payable by the Company. Concurrent with the public offering, the Company issued warrants to investors to purchase an aggregate of 2,190,000 shares of common stock to holders in a private placement. The warrants entitle the holders to purchase one share of our common stock at an exercise price equal to $4.32 per share commencing on May 24, 2021 and will expire two years from such date.

During the first quarter of 2021, the Company issued 454,404 shares of common stock pursuant to the exercise of warrants, resulting in net proceeds to the Company of $1,136,010.

We will need to raise additional amounts to fund our operations, maintain compliance with the NASDAQ listing requirements and implement our business plan. There is no assurance as to the amount and availability of any required future financing or the terms thereof. Such financing, if in the form of equity, may be highly dilutive to our existing stockholders and may otherwise include onerous terms. If in the form of debt, such financing may include covenants and repayment obligations which may be difficult to meet and that could adversely affect our business operations. There is also significant uncertainty from the affect that the novel coronavirus may have on the availability and type of financing. To the extent that funds are not available to us, we may be required to delay, limit, or terminate our business operations and lose our NASDAQ listing.

During 2022, we expect to sustain our operations and our commercialization and marketing efforts with our cash reserves and revenues generated from sales of our PrintRite 3D® technology. We expect that continued enhancements of our IPQA®-enabled PrintRite3D® technology will enable us to further commercialize this technology into the AM metal market in 2022. To support the commercialization of our PrintRite3D® technology, we plan to continue funding our development activities and operating expenses by licensing our PrintRite3D® systems and supporting field services, as applicable, and providing PrintRite3D®-enabled engineering consulting services concerning our areas of expertise (materials and manufacturing quality assurance and process control technologies) and through the use of proceeds from sales of our securities and potential exercises of our outstanding warrants.

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities in fiscal 2021 increased to $6,298,959 from $4,809,868 in fiscal 2020. This increase was primarily attributable to: (1) an increase in our net loss before preferred dividends of $2,184,466; (2) the gain on the derivative liability of $1,092,441; (3) a decrease in depreciation expense of $11,070; (4) a decrease in current and long-term prepaid assets of 132,534; and (5) a decrease in deferred payroll taxes under the CARES Act of $37,728 due to repayment of 50% of the total deferral in December 2021. Partially offsetting these increases were: (1) higher equity-based compensation expenses of $828,623 due to: (a) increased options and common share grants awarded to employees of $469,613; (b) increased stock options granted to consultants in lieu of cash of $60,308, and (c) increased equity based compensation for directors of $298,702; (2) a decrease in accounts receivable of $195,392 due to increased cash collections from higher sales volume; (3) a decrease in inventory in 2021 from 2020 of $10,503; (4) an increase in accounts payable and other accrued expenses of $802,242 primarily due to (a) $196,071 of increased year end compensation accruals; (b) an increase in SAR’s liability of $93,926; (c) increased trade accounts payable of $77,245; (d) additional professional services fee accruals of $35,000; (e) approximately $400,000 of payments made in fiscal 2020 related to fiscal 2019 payables following closing of our January and April 2020 financings; and (5) an increase in deferred revenue of $132,388

Net Cash Used by Investing Activities

Net cash used by investing activities during fiscal 2021 was $359,750, which compares to cash used by investing activities during 2020 totaling $298,359. The increase was primarily due to increased purchases of fixed assets of $94,448, the most significant of which was the purchase of a new laser for our 3D metal printer of $63,000, partially offset by lower costs incurred for patents of $33,557.

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities

Cash provided by financing activities during fiscal 2021 increased to $14,404,942 from $8,722,122 during the same period in 2020, an increase of $5,682,820 primarily as a result of higher net proceeds from our 2021 financings as compared to 2020 of $10,489,160, partially offset by lower proceeds from exercise of warrants in 2021 of $4,856,340.

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a) of Regulation S-K.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

Not applicable to a “smaller reporting company.”

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

The financial statements included in Item 15 are incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

None.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act defines the term “disclosure controls and procedures” as those controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Based upon an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures performed by our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer), as of the end of the period covered by this annual report, our management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective at a reasonable assurance level in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by us in our reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the required time periods. The foregoing conclusion is based, in part, on the fact that we are a small public company with limited revenues and employees.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on management’s evaluation under the framework, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021.

We continuously seek to improve and strengthen our control processes to ensure that all of our controls and procedures are adequate and effective. Any failure to implement and maintain improvements in the controls over our financial reporting could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations under the SEC’s rules and regulations. Any failure to improve our internal controls to address the weakness we have identified could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative impact on the trading price of our common stock.

This report does not include an attestation report of the Company’s registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to SEC rules applicable to smaller reporting companies.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of the year ended December 31, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

None.

ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS

Not Applicable.

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.

MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers

The following table sets forth the name, age and position of each of our executive officers as of March 23, 2022:

Mark Ruport served as Executive Chairman from December 3, 2019 until April 30, 2020 and became our President and Chief Executive Officer on April 30, 2020. On February 16, 2022, Mr. Ruport resigned as President but continues to be our Chief Executive Officer. Additional information regarding Mr. Ruport is set forth below under “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance.”

Frank Orzechowski has served as our Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, principal accounting officer, principal financial officer, and Corporate Secretary since July 1, 2019. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Orzechowski served as the Chief Financial Officer of StormHarbour Partners LP, an independent global markets and financial advisory firm since September 2013. From May 2013 to August 2013, Mr. Orzechowski served as a contract CFO for Etouches Inc., a cloud-based event management software company, to assist with financial matters in connection with that company’s planned equity financing. Prior to that, he served as President and Owner/Operator of Four-O Technologies Inc. from August 2009 to December 2012, where he successfully launched and guided operations for two Cartridge World franchise units in Connecticut. From February 2006 to July 2009, Mr. Orzechowski served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Nikko Americas Holding Company Inc., where he was responsible for managing all of the support and infrastructure for that company’s U.S. business, as well as investment manager selection and due diligence functions for its World Series Platform. Mr. Orzechowski began his career at Coopers & Lybrand in 1982, received his CPA certification in 1984 and received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from Georgetown University in 1982.

Darren Beckett served as our Engineering Manager beginning on September 25, 2017, was appointed as our Vice President of Engineering on June 29, 2018, and had his title changed to Chief Technology Officer of the Company on October 18, 2018. Mr. Beckett has over 20 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, including since 1997 with Intel Corporation at which he held various technical and managerial positions, including process engineer of ion implant charged particle systems, chemical vapor deposition systems, and, since 2008, engineering manager of multiple engineering groups such as rapid thermal anneal, defect metrology equipment and fab environment micro contamination. Mr. Beckett’s expertise is in process engineering for advanced manufacturing technology, including statistical process control for fabrication of semiconductor devices. Mr. Beckett serves as an independent director and board member of M&T Foundation, San Diego, California. Mr. Beckett earned a B. Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Limerick, Ireland.

Ronald Fisher was appointed as Vice President of Business Development of Sigma on August 10, 2015 and leads the PrintRite3D® Operating Division. Mr. Fisher is a Mechanical Engineer with hands-on experience in quality, manufacturing, and product development. He has an MBA and has distinguished himself as a lead sales and marketing officer as well as a Chief Operating Officer. He was a Program Manager at Swagelok from 1988-2004, and Vice President and General Manager, Aftermarket and Geometry Systems, at Micropoise Measurement Systems from 2004 until 2013, and a Partner and COO of Laszeray Technology, LLC from 2013 until 2014. Mr. Fisher holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from the University of Akron as well as an MBA from Kent State University.

