Item 1A. Risk Factors
Unless specifically noted or the context clearly requires otherwise, all information set forth in this annual report on Form 10-K relates to the Company as it existed as of December 31, 2022 and prior to the Company’s bankruptcy proceedings and does not, and is not intended and should not be read to, reflect the business, financial condition, and results of operations of any other entity, including any entity which may result from the bankruptcy proceedings.
As used in the risks described in this subsection, references to “the Company,” “Rockley,” “we,” “us,” and “our,” are intended to refer to the business and operations of Rockley, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Rockley may be unable to successfully implement the Plan of Reorganization and could therefore be required to cease operations.
On March 10, 2023, Rockley filed a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code in the Bankruptcy Court to implement the “Plan of Reorganization” in order to facilitate its restructuring. On March 10, 2023, the Bankruptcy Court entered its Order approving the Plan of Reorganization. Rockley’s ordinary shares and public warrants have been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and Rockley intends to file to deregister as a public company shortly after the filing of this Form 10-K. Rockley may be unable to successfully implement the Plan of Reorganization and restructuring and could therefore fail to emerge from bankruptcy, in which case it would cease operations as an independent company or otherwise. The risk factors described below relate to Rockley’s business assuming it is able to continue its business operations.
Risks Related to Rockley’s Business and Industry; Customer-Related Risks
Rockley has incurred net losses since inception and expects to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. If Rockley does not fully develop or commercialize its products and services, including its silicon photonics chipsets, or if such products and services experience significant delays, Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operation will be materially and adversely affected and Rockley may never achieve or sustain profitability.
Rockley has to date generated revenue primarily from non-recurring engineering (“NRE”) and development services for customer-specific designs of silicon photonics chipsets for incorporation into its customers’ end products. Rockley has incurred net losses since inception and believes that it will continue to incur operating and net losses for the foreseeable future, including for a period of time after commercialization, if any, of its silicon photonics chipsets. Even if Rockley is able to successfully develop and sell its products, there can be no guarantee that it will do so within its anticipated timeframe or that its products will be commercially successful. Rockley’s potential future profitability is dependent upon the successful development, commercial introduction, and acceptance of its products and services, including its silicon photonics chipsets for the consumer wearables market and its module applications with biomarker detection capabilities for advanced health metrics. Because Rockley will incur costs to develop and commercialize its products and services, including its chipsets and module applications, before it receives any significant revenue from any sales of such products or services, Rockley’s losses in future periods may continue. Rockley may never achieve or sustain profitability.
Rockley may become subject to restrictive debt covenants that may limit its ability to finance its future operations and capital needs and to pursue business opportunities and activities.
Rockley’s financing agreements prior to the bankruptcy proceedings contained restrictive covenants, including a requirement to maintain at least $35 million cash on hand, that limit its ability to take certain actions. While these financing arrangements were extinguished in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings, Rockley may in the future need to enter into financing arrangements with similar restrictive covenants. These restrictions may limit Rockley’s ability to operate its businesses and may prohibit or limit its activity to enhance its operations or take advantage of potential business opportunities as they arise. All of these limitations are subject to significant exceptions and qualifications. These covenants could limit Rockley’s ability to finance its future operations and capital needs and its ability to pursue business opportunities and activities that may be in its interest. If Rockley breaches any such covenants it may be in default under its indebtedness, which may then become immediately due and payable. Rockley may not have, or be able to obtain, sufficient funds to make these accelerated payments. Rockley’s ability to comply with the provisions of its financing arrangements may be affected by changes in economic or business conditions or other events beyond its control.
If the end products into which Rockley’s products are incorporated are not fully developed and commercialized or do not achieve widespread market acceptance, or if such products experience delays, cancellations, or reductions, Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected.
Rockley’s success in developing and commercializing its products depends in large part on its customers’ success in developing, commercializing, and achieving widespread market acceptance of their end products that incorporate Rockley’s products. Rockley’s customers may be unable to fully develop and commercialize, or achieve widespread market acceptance of, their end products that incorporate Rockley’s products. Further, these customers may not continue to incorporate Rockley’s products into their end products either in the short or long term. If such customers’ end products are not fully developed and commercialized, fail to achieve or maintain widespread market acceptance, experience delays, or if Rockley’s customers otherwise choose not incorporate Rockley’s products into their end products, Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected.
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If Rockley’s products are not selected for inclusion in its customers’ end products, including products for the consumer health and wellness market, or adopted in other industry verticals or use cases or are not adopted by leading consumer and medical device companies, life sciences companies, or their respective suppliers, Rockley’s business will be materially and adversely affected.