Jacob Brunsberg was appointed Senior Vice-President of Product Management and Strategic Relationships on September 20, 2021, and on February 16, 2022, he was named President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Brunsberg was a P&L leader for General Electric’s Binder Jet Technology unit, with management responsibility for strategy, development, commercialization, and overall business performance. From 2017 to 2019 he served as Sr. Managing Director of the Central Region, tasked with helping establish the US sales infrastructure for post-acquisition integration of several additive manufacturing technology companies including Concept Laser, Arcam and GEonX into the newly formed GE Additive business entity. Prior to GE, Mr. Brunsberg worked for the American Roller Company in sales leadership and product marketing positions, responsible for the development and oversight of growth strategies, focused on advanced welding, cladding, thermal spray, and powder metallurgy technologies across a number of industrial markets. Mr. Brunsberg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Material Science and Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The following table sets forth the names, ages as of March 23, 2022, and certain other information regarding our directors:

(1) Member of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Directors

John Rice was appointed to our Board of Directors on February 15, 2017, was appointed as Chairman of our Board on April 19, 2017, was appointed as our interim Chief Executive Officer on July 24, 2017, became our Chief Executive Officer on July 14, 2017 and was appointed as our President on October 10, 2018. Effective April 30, 2020, Mr. Rice resigned from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Rice has extensive experience in business operations. In 1990, Mr. Rice founded ASiQ, LLC, a firm specializing in operations management services ranging from launching successful startups and executing business turnarounds to financings, crisis management and the repositioning of enterprises for sale at optimum market prices. Mr. Rice presently serves as ASiQ’s CEO and President. He also served as CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Santa Fe, a client of ASiQ’s, from 2009 to 2015. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Rice served as Director and Contracts Officer of Detector Networks International. Mr. Rice frequently lectures on breakout growth strategies, crisis management, corporate turnarounds, venture capital, and financial structuring and strategies. He has also served on a number of boards. Since 2005, Mr. Rice has served as Director of New Mexico Angels, Inc., a New Mexico based group of accredited individual angel investors. Since 2016, Mr. Rice has served as Director of Akal Security, Inc. He was also a Director of Detector Networks International from 2010-2012, where he successfully negotiated the principal component of a business turnaround for the company. Mr. Rice is an honors graduate of Harvard College.

Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Rice is qualified to serve as a member of the board because of his broad and deep experience in improving business operations, engineering financial structures that support ongoing needs of operating companies, and building investor and shareholder values.

Salvatore Battinelli was appointed to our Board of Directors on August 16, 2017. Mr. Battinelli is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bello e Preciso Co., a manufacturer and wholesaler of Italian-made fashion watches and has served in those roles since early 2017. Prior to joining Bello e Preciso Co., from 2011 to 2013, Mr. Battinelli served as Vice-President of Development and Long-Term Strategy of North American Management Corporation, a wealth management firm based in Boston, Massachusetts with over $2 billion in assets under management. From 1987 to 2011, Mr. Battinelli served as Executive Vice-President and acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Faneuil Hall Associates, Inc., a concierge boutique family office devoted to five interrelated ultra-high net-worth families. Mr. Battinelli’s primary responsibilities while at Faneuil Hall Associates included providing planning and investment advice, the management of approximately 30 asset portfolios and more than 65 individual business entities; and assisting the families in their various business ventures worldwide while working closely with law, accounting and banking functions. During his tenure at Faneuil Hall Associates, Mr. Battinelli served as an executive officer or director for certain of the family-owned entities and successfully managed several portfolio company IPOs, as well as serving as CEO and COO for Designhouse International, a Scandinavian furniture company operating out of Atlanta, Georgia, which was previously listed on NASDAQ in 1983.

From 1970 to 1974, Mr. Battinelli served as Audit Manager for Deloitte & Touche (formally Touche Ross), where he specialized in management information systems. From 2002 to 2011, Mr. Battinelli also served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of HealthLink Europe, BV, a logistics and services company that serves the healthcare industry. Mr. Battinelli is a Certified Public Accountant and received a BS in accounting and an MBA with an emphasis in international economics and accounting, both from Babson College.

Our board of directors believes that Mr. Battinelli is qualified to serve as a member of the board on the basis of his deep understanding of business acquisitions and sales, as well as his background and extensive company management and integration experience.

Mark K. Ruport was appointed as Executive Chairman and as a director on December 3, 2019. Effective April 30, 2020, Mr. Ruport became our President and Chief Executive Officer and, as of February 16, 2022, no longer serves as President. Mr. Ruport remains a director on the Board of Directors but no longer serves as Executive Chairman. Mr. Ruport brings more than 30 years of public and private company experience in the software sector to his position at Sigma Labs. Prior to joining Sigma Labs, Mr. Ruport served since 2010 as the President of Step Function Consulting, LLC, a consulting firm that provides strategic consulting services to early and mid-stage portfolio software companies. Mr. Ruport also served from 2014 to 2017 as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Content Analyst Company, a leading developer of advanced analytics software for searching and analyzing unstructured text, and before that served as its Vice Chairman from 2012 to 2013. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Ruport served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Configuresoft, Inc., a venture-backed Enterprise Systems Management company, where he orchestrated an OEM agreement which later led to its acquisition by EMC Corp. Prior to Configuresoft, Mr. Ruport served from 2004 to 2005 as the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Stellent, Inc., which was subsequently acquired by Oracle, Inc., and from 1995 to 2005 as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Optika, Inc., a venture-backed Enterprise Content Management Company that he led through its initial public offering and merger with Stellent, Inc. From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Ruport served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Interleaf, Inc., a public software company. He also held various senior executive positions from 1985 to 1989 at Informix, Inc., a relational database management system company later acquired by IBM, and from 1985 to 1989 at Cullinet, Inc., a mainframe database management system and enterprise resource planning company later acquired by Computer Associates, Inc. Mr. Ruport received his Bachelor of Science degree and MBA from Bowling Green State University.Mr. Ruport received a Bachelor of Science in Business and an MBA from Bowling Green State University.

Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Ruport is qualified to serve as a member of the board because of his extensive experience in management and leadership in the technology industry.

Dennis Duitch was appointed to our Board of Directors on August 8, 2017. Mr. Duitch has served as Managing Director of Duitch Consulting Group, a private consulting company, since 2003. Prior to that time, he practiced public accounting, business management, mediation and consultancy nationally, with expertise in strategic and operations management, finance, accounting, strategic planning and business operations for a wide spectrum of companies, including technology, manufacturing and distribution, marketing, real estate, entertainment, and professional practices. He has served in executive officer roles and as a director of public and private companies, not-for-profit organizations, including as Vice-Chairman for Accountants Global Network, and as a top-level advisor for public companies, closely held businesses, families and high-wealth individuals for over thirty years.

Mr. Duitch began his career with the international CPA firm Grant Thornton in its Chicago, San Francisco and Beverly Hills offices before founding Duitch & Franklin LLP, which evolved to become one of Southern California’s largest independent CPA/Business Management/Consultancy practices, and which was acquired by a public company in 1998. He subsequently served as President for a consumer products company with direct responsibility for marketing, retail, and fulfillment operations, until forming Duitch Consulting Group in 2003 to serve clients in advisory, C-level, and board of director roles.

Mr. Duitch is a Certified Family Business and Estate Advisor, and mediator for matters including partner/shareholder agreements and disputes, business and marital property dissolution, and dysfunctional executive teams and boards of directors. He has lectured extensively in management, financial and accounting areas for the California CPA Foundation, business and professional groups, has instructed at several colleges and universities, and has authored technical articles in management and taxation for regional and national publications.

Mr. Duitch earned a B.B.A degree in Accounting from the University of Iowa and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Northwestern University.

Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Duitch is qualified to serve as a member of the board because of his extensive public accounting experience, which will assist the Board and the Audit Committee in addressing the numerous accounting-related issues, regulations and SEC reporting requirements to which we are subject, as well as his expertise in business management, finance and strategic planning.

Kent Summers was appointed to our Board of Directors on January 18, 2018. Mr. Summers was also appointed to serve as a member of the Company’s Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Mr. Summers currently divides his time among a number of independent activities which focus on early-stage technology company formation and development strategies, and sales planning and execution needs for emerging- and mid-market technology companies located primarily in the Boston metropolitan area, including: management consultant to private and family-owned businesses; volunteer Mentor and Instructor with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Venture Mentoring Services program; regular lectures on enterprise, business-to-business sales to company founders and students enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, the Harvard MBA Program, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a number of domestic and international entrepreneurship support organizations; and consultant to Fellows enrolled in the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative. Mr. Summers has served in those roles at various times from 2003 to the present. From 2009 to the present, Mr. Summers has served as the non-executive Chairman of CADNexus, Inc., and from 2017 to the present, as a director and Chairman of the Compensation Committee with iQ3 Connect, Inc. Mr. Summers also currently serves as Chairman, Board of Managers, Massachusetts Materials Technologies LLC.

From 2005 to 2017, Mr. Summers served as Managing Partner at Practical Computer Applications, Inc., a Boston-based database consulting and engineering services firm, where he was responsible for sales planning and execution activities. Prior to Practical Computer Applications, from 2001 to 2005, Mr. Summers provided independent merger & acquisition advisory services to support the sale of privately-owned companies. Over a prior 14-year period, Mr. Summers served in leadership roles at several software and internet start-ups, including: Chairman and CEO of Collego Corporation (acquired by MRO Software), founder and CEO of MyHelpDesk, Inc. (acquired by Support.com), founder of PCMovingVan.com (acquired by a PE firm), and Vice President of Marketing at Electronic Book Technologies, Inc. (acquired by INSO Corporation, formerly listed on Nasdaq).

Prior to the software industry, Mr. Summers served as Technology Analyst at Electronic Joint Venture Partners LLC and Associate Program Trader on the Options Trading Desk at Bear Stearns & Co. In 1986, Mr. Summers received a BA in English from the University of Houston.

Our Board of Directors believes that Mr. Summers is qualified to serve as a member of our Board on the basis of his deep understanding of early-stage business growth strategies, enterprise sales, business acquisitions, as well as his background and extensive company management and leadership experience.

Director Independence

Our Board of Directors currently consists of five members. As a result of his previous role as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rice is not considered an independent director. As a result of his April 30, 2020 appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ruport is also not considered an independent director. Our Board of Directors has determined that our other directors, Salvatore Battinelli, Dennis Duitch and Kent Summers, constituting a majority of our directors, are “independent” as that term is defined under Rule 5605(a)(2) of the NASDAQ marketplace rules. Pursuant to NASDAQ rules, our board must consist of a majority of independent directors.

The NASDAQ independence definition includes a series of objective tests, including that the director is not, and has not been for at least three years, one of our employees and that neither the director nor any of his family members has engaged in various types of business dealings with us. In addition, as required by NASDAQ rules, our Board of Directors has made a subjective determination as to Messrs. Battinelli, Duitch and Summers, our independent directors, that no relationships exist, which, in the opinion of our Board of Directors, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In making these determinations, our Board of Directors reviewed and discussed information provided by the directors and us with regard to each director’s business and personal activities and relationships as they may relate to us and our management. There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

Classified Board of Directors

In accordance with our amended and restated bylaws, our Board of Directors is divided into three classes with staggered, three-year terms. At each annual meeting of stockholders, the successors to directors whose terms then expire will be elected to serve from the time of election and qualification until the third annual meeting following election. Our directors are classified as follows:

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed by resolution of the Board of Directors. Any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of the directors. The division of our Board of Directors into three classes with staggered three-year terms may delay or prevent a change of our management or a change in control of our company.

Leadership Structure of the Board

Our directors may be removed with or without cause at any meeting of stockholders by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of our outstanding voting stock entitled to vote in the election of directors. Our amended and restated bylaws provide our Board of Directors with flexibility in its discretion to combine or separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, if we elect to appoint a Chairman of the Board. Our Board of Directors believes it is important to select the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in the manner it considers in the best interests of the Company at any given time. Our Board of Directors believes that the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer positions may be filled by one individual or by two different individuals, as determined by our Board of Directors based on circumstances then in existence.

On August 19, 2017, our Board of Directors appointed Mr. Rice as Chairman of the Board. The Chairman of the Board presides at all meetings of our Board of Directors and exercises and performs such other powers and duties as may be assigned to him from time to time by the Board or prescribed by our amended and restated bylaws. The Chairman of the Board is appointed by our Board of Directors on an annual basis.

Our Board of Directors has no established policy on whether it should be led by a Chairman who is also the Chief Executive Officer, and has in the past combined the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Our Board currently is committed to the separated roles given the circumstances of our Company. However, our Board of Directors continually evaluates our leadership structure and could, in the future, decide to combine the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer positions if it believes that doing so would serve the best interests of our Company and our stockholders.

Board Meetings and Committees

During our fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, the Board of Directors held eight meetings, and each director attended at least 75% of the aggregate of (i) the total number of meetings of our Board of Directors held during the period for which he has been a director and (ii) the total number of meetings held by all committees of our Board of Directors on which he served during the periods that he served.

Although we do not have a formal policy regarding attendance by members of our Board of Directors at annual meetings of stockholders, we encourage, but do not require, our directors to attend. Each of our then current directors attended our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Our Board has established three standing committees-audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance-each of which operates under a written charter that has been approved by our board. Until February 15, 2017, when our common stock became listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, we were not required to establish or maintain an audit, nominating or compensation committee. Each committee charter has been posted on the Investors section of our website at www.sigmalabsinc.com. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this Annual Report.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include:

The members of our Audit Committee are Messrs. Duitch, Battinelli and Summers, and Mr. Duitch serves as the chairperson of the committee. Our Board of Directors has determined that each of Messrs. Duitch, Battinelli and Summers is an independent director under the applicable Nasdaq rules and under SEC Rule 10A-3. All members of our Audit Committee meet the requirements for financial literacy under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq. Our Board of Directors has determined that each member of our Audit Committee is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by applicable SEC rules and has the requisite financial sophistication as defined under the applicable Nasdaq rules and regulations. The Audit Committee met four times during 2021.

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include:

The members of our Compensation Committee are Messrs. Duitch, Battinelli and Summers, and Mr. Battinelli serves as the chairperson of the committee. Our board has determined that each of Messrs. Duitch, Battinelli and Summers is independent under the applicable Nasdaq rules and regulations and is a “non-employee director” as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s responsibilities include:

The members of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are Messrs. Duitch, Battinelli and Summers, and Mr. Duitch serves as the chairperson of the committee. Our board has determined that each of Messrs. Duitch, Battinelli and Summers is independent under the applicable NASDAQ rules and regulations.

Code of Ethics and Business Conduct

The Company has a code of ethics that applies to all employees, including the Company’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and principal accounting officer, as well as to the members of the Board of Directors. The code is available at www.sigmalabsinc.com. The Company intends to disclose any changes in, or waivers from, this code by posting such information on the same website or by filing a Form 8-K, in each case to the extent such disclosure is required by rules of the SEC or Nasdaq. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this report.

Considerations in Evaluating Director Nominees

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee uses a variety of methods for identifying and evaluating director nominees. In its evaluation of director candidates, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider the current size and composition of our Board of Directors and the needs of our Board of Directors and the respective committees of our Board of Directors. Some of the qualifications that our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers include, without limitation, issues of character, integrity, judgment, diversity of experience, independence, area of expertise, corporate experience, length of service, potential conflicts of interest and other commitments. Nominees must also have the ability to offer advice and guidance to our Chief Executive Officer based on past experience in positions with a high degree of responsibility and be leaders in the companies or institutions with which they are affiliated. Director candidates must have sufficient time available in the judgment of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to perform all board of director and committee responsibilities. Members of our Board of Directors are expected to prepare for, attend, and participate in all board of director and applicable committee meetings. Other than the foregoing, there are no stated minimum criteria for director nominees, although our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may also consider such other factors as it may deem, from time to time, are in our and our stockholders’ best interests.

Although our Board of Directors does not maintain a specific policy with respect to board diversity, our Board of Directors believes that our Board of Directors should be a diverse body, and our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee considers a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. In making determinations regarding nominations of directors, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may take into account the benefits of diverse viewpoints. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also will consider these and other factors as it oversees the annual board of director and committee evaluations. After completing its review and evaluation of director candidates, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee recommends to our full Board of Directors the director nominees for selection.

Stockholder Recommendations for Nominations to the Board of Directors

Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider candidates for director recommended by stockholders so long as such recommending stockholder was a stockholder of record both at the time of giving notice and at the time of the annual meeting, and such recommendations comply with our amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and applicable laws, rules and regulations, including those promulgated by the SEC. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will evaluate such recommendations in accordance with its charter, our amended and restated bylaws, our policies and procedures for director candidates, as well as the regular director nominee criteria described above. This process is designed to ensure that our Board of Directors includes members with diverse backgrounds, skills and experience, including appropriate financial and other expertise relevant to our business. Eligible stockholders wishing to recommend a candidate for nomination should contact the Secretary in writing. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has discretion to decide which individuals to recommend for nomination as directors.