Rockley is currently developing products for use in its customers’ end products, which are in varying stages of development. Many of these products, including products for consumer device, medical device, and life sciences companies, require extensive testing or qualification processes, which involve testing of Rockley’s products in the customers’ end products and systems, as well as testing for reliability. These qualification processes may continue for several months or longer. However, qualification of any of Rockley’s products by a customer does not assure any sales of such product by Rockley to that customer. Even after successful qualification and sales by Rockley of a product to a customer, a subsequent revision in Rockley’s third-party contractors’ manufacturing process or Rockley’s selection of a new supplier may require a new qualification process with Rockley’s customers, which may result in delays in the sale of such product and could also result in Rockley holding excess or obsolete inventory. After Rockley’s products are qualified, it can take several months before the customer commences production of end products that incorporate Rockley’s products. Rockley spends significant time and resources to have its products selected for incorporation into these end products, which is known as a “design win.” If Rockley fails to win a significant number of design wins in its target markets, its business, results of operations, and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.
Rockley’s limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate its future prospects and the risks and challenges which may impact its business.
Rockley was founded in 2013, completed development of its advanced sensing platform in 2019, launched its healthcare module offering in 2020, and has not yet fully developed and commercialized any of its products. This relatively limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate Rockley’s future prospects and the risks and challenges it may encounter. The risks and challenges which may impact Rockley’s future prospects and business include, but are not limited to, its ability to:
successfully commercialize its products and services, including its silicon photonics chipsets, module applications, and analytics subscription service;
develop innovative applications for its silicon photonics and sensing technology;
expand its sales and marketing activities and distribution channels;
improve its operational, financial, and management information systems;
attract, hire, integrate, and retain qualified talent to support the growth of its business;
protect its intellectual property portfolio;
comply with existing and new or modified laws and regulations applicable to its business;
manage capital expenditures for its current and future products, as well as its supply chain and supplier relationships;
anticipate and respond to macroeconomic changes and changes in the markets in which it operates;
effectively manage its growth and business operations, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business; and
hire, integrate, and retain qualified talent to support the growth of its business.
If Rockley fails to successfully manage the risks and difficulties that it faces, its business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Further, because Rockley has a limited operating history and has not yet commercialized its products, it is difficult to accurately assess its future prospects or financial performance. Rockley has encountered in the past, and will encounter in the future, risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies with limited operating histories in rapidly changing industries. If Rockley’s assumptions regarding these risks and uncertainties, which it uses to plan and operate its business, are incorrect or change, or if it does not address these risks successfully, its results of operations could differ materially from its expectations and its business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
The strategic initiatives Rockley may undertake in the future may be more costly than currently anticipated and Rockley may not generate sufficient revenue to offset the costs of these initiatives, which in turn would negatively impact Rockley’s ability to achieve and maintain profitability.
Rockley may in the future invest in initiatives designed to grow its business, including:
partnering with customers and potential customers to develop and commercialize Rockley’s products;
investing in research and development;
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investing in its workforce, including its engineering talent;
expanding its sales, marketing, and distribution efforts;
investing in new applications and markets for its products; and
partnering with third-parties to develop manufacturing processes.
These initiatives may be more costly than anticipated and Rockley may not generate sufficient revenue to offset the costs of these initiatives. Certain of Rockley’s market opportunities, such as healthcare monitoring devices incorporating sensing capabilities for disease detection and management, are at an early stage of development, and it may be years before these end markets generate demand for Rockley’s products at scale, if at all. Rockley’s revenue may be adversely affected for a number of reasons, including the rate and degree of development or market acceptance of new technology that competes with its products, failure of Rockley’s customers to develop and commercialize their end products that incorporate Rockley’s products, Rockley’s inability to effectively manage production of its products to scale, Rockley’s inability to enter new markets or help its customers adopt Rockley’s products for new applications, and Rockley’s failure to attract new customers or expand orders from existing customers. Further, it is difficult to predict the size and growth rate of Rockley’s target markets, customer demand for its products, commercialization timelines, developments in silicon photonics technology, the entry of competitive products, or the success of existing competitive products and services. If Rockley’s revenue does not grow over the short or long term, its ability to achieve and maintain profitability will be adversely affected, and the value of its business may significantly decrease.
Rockley expects its results of operations to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis.
Rockley’s revenue and operating results have fluctuated in the past and may vary significantly in the future. Historical comparisons of its operating results may not be relevant, or indicative of future results. In particular, because Rockley’s revenue to date has been generated from NRE and development services for customer-specific designs of silicon photonics chipsets for testing in the customers’ end products, revenue in any given quarter or period can fluctuate based on the timing and success of its customers’ development projects. Accordingly, the results of any one quarter should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. Rockley’s quarterly and annual financial results may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of its control and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of Rockley’s business.
Rockley’s target customer and product markets may not grow or develop as Rockley currently expects, and if Rockley fails to penetrate new markets and scale successfully within those markets, Rockley’s revenue and financial condition would be harmed.
Rockley’s target markets include the consumer wearables, mobile device, and medical device markets. Any deterioration in Rockley’s target customer or product markets or reduction in capital spending to support these markets could lead to a reduction in demand for Rockley’s products, which would adversely affect its revenue and results of operations. Further, if Rockley’s target customer markets do not grow or develop in ways that Rockley currently expects, demand for Rockley’s products may not materialize as expected, which would also negatively impact its business, financial condition, and results of operations. Rockley may be unable to predict the timing or development of trends in its target markets with any accuracy. If Rockley fails to accurately predict market requirements or market demand for these solutions, Rockley’s business may suffer.