Role of Board in Risk Oversight Process

Risk assessment and oversight are an integral part of our governance and management processes. Our Board of Directors encourages management to promote a culture that incorporates risk management into our corporate strategy and day-to-day business operations. Management discusses strategic and operational risks at regular management meetings and conducts specific strategic planning and review sessions during the year that include a focused discussion and analysis of the risks we face. Throughout the year, senior management reviews these risks with the Board of Directors at regular board meetings as part of management presentations that focus on particular business functions, operations or strategies, and presents the steps taken by management to mitigate or eliminate such risks. Our Board of Directors does not have a standing risk management committee, but rather administers this oversight function directly through the Board of Directors as a whole, as well as through standing committees of the Board of Directors that will address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. In particular, our Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures. The Audit Committee also monitors compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and considers and approves or disapproves any related-person transactions. Our Nominating and Governance Committee monitors the effectiveness of our corporate governance guidelines that we may adopt or amend from time to time. Our Compensation Committee assesses and monitors whether any of our compensation policies and programs has the potential to encourage excessive risk-taking by our management.

Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the Company’s executive officers and directors, and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of the Company’s equity securities, to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Executive officers, directors and greater than 10% stockholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.

The Company believes that during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, its executive officers, directors and greater than 10% stockholders complied with the filing requirements under Section 16(a).

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Processes and Procedures for Compensation Decisions

Our Compensation Committee is responsible for the executive compensation programs for our executive officers and reports to our board of directors on its discussions, decisions and other actions. Typically, our Chief Executive Officer makes recommendations to our Compensation Committee and is involved in the determination of compensation for the respective executive officers that report to him. Our Chief Executive Officer does not determine his own compensation. Our Chief Executive Officer makes recommendations to our Compensation Committee regarding short- and long-term compensation for all executive officers based on our results, an individual executive officer’s contribution toward these results and performance toward individual goal achievement. Our Compensation Committee then reviews the recommendations and other data and makes decisions (or makes recommendations to the Board) as to total compensation for each executive officer as well as each individual compensation component.

The following table sets forth compensation for services rendered in all capacities to the Company: (i) for each person who served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer at any time during the past fiscal year, and (ii) for our two most highly compensated executive officers, other than our Chief Executive Officer, who were employed with the Company on December 31, 2021 (the foregoing executives are herein collectively referred to as the “named executive officers”).

Summary Compensation Table

Named Executive Officer Employment Agreements

Mark K Ruport

On December 3, 2019, we entered into an “at-will’ employment letter agreement with Mark Ruport, effective as of December 3, 2019 (the “effective date”), pursuant to which Mr. Ruport agreed to serve as our Executive Chairman on an “at-will” basis. Additionally, Mr. Ruport was appointed to serve as a member of our Board of Directors, effective as of December 3, 2019, with a term expiring at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders. As of April 30, 2020, Mr. Ruport was appointed as President, Chief Executive Officer, and principal executive officer of the Company, and no longer serves as Executive Chairman. On February 16, 2022, Mr. Ruport resigned as President, and continues to serve as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors.

Under the employment letter agreement, Mr. Ruport is entitled to (i) an annual base salary of $155,000, which was increased to $250,000 effective January 1, 2021, and in connection with his resignation as President was decreased to $200,000 effective February 16, 2022 (such base salary is not subject to decrease, but may be increased in the discretion of the Company’s Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors based on annual or special case assessments of Mr. Ruport’s performance and other factors), and (ii) all benefits that we elect in our sole discretion to provide from time to time to our other executive officers, and received a grant of (1) a five-year stock option to purchase up to 10,000 shares of common stock of the Company, which has an exercise price equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the effective date, and vested and became exercisable in full on the first month’s anniversary of the effective date, and (2) a five-year stock option to purchase up to 40,000 shares of common stock of the Company, which has an exercise price equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the effective date, and will vest and become exercisable in equal (as closely as possible) monthly installments over three years from the effective date, provided, in each case, that Mr. Ruport remains an employee of the Company through such vesting date.

Such options are on such other terms and provisions as are contained in the Company’s standard form nonqualified stock option agreement; provided, however, that (x) upon the occurrence of a Change of Control (as defined in the employment letter agreement), any unvested portion of the options as of the date of such Change of Control will immediately and automatically vest; provided, however, that, the options may be assumed or, in the discretion of the Board of Directors, an equivalent option may be substituted by an applicable successor corporation or any subsidiary of the successor corporation in connection with a Change of Control), and (y) in the event that the Board of Directors determines that Mr. Ruport is unable to perform his duties due to an accident, illness or other event or condition which physically or mentally incapacitates him for a period of 45 consecutive days (“Disability”), if he ceases to be employed by the Company as a result of a Disability, the options will continue to vest and remain exercisable for the 5-year term of the options in accordance with the terms of the option agreements.

Additionally, during the term of his employment, Mr. Ruport is eligible to receive one or more bonuses relating to each fiscal year in recognition of his achievement of individual and Company goals established by the Board of Directors from time to time. However, the decision to provide any such bonuses and the amount and terms of any such bonuses is in the sole discretion of the Board of Directors. On January 24, 2022, Mr. Ruport was awarded a performance bonus of $208,333 for 2021.

Darren P. Beckett

Mr. Beckett has served as an employee of the Company since September 25, 2017, pursuant to an “at will” employment agreement with the Company, under which he was engaged to serve as our Engineering Manager. On October 18, 2018, his title was changed from Vice President of Engineering to Chief Technology Officer of the Company. On October 18, 2018, the Company also increased the annual base salary of Mr. Beckett from $135,000 to $180,000, effective retroactive to September 16, 2018, and granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase 2,000 shares of common stock under the 2013 Plan at an exercise price of $12.10 per share. The option has a term of five years and vests in equal annual installments over four years from the date of grant subject, in each case, to Mr. Beckett being in the continuous employ of the Company on the applicable vesting date. Under the agreement, Mr. Beckett is eligible to receive medical and dental benefits, life insurance, short and long-term disability coverage, and to participate in the Company’s Section 125 cafeteria plan, vision plan and 401K plan. On October 13, 2017, in connection with his employment, Mr. Beckett was granted an option to purchase up to 1,500 shares of our common stock with an exercise price equal to $19.20 per share. Such option is fully vested and exercisable at December 31, 2021.

Frank D. Orzechowski

On July 1, 2019, we entered into an “at will” employment agreement, with Frank Orzechowski under which he was engaged to serve as our Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, Principal Accounting Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company. Under Mr. Orzechowski’s employment agreement, he was entitled to receive an annual base salary of $135,000, which was increased to $155,000 effective March 1, 2020, which was increased to $180,000 on January 1, 2021, and which was increased to $200,000 on October 1, 2021. Pursuant to the employment agreement, Mr. Orzechowski was granted (1) a stock option to purchase up to 250 shares of common stock of the Company, at an exercise price equal to $14.00 per share, which was the closing market price of the Company’s common stock on July 1, 2019 (i.e., the Effective Date), and (2) to purchase up to 6,000 shares of common stock of the Company, with an exercise price of $14.00, and will vest and become exercisable as follows: 387 shares vested and became exercisable on the one-year anniversary of the Effective Date, 900 shares vested and became exercisable on the second-year anniversary of the Effective Date, 1,413 shares will vest and become exercisable on the third-year anniversary of the Effective Date, and 3,300 shares will vest and become exercisable on the fourth-year anniversary of the Effective Date, provided, in each case, that Mr. Orzechowski remains an employee of the Company through such vesting dates. Further, Mr. Orzechowski is eligible to participate in the Company’s 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, and is eligible to receive medical and dental benefits, life insurance, short and long-term disability coverage, and to participate in the Company’s Section 125 cafeteria plan, vision plan and 401K plan.

Outstanding Equity Awards at 2021 Fiscal Year-End

The following table sets forth outstanding equity awards issued under or outside of our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan and 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan as of December 31, 2021 that are held by our named executive officers.

(1) On June 23, 2020, we adopted the 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan. The Plan only provides for incentive awards that are only made in the form of stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) payable in cash. No shares of common stock were reserved in connection with the adoption of the Plan since no shares will be issued pursuant to the Plan. Awards issued under the Plan are included in the table.

(2) On December 3, 2019, in conjunction with the hiring of Mark K. Ruport, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, the Company granted to Mr. Ruport (i) an option to purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $11.20, which fully vested and became exercisable on January 3,2020; and (ii) an option to purchase up to 40,000 shares of our common stock, with an exercise price of $11.20, which will vest and become exercisable in equal monthly installments over three years from the date of grant. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 27,025 shares were vested and exercisable. On May 28, 2020, we granted Mr. Ruport an option to purchase 116,654 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price of $2.50 and vests as follows: 29,164 shares vested and became exercisable on June 15, 2020, and the remaining 87,490 shares will vest in equal monthly installments over the next three years. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 72,904 shares were vested and exercisable. On November 24, 2020, we granted Mr. Ruport an option to purchase up to 114,915 shares of our common stock. The option has an exercise price of $2.55 and vests over three years in equal monthly installments beginning one month from the grant date. As of December 31, 2021, 41,496 shares were vested and exercisable. On June 23, 2020, pursuant to our 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan, we granted Mr. Ruport 60,094 SARs. The SARs have an exercise price of $2.63 and will vest and become exercisable in three equal installments on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of the grant date. As of December 31, 2021, 20,031 SARs were vested and exercisable. On August 11, 2021, we granted Mr. Ruport an option to purchase 51,832 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price of $3.42 and vests as follows: 12,958 shares vested and became exercisable on August 11, 2021, and the remaining 38,874 shares will vest in equal monthly installments over the next three years. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 17,278 shares were vested and exercisable. On August 11, 2021, pursuant to our 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan, we granted Mr. Ruport 77,748 SARs. The SARs have an exercise price of $3.42 and will vest and become exercisable in three equal installments on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of the grant date.

(3) On February 26, 2018 we granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase up to 1,500 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price per share equal to $15.60 and is vested as to 675 shares. The remaining 825 shares will vest and become exercisable on February 26, 2022. On October 18, 2018, we granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase up to 2,000 shares of our common stock. The option has an exercise price per share equal to $12.10 and is vested as to 900 shares. The 1,100 remaining shares will vest and become exercisable on September 16, 2022. On October 13, 2017, we granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase up to 1,500 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price per share equal to $19.20. The option is fully vested and exercisable. On January 1, 2019, we granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase up to 375 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price per share equal to $15.00, and vests in equal installments on the first through the fourth anniversaries of the grant. As of December 31, 2021, 188 shares are vested and exercisable. On July 18, 2019, we granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase up to 500 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price per share equal to $12.40. The option vests and will become exercisable in equal installments on the first through the fourth anniversaries of the date of grant. As of December 31, 2021, the option was vested as to 250 shares. On October 11, 2019, we granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase up to 5,000 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price per share equal to $6.70 and is fully vested and exercisable. On May 28, 2020, we granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase 46,661 shares of our common stock. The option has an exercise price per share equal to $2.50 and vests as follows: 11,665 shares vested and became exercisable on June 15, 2020, and the remaining 34,996 shares will vest in equal monthly installments over the next three years. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 29,161 shares were vested and exercisable. On June 23, 2020, pursuant to our 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan, we granted Mr. Beckett 24,038 SARs. The SARs have an exercise price of $2.63 and will vest and become exercisable in three equal installments on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of the grant date. As of December 31, 2021, 8,013 SARs were vested and exercisable. On August 11, 2021, we granted Mr. Beckett an option to purchase 50,869 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price of $3.42 and vests as follows: 12,718 shares vested and became exercisable on August 11, 2021, and the remaining 38,151 shares will vest in equal monthly installments over the next three years. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 16,957 shares were vested and exercisable. On August 11, 2021, pursuant to our 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan, we granted Mr. Beckett 76,304 SARs. The SARs have an exercise price of $3.42 and will vest and become exercisable in three equal installments on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of the grant date.

(4) On July 1, 2019, in conjunction with the hiring of Frank Orzechowski, the Financial Officer, the Company granted to Mr. Orzechowski (i) an option to purchase 250 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $14.00, which fully vested and became exercisable on July 1, 2019; and (ii) an option to purchase up to 6,000 shares of our common stock, with an exercise price of $14.00, which will vest and become exercisable as follows: 387 shares became vested and exercisable on July 1, 2020; 900 shares became vested and exercisable on July 1, 2021; 1,413 shares will vest and become exercisable on July 1, 2022, and the remaining 3,300 shares will vest and become exercisable on July 1, 2023. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 1,287 shares were vested and exercisable. On May 28, 2020, we granted Mr. Orzechowski an option to purchase 34,996 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price of $2.50 and vests as follows: 8,749 shares vested and became exercisable on June 15, 2020, and the remaining 26,247 shares will vest in equal monthly installments over the next three years. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 21,871 shares were vested and exercisable. On June 23, 2020, pursuant to our 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan, we granted Mr. Orzechowski 18,028 SARs. The SARs have an exercise price of $2.63 and will vest and become exercisable in three equal installments on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of the grant date. As of December 31, 2021, 6,009 SARs were vested and exercisable. On August 11, 2021, we granted Mr. Orzechowski an option to purchase 48,580 shares of our common stock under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan in connection with his employment arrangement. The option has an exercise price of $3.42 and vests as follows: 12,145 shares vested and became exercisable on August 11, 2021, and the remaining 36,435 shares will vest in equal monthly installments over the next three years. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 16,193 shares were vested and exercisable. On August 11, 2021, pursuant to our 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan, we granted Mr. Orzechowski 48,580 SARs. The SARs have an exercise price of $3.42 and will vest and become exercisable in three equal installments on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries of the grant date.

Equity Awards

We offer stock options, stock appreciation rights, and stock awards to certain of our employees, including our executive officers, as the long-term incentive component of our compensation program. We generally grant equity awards to new hires upon their commencing employment with us. Our stock options allow employees to purchase shares of our common stock at a price per share equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant and may or may not be intended to qualify as “incentive stock options” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Our stock appreciation rights allow employees to receive a cash payment for the difference between the market price of our common stock on the date of exercise and the strike price. We sometimes also offer stock options, stock appreciation rights and stock awards to our consultants in lieu of cash. Our stock options allow consultants to purchase shares of our common stock at a price per share equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant and are not intended to qualify as “incentive stock options” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Our stock appreciation rights allow consultants to receive a cash payment for the difference between the market price of our common stock on the date of exercise and the strike price. Stock options, stock appreciation rights, and stock awards granted to our executive officers may be subject to accelerated vesting in certain circumstances.

Retirement Plans

We maintain a qualified 401(k) plan, in which all eligible employees may participate. We make safe harbor contributions to match 100% of each participant’s contribution up to 3% of salary, and 50% of the next 2% of salary contributed. Safe harbor contributions are 100% vested. We may also elect, on an annual basis, to make a discretionary contribution to the plan, but have not done so to date. Our elective matches and elective contributions vest to participant accounts as follows: 20% after two years of service, and 20% per year thereafter until the participant reaches 6 years of service, at which time, employer contributions vest 100%. As a tax-qualified retirement plan, contributions to the 401(k) plan and earnings on those contributions are not taxable to the employees until distributed from the 401(k) plan.

No Tax Gross-Ups

We do not make gross-up payments to cover our executive officers’ personal income taxes that may pertain to any of the compensation paid or provided by our company.

2013 Equity Incentive Plan

Plan Purpose

Our Board of Directors adopted the 2013 Plan to (1) encourage selected employees, officers, directors, consultants and advisers to improve our operations and increase our profitability, (2) encourage selected employees, officers, directors, consultants and advisers to accept or continue employment or association with us, and (3) increase the interest of selected employees, officers, directors, consultants and advisers in our welfare through participation in the growth in value of our common stock. All of our current employees, directors and consultants are eligible to participate in the 2013 Plan.

Administration

The 2013 Plan is to be administered by the Board or by a committee to which administration of the Plan, or of part of thereof, is delegated by the Board. The 2013 Plan is currently administered by our Compensation Committee, which we refer to below as the “Administrator.” The Administrator is responsible for selecting the officers, employees, directors, consultants and advisers who will receive Options, Stock Appreciation Rights and Stock Awards. Subject to the requirements imposed by the 2013 Plan, the Administrator is also responsible for determining the terms and conditions of each Option and Stock Appreciation Right award, including the number of shares subject to the Option, the exercise price, expiration date and vesting period of the Option and whether the option is an Incentive Option or a Non-Qualified Option. Subject to the requirements imposed by the 2013 Plan, the Administrator is also responsible for determining the terms and conditions of each Stock Award, including the number of shares granted, the purchase price (if any), and the vesting, transfer and other restrictions imposed on the stock. The Administrator has the power, authority and discretion to make all other determinations deemed necessary or advisable for the administration of the 2013 Plan or of any award under the 2013 Plan.

Neither the Board nor any committee of the Board to which administration of the 2013 Plan is delegated will provide advice to participants about whether or not to accept or exercise their awards. Each participant must make his or her own decision about whether or not to accept or exercise an award.