Rockley’s future revenue growth, if any, will depend in part on Rockley’s ability to penetrate Rockley’s current target markets, and to enter emerging markets, such as the market for consumer healthcare monitoring devices and predictive analytics. Meeting the technical requirements and securing design wins in any of these new markets will require a substantial investment of Rockley’s time and resources. Rockley may not secure design wins from these or other new markets, or achieve meaningful revenue from sales in these markets. If any of these markets do not develop as Rockley currently anticipates or if Rockley is unable to penetrate and scale them successfully, it may adversely affect Rockley’s ability to grow its business.
Rockley’s target markets are characterized by rapid technological change, which requires Rockley to continue to develop new products and technology innovations and could adversely affect market adoption of its products.
Rapid technological changes in the markets for sensing technology, including the consumer wearables, mobile device, and medical device markets, could adversely affect adoption of Rockley’s products, either generally or for particular applications. Rockley’s future success will depend upon its ability to develop and introduce a variety of new capabilities and innovations to its products, as well as introduce new products, to address the changing needs of its target markets. Delays in delivering new products that meet customers’ requirements could damage Rockley’s relationships with its customers and lead them to seek alternative sources of supply. Further, the introduction of new products by Rockley’s competitors, the delay or cancellation of any of Rockley’s customers’ end products into which Rockley’s products are designed, the market acceptance of products based on new or alternative technologies, or the emergence of new industry standards could render Rockley’s existing or future products uncompetitive, obsolete, and/or otherwise unmarketable.
In addition, Rockley’s success to date has been based on the delivery of prototypes and services to research and development programs in which customers are investing substantial capital to develop new products. Delays in introducing products and innovations, the failure to choose correctly among technical alternatives, or the failure to offer innovative products at competitive
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prices may cause existing and potential customers to purchase Rockley’s competitors’ products or turn to alternative sensing technology. If Rockley is unable to successfully develop products that meet changing customer or market requirements on a timely basis or that remain competitive with technological alternatives, its products may fail to achieve commercial adoption, its revenue will decline, it may experience operating losses, and its business and prospects will be adversely affected.
Rockley may be unable to make the substantial investments that are required to remain competitive.
The silicon photonics industry requires substantial and continuous investment in research and development in order to bring to market new and enhanced solutions. Rockley expects its research and development expenditures to increase in the future as part of its strategy to increase demand for Rockley’s solutions in Rockley’s current target markets and to expand into additional markets. Rockley may not have sufficient resources to maintain the level of investment in research and development required to remain competitive. In addition, Rockley cannot assure you that the technologies that are the focus of its research and development expenditures will become commercially successful or generate any revenue.
If Rockley fails to compete effectively, it may lose or fail to gain market share, which could negatively impact Rockley’s operating results and Rockley’s business.
The global optical components market in general, and the consumer sensor, healthcare, and data communications markets in particular, are highly competitive. Rockley expects competition to increase and intensify as additional companies enter Rockley’s target markets. Increased competition could result in price pressure, reduced gross margins, and difficulty achieving market penetration, any of which could harm Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. Rockley’s competitors range from large, international companies offering a wide range of services and optical components, such as LEDs, lasers, detectors, or photonic integrated circuit (“PICs”), to smaller companies specializing in narrow market verticals. Rockley expects competition in its target markets to increase in the future as existing competitors improve or expand their product offerings and as new competitors enter these markets. Rockley’s ability to compete successfully depends, in part, on factors that are outside of its control, including industry and general economic trends. Rockley’s competitors may also establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties or may acquire companies that provide similar products to Rockley’s. As a result, new competitors or alliances may emerge that could capture significant market share. Any of these factors, alone or in combination with others, could harm Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations and result in a loss of market share and an increase in pricing pressure.
Rockley’s international operations expose it to operational, financial, and regulatory risks, including possible unfavorable regulatory, political, tax, and labor conditions, which could harm Rockley’s business.
Rockley’s international operations are subject to a number of other risks, including:
foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenue;
political and economic instability, international terrorism, and anti-American or British sentiment, particularly in emerging markets;
disadvantages of competing against companies from countries that are not subject to U.S. and U.K. laws and regulations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations, and U.S. anti-money laundering regulations, as well as exposure of Rockley’s foreign operations to liability under these regulatory regimes;
preference for locally branded products, and laws and business practices favoring local competition;
potential consequences of, and uncertainty related to, the “Brexit” process in the United Kingdom, which could lead to additional expense and complexity in doing business there;
less effective protection of intellectual property;
stringent regulation of the end products incorporating Rockley’s products and stringent consumer protection and product compliance regulations, including but not limited to General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union, European competition law, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, and the European Ecodesign Directive that are costly to comply with and may vary