The 2013 Plan is not subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and is not a qualified pension, profit sharing or bonus plan under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code

Stock Subject to the 2013 Plan

As of March 23, 2022, there were 1,473,297 shares previously issued or subject to outstanding awards under the 2013 Plan and 262,262 shares were available for future issuance under the 2013 Plan.

If awards granted under the 2013 Plan expire or otherwise terminate or are cancelled without being exercised in full, the shares of common stock not acquired pursuant to such awards will again become available for issuance under the 2013 Plan. If shares of common stock issued pursuant to awards under the 2013 Plan are forfeited to or repurchased by us, the forfeited or repurchased stock will again become available for issuance under the 2013 Plan.

If shares of common stock subject to an award are not delivered to a participant because such shares are withheld for payment of taxes incurred in connection with the exercise of an Option, or the issuance of shares under a Stock Award, or the award is exercised through a reduction of shares subject to the award (“net exercised”), then the number of shares that are not delivered will not again be available for issuance under the 2013 Plan. In addition, if the exercise price of any award is satisfied by the tender of shares of common stock to us (whether by actual delivery or attestation), the shares tendered will not again be available for issuance under the 2013 Plan.

Eligibility

All directors, employees, consultants and advisors of the Company and its subsidiaries are eligible to receive awards under the 2013 Plan. Incentive Options may only be granted under the 2013 Plan to a person who is a full-time officer or employee of the Company or a subsidiary. The Administrator will determine from time-to-time which directors, employees, consultants and advisers will be granted awards under the 2013 Plan.

Terms of Awards

Written Agreement

Each award under the 2013 Plan will be evidenced by an agreement in a form approved by the Administrator.

Exercise Price; Base Value

The exercise price for a Non-Qualified Option or an Incentive Option may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the Common Stock on the date of the grant of the Non-Qualified Option or Incentive Option. With respect to an Option holder who owns stock possessing more than 10% of the total voting power of all classes of our stock, the exercise price for an Incentive Option may not be less than 110% of the fair market value of the Common Stock on the date of the grant of the Incentive Option. The base value of a Stock Appreciation Right shall also be no less than 100% of the Common Stock on the date of the grant of the Stock Appreciation Right. The 2013 Plan does not specify a minimum exercise price for Stock Awards.

Vesting

Each Option, Stock Appreciation Right or Stock Award will become exercisable or non-forfeitable (that is, “vest”) under conditions specified by the Administrator at the time of grant. Vesting typically is based upon continued service as a director or employee but may be based upon any performance criteria and other contingencies that are determined by the Administrator. Shares subject to Stock Awards may be subject to specified restrictions concerning transferability, repurchase by the Company and forfeiture of the shares issued, together with such other restrictions as may be determined by the Administrator.

Expiration Date

Each Option or Stock Appreciation Right must be exercised by a date specified in the award agreement, which may not be more than ten years after the grant date. Except as otherwise provided in the relevant agreement, an Option or Stock Appreciation Right ceases to be exercisable ninety days after the termination of the holder’s employment with us.

Transfers of Options

Unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, Options are not transferable except by will or the laws of descent and distribution.

Purchase Price Payment

Unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, the purchase price of common stock acquired under the 2013 Plan is payable by cash or check at the time of an Option exercise or acquisition of a Stock Award. The Company does not charge participants any fees or commissions in connection with their acquisition of common stock under the 2013 Plan. The Administrator also has discretion to accept the following types of payment from participants:

Withholding Taxes

At the time of his or her exercise of an Option or Stock Appreciation Right, an employee is responsible for paying all applicable federal and state withholding taxes. A holder of Stock Awards is responsible for paying all applicable federal and state withholding taxes once the shares covered by the award cease to be forfeitable or at any other time required by applicable law.

Securities Law Compliance

Shares of common stock will not be issued pursuant to the exercise of an Option or the receipt of a Stock Award unless the Administrator determines that the exercise of the Option or receipt of the Stock Award and the issuance and delivery of such shares will comply with all relevant provisions of law, including, without limitation, the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), applicable state and foreign securities laws and the requirements of any stock exchange on which our Common Stock is traded.

Effects of Certain Corporate Transactions

Except as otherwise determined by the Administrator, in the event of a “corporate transaction,” all previously unexercised Options and Stock Appreciation Rights will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of the corporate transaction and all unvested Restricted Stock awards will be forfeited immediately prior to the consummation of the corporate transaction. The Administrator, in its discretion, may permit exercise of any Options or Stock Appreciation Rights prior to their termination, even if those awards would not otherwise have been exercisable, or provide that outstanding awards will be assumed or an equivalent Option or Stock Appreciation Right substituted by a successor corporation. The Administrator, in its discretion, may remove any restrictions as to any Restricted Stock awards or provide that all outstanding Restricted Stock awards will participate in the corporate transaction with an equivalent stock substituted by the successor corporation subject to the restrictions. In general, a “corporate transaction” means:

Other Adjustment Provisions

If the stock of the Company is changed by reason of a stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, combination or reclassification, appropriate adjustments shall be made by the Administrator, in its discretion, in (1) the number and class of shares of stock subject to the 2013 Plan and each Option and grant of Stock Awards outstanding under the 2013 Plan, and (2) the purchase price of each outstanding Option and (if applicable) Stock Award.

Amendment or Termination of the Plan

The Board of Directors may at any time amend, discontinue or terminate the 2013 Plan. With specified exceptions, no amendment, suspension or termination of the Plan may adversely affect outstanding Options or Stock Appreciation Rights or the terms that are applicable to outstanding Stock Awards. No amendment, suspension or termination of the Plan requires stockholder approval unless such approval is required under applicable law or under the rules of any stock exchange on which our Common Stock is traded. Unless terminated earlier by the Board of Directors, the 2013 Plan will terminate automatically on March 15, 2023, which is the tenth anniversary of the date of the 2013 Plan’s adoption by the Board.

2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan

On June 23, 2020, our Board of Directors adopted the Sigma Labs, Inc. 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan (the “Plan”). The purposes of the Plan are to: (i) enable the Company to attract and retain the types of employees, consultants, and directors (collectively, “Service Providers”) who will contribute to the Company’s long-range success; (ii) provide incentives that align the interests of Service Providers with those of the shareholders of the Company; and (iii) promote the success of the Company’s business. The Plan only provides for incentive awards that are only made in the form of stock appreciation rights payable in cash (“SARs”). No shares of common stock were reserved in connection with the adoption of the Plan since no shares will be issued pursuant to the Plan.

Governance of the Plan

The Plan will be administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board or, in the Board’s sole discretion, by the Board. The Compensation Committee will have the authority to, among other things, (i) construe and interpret the Plan and apply its provisions; (ii) promulgate, amend, and rescind rules and regulations relating to the administration of the Plan; (iii) delegate its authority to one or more persons who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder with respect to SARs that do not involve “insiders” within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act; (iv) determine when SARs are to be granted under the Plan and the applicable grant date; (v) prescribe the terms and conditions of each SAR, including, without limitation, the exercise price and medium of payment and vesting provisions, and to specify the provisions of the SAR Agreement relating to such grant; (vi) amend any outstanding SARs, subject, in certain cases, to the participant’s consent; and (vii) make all other determinations which may be necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan.

Eligible Participants

SARS may be granted only to persons who are Service Providers, and those persons whom the Committee determines are reasonably expected to become Service Providers following the grant date. The Committee may from time to time designate those Service Providers, if any, to be granted SARs under the Plan, the number of SARs which will be granted to each such person, and any other terms or conditions relating to SARs as it may deem appropriate to the extent consistent with the provisions of the Plan. A participant who has been granted a SAR may, if otherwise eligible, be granted additional incentive awards at any time.

Grant. The Committee may grant SARs to any Service Provider. A SAR is the right to receive an amount equal to the Spread with respect to a share of the Company’s common stock upon the exercise of the SAR. The “Spread” is the difference between the exercise price per share specified in a SAR agreement on the date of grant and the fair market value per share on the date of exercise of the SAR.

General Provisions. The terms and conditions of each SAR will be evidenced by a SAR agreement. The exercise price per share will not be less than 100% of the fair market value of a Share on the date of grant of the SAR. The term of the SAR will be determined by the Committee but may not be greater than ten years from the date of grant.

Exercise. SARs are exercisable subject to such terms and conditions as the Committee may specify in the SAR agreement for the SAR. A SAR may be exercised by the delivery of a signed written notice of exercise to the Company, which must be received and accepted by the Company as of a date set by the Company in advance of the effective date of the proposed exercise. The notice must set forth the number of SARs being exercised, together with any additional documents the Company may require.

Settlement. Upon exercise of a SAR, the Grantee will receive an amount equal to the Spread. The Spread, less applicable withholdings, will be payable only in cash. In no event may any SAR be settled in any manner other than by delivery of a cash payment from the Company.

Form of SAR Agreement

Each participant to whom a SAR is granted will be required to enter into a SAR agreement with the Company, in such a form as is provided by the Committee. The SAR agreement will contain specific terms as determined by the Committee, in its discretion, with respect to the participant’s particular SAR. Such terms need not be uniform among all participants or any similarly situated participants. The SAR agreement may include, without limitation, vesting, forfeiture and other provisions particular to the particular participant’s SAR, as well as, for example, provisions to the effect that the participant must abide by all the terms and conditions of the Plan and such other terms and conditions as may be imposed by the Committee. A SAR will include such terms and conditions as are determined by the Committee, in its discretion, to be appropriate with respect to any participant.

The Committee may specify in a SAR agreement that the participant’s rights, payments, and benefits with respect to a SAR will be subject to forfeiture upon the occurrence of certain specified events, in addition to any otherwise applicable vesting or performance conditions of the incentive award. Such events may include, but are not limited to, termination with cause or other conduct by the participant that is detrimental to the business or reputation of the Company.

Termination of Employment

Unless otherwise expressly provided in the participant’s SAR agreement, if the participant’s employment is terminated for any reason other than due to cause, death or disability, any non-vested portion of any outstanding SAR at the time of such termination will automatically expire and terminate and no further vesting will occur after the termination date. In such event, except as otherwise expressly provided in the SAR agreement, the participant will be entitled to exercise such participant’s rights only with respect to the portion of the SAR that was vested as of the termination date for a period that will end on the earlier of (i) the expiration date set forth in the SAR agreement or (ii) ninety days after the date of termination.

Termination for Cause

Unless otherwise expressly provided in the participant’s SAR agreement, in the event of the termination of a participant’s employment for cause, all vested and non-vested SARs granted to such participant will immediately expire, and will not be exercisable to any extent.

Disability or Death

Unless otherwise expressly provided in the participant’s SAR agreement, upon termination of employment as a result of the participant’s disability or death, (i) any non-vested portion of any outstanding SAR will immediately terminate upon termination and no further vesting will occur, and (ii) any vested SAR will expire on the earlier of either (A) the expiration date set forth in the SAR agreement or (B) 12 months following the participant’s termination of employment.

Continuation

Subject to the conditions and limitations of the Plan and applicable law, in the event that a participant ceases to be an employee, outside director or consultant, as applicable, for whatever reason, the Committee and participant may mutually agree with respect to any outstanding SAR then held by the participant (i) for an acceleration or other adjustment in any vesting schedule applicable to the SAR award; (ii) for a continuation of the exercise period following termination for a longer period than is otherwise provided under such SAR; or (iii) to any other change in the terms and conditions of the SAR. In the event of any such change to an outstanding SAR, a written amendment to the participant’s SAR agreement will be required. No amendment to a participant’s SAR will be made to the extent compensation payable pursuant thereto as a result of such amendment would be considered deferred compensation that is not excepted from taxation or penalties under Code Section 409A, unless otherwise determined by the Committee.

SARs granted under the Plan are not transferable other than to a designated beneficiary upon the Participant’s death or by will or the laws of descent and distribution.

Change in Control

Unless otherwise provided in a SAR Agreement, notwithstanding any contrary provision in the Plan, in the event of a Change in Control (as defined in the Plan), all outstanding SARs will become 100% vested and immediately and fully exercisable.

Amendment

The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend or terminate the Plan. The Committee at any time, and from time to time, may amend the terms of any one or more SAR agreements, except that the Committee may not affect any amendment which would otherwise constitute an impairment of the rights under any SAR unless the participant consents in writing.

As of March 23, 2022, there were 412,657 SARs outstanding under the 2020 Plan.

Director Compensation

We believe that a combination of cash and equity compensation is appropriate to attract and retain the individuals we desire to serve on our Board of Directors. Our cash compensation policies are designed to encourage frequent and active interaction between directors and our executives both during and between formal meetings as well as compensate our directors for their time and effort. Further, we believe it is important to align the long-term interests of our non-employee directors (i.e., directors who are not employed by us as officers or employees) with those of the Company and its stockholders, and that awarding equity compensation to, and thereby increasing ownership of our common stock by, our non-employee directors is an appropriate means to achieve this alignment. Directors who are also employees of our company do not receive compensation for their service on our Board of Directors.

Under our director compensation program for 2021, each non-employee director received annual compensation of $10,000, and an option to purchase 50,000 shares of our common stock, which is fully vested. All cash fees are paid quarterly. Also, each non-employee director may be reimbursed for his reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of his duties as a director as our Board of Directors determines from time to time. Our Compensation Committee intends to evaluate our director compensation program and determine whether any changes should be recommended to the Board.

The following table sets forth certain information concerning the compensation paid to non-employee directors in 2021 for their services as directors of the Company. The compensation of Mr. Ruport, who serves as a director and serves as our Chief Executive Officer, is described in the Summary Compensation Table of Executive Officers. Our non-employee directors do not receive fringe or other benefits.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

The following table sets forth certain information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 23, 2022 (a) by each person known by us to own beneficially 5% or more of any class of our common stock, (b) by our named executive officers and each of our directors (and director nominees) and (c) by all executive officers and directors of the Company as a group.

The number of shares beneficially owned by each stockholder is determined in accordance with SEC rules. Under these rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which a person has sole or shared voting power or investment power. Percentage ownership is based on 10,498,802 shares of our common stock outstanding on March 23, 2022. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, shares of common stock subject to stock options, warrants or other rights held by such person that are currently convertible or exercisable or will become convertible or exercisable within 60 days of March 23, 2022 are considered outstanding, although these shares are not considered outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.

We believe, based on information provided to us, that each of the stockholders listed below has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares beneficially owned by the stockholder unless noted otherwise, subject to community property laws where applicable.

*Less than 1%.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table provides certain information with respect to our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2021.

(1) On March 15, 2013, the Company’s board of directors approved the Company’s 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. The 2013 Equity Incentive Plan was approved by our stockholders on October 10, 2013. On July 15, 2021, an amendment to our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan was approved by our stockholders to increase the number of shares of our common stock subject to the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan to 1,765,000.

(2) On June 23, 2020, our Board of Directors adopted the Sigma Labs, Inc. 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan (the “Plan”). The purposes of the Plan are to: (i) enable the Company to attract and retain the types of employees, consultants, and directors who will contribute to the Company’s long-range success; (ii) provide incentives that align the interests of Service Providers with those of the shareholders of the Company; and (iii) promote the success of the Company’s business. The Plan only provides for incentive awards that are only made in the form of stock appreciation rights payable in cash (“SARs”). No shares of common stock were reserved in connection with the adoption of the Plan since no shares will be issued pursuant to the Plan. As of December 31, 2021, the Company has awarded 370,624 SARs pursuant to the Plan.

(3) On December 3, 2019, in conjunction with the hiring of Mark K. Ruport, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, the Company granted to Mr. Ruport (i) an option to purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $11.20, which fully vested and became exercisable on January 3,2020; and (ii) an option to purchase up to 40,000 shares of our common stock, with an exercise price of $11.20, which will vest and become exercisable in equal monthly installments over three years from the date of grant. As of December 31, 2021, a total of 27,025 shares were vested and exercisable. In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), such options were granted to Mr. Ruport as an inducement award outside of the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan.

Other Equity Compensation

On January 8, 2021, we entered into an underwriting agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., for which compensation has been paid with equity securities that have been previously disclosed in our filings with the SEC, including warrants issued in January 2021 to purchase up to 136,943 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $3.75 per share. On March 22, 2021, we entered into an amendment to the underwriting agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., for which compensation has been paid with equity securities that have been previously disclosed in our filings with the SEC, including warrants issued in March 2021 to purchase up to 175,200 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.55625 per share.

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

The following summarizes transactions by us since the beginning of the Company’s last fiscal year, and any proposed transactions in which any of our directors, director nominees, executive officers or, to our knowledge, beneficial owners of more than 5% of our capital stock or any member of the immediate family of any of the foregoing persons had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than equity and other compensation, termination, change in control and other arrangements, which are described under “Executive Compensation” and “Director Compensation” above.

Transactions with Directors and Officers

We have entered into an “at will” employment agreement, effective as of September 20, 2021, with Jacob Brunsberg under which he was engaged to serve as our Senior Vice President of Product Management and Strategic Relationships. On February 16, 2022, Mr. Brunsberg’s employment agreement was amended in connection with his appointment as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company to increase his annual base salary from $200,000 to $250,000. In addition, on February 16, 2022, Mr. Brunsberg was granted a stock option to purchase up to 70,000 shares of common stock of the Company, at an exercise price equal to $2.50 per share under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, and 30,000 stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) under the 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan, at an exercise price of $2.50 each. Both the option and the SARs vest in equal (as closely as possible) monthly installments over thirty-six months from the grant date, have five year-terms and are on such other terms and conditions as set forth in the Company’s respective forms of standard agreement. Pursuant to the employment agreement, Mr. Brunsberg was previously granted a stock option to purchase up to 100,000 shares of common stock of the Company, at an exercise price equal to $3.18 per share, which was the closing market price of the Company’s common stock on September 20, 2021 (i.e., the date of grant), under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. Such option is fully vested and exercisable. The option has a five-year term and is on such other terms set forth in the Company’s standard form of non-qualified stock option agreement, Further, Mr. Brunsberg is eligible to participate in the Company’s 2013 Equity Incentive Plan and 2020 Stock Appreciation Rights Plan and is eligible to receive medical and dental benefits, life insurance, short and long-term disability coverage, and to participate in the Company’s Section 125 cafeteria plan, vision plan and 401K plan.

We have entered into an “at will” employment agreement, effective as of August 10, 2015, with Ronald Fisher under which he was engaged to serve as our Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Fisher is entitled to receive an annual base salary of $180,000. Pursuant to the employment agreement, Mr. Fisher also was granted, as a signing bonus, (i) a stock option to purchase up to 2,375 shares of common stock of the Company, at an exercise price equal to $118.00 per share, which was the closing market price of the Company’s common stock on August 10, 2015 (i.e., the date of grant), under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. Such option is fully vested and exercisable. The option has a ten-year term and is on such other terms set forth in the Company’s standard form of non-qualified stock option agreement, and (ii) 125 shares of common stock of the Company with a value equal to the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant and is on such other terms and provisions as are contained in Sigma Labs’ standard form of restricted stock letter agreement under the Plan. Such shares are fully vested. Additionally, the Company granted Mr. Fisher under the 2013 Plan, effective as of August 11, 2016, a stock option to purchase up to 500 shares of common stock of the Company. Such option has an exercise price equal to the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant and is fully vested and exercisable. Further, Mr. Fisher is eligible to participate in the Company’s 2013 Equity Incentive Plan and Stock Appreciation Rights Plan and is eligible to receive medical and dental benefits, life insurance, short and long-term disability coverage, and to participate in the Company’s Section 125 cafeteria plan, vision plan and 401K plan.

On September 18, 2017, we and Mr. Fisher entered into Amendment No. 1 to Mr. Fisher’s employment agreement, effective August 10, 2015, pursuant to which, effective as of February 11, 2017, item 2, entitled “Performance Bonuses,” of Exhibit A of Mr. Fisher’s employment agreement was deleted in its entirety and replaced with the new item 2 that was set forth in the amendment to employment agreement. Such amendment provided that Mr. Fisher would become entitled to receive performance-based stock and cash bonuses if certain milestones were satisfied by February 11, 2018, so long as Mr. Fisher remained an employee of the Company as of the date the applicable milestone was satisfied. On February 21, 2018, the Company and Mr. Fisher entered into Amendment No. 2 to Mr. Fisher’s employment agreement, pursuant to which the foregoing February 11, 2018 date was extended to December 31, 2018. On January 10, 2019, the Company granted Mr. Fisher an option to purchase up to 1,184 shares of common stock in exchange for the cancellation of his accrued but unpaid vacation balance at December 31, 2018. On March 7, 2019, the Company issued 150 shares of common stock under the 2013 Plan to Mr. Fisher connected with the satisfaction of a performance milestone.

On January 27, 2020, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “SPA”) with Mark K. Ruport, Salvatore Battinelli and Frank Garofalo, a former director, and Carl Schwartz, who was the Company’s largest shareholder. Pursuant to the SPA, the Company issued and sold 333.33 shares of the Company’s Series E Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series E Preferred Stock”), and 5½ year Class A Warrants to purchase 48,544 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Class A Warrants”) for a total gross purchase price of $500,000. Upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company, the holders of Series E Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive out of the assets of the Company an amount equal to the stated value of the Series E Preferred Stock, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon and any other fees or liquidated damages then due and owing thereon under the Certificate of Designation, for each share of Series E Preferred Stock before any distribution or payment may be made to the holders of any junior securities, but after distribution or payment to holders of the Series D Preferred Stock and any other senior securities; and if the assets of the Company are insufficient to pay in full such amounts, then the entire assets to be distributed to the holders of Series E Preferred Stock are to be ratably distributed among such holders in accordance with the respective amounts that would be payable on such shares if all amounts payable thereon were paid in full. The Series E Preferred Stock is initially convertible into 48,544 shares of common stock (61,651 shares of common stock including the “make-whole dividend), and the Class A Warrants have an initial exercise price of $11.30 per share.

Indemnification Agreements

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. These agreements, among other things, require us to indemnify each director and executive officer to the fullest extent permitted by Nevada law, including indemnification of expenses such as attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by the director or executive officer in any action or proceeding, including any action or proceeding by or in the right of us, arising out of the person’s services as a director or executive officer.

Policies and Procedures for Related Person Transactions

Our Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving, as appropriate, all transactions with related persons (other than compensation-related matters, which should be reviewed by our Compensation Committee), in accordance with its Charter and the Nasdaq marketplace rules. In reviewing and approving any such transactions, our Audit Committee is tasked to consider all relevant facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to, whether the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in an arm’s length transaction and the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

Audit Fees

The following is a summary of the fees billed to the Company by Haynie & Company for professional services rendered with respect to the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:

In the above table, in accordance with the SEC’s definitions and rules, “audit fees” are fees that we paid for professional services for the audit of our financial statements included in our Form 10-K and review of the interim financial statements included in quarterly reports, and for services that are normally provided by the registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements; “audit-related fees” are fees for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements; and “tax fees” are fees for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.

The Audit Committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures and other protocols are discussed in its written charter which can be found at www.sigmalabsinc.com under the tab “Investors.” Before our independent registered public accounting firm is engaged by the Company to render audit or non-audit services, the Audit Committee must pre-approve the engagement. Audit Committee pre-approval of audit and non-audit services are not required if the engagement for the services is entered into pursuant to pre-approval policies and procedures established by the Audit Committee regarding the Company’s engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm, provided the policies and procedures are detailed as to the particular service, the Audit Committee is informed of each service provided and such policies and procedures do not include delegation of the Audit Committee’s responsibilities under the Exchange Act to the Company’s management. The Audit Committee may delegate to one or more designated members of the Audit Committee the authority to grant pre-approvals. If the Audit Committee elects to establish pre-approval policies and procedures regarding non-audit services, the Audit Committee must be informed of each non-audit service provided by the independent registered public accounting firm. Audit Committee pre-approval of non-audit services (other than review and attestation services) also will not be required if such services fall within available exceptions established by the SEC. The Audit Committee may not engage the independent registered public accounting firm to perform non-audit services prohibited by law or regulation. On an annual basis, our management reports to the Audit Committee all audit services performed during the previous 12 months and all fees billed by our independent registered public accounting firm for such services.

Auditor Independence

In our fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, Haynie & Company provided no professional services other than those described above, that would require our Audit Committee to consider their compatibility with maintaining the independence of Haynie & Company.

PART IV

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.

Our financial statements and related notes thereto are listed and included in this Annual Report beginning on page F-1. The following documents are furnished as exhibits to this Form 10-K.

* Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

** Filed herewith.

*** Furnished herewith.

ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY.

We may voluntarily include a summary of information required by Form 10-K under this Item 16. We have elected not to include such summary information.

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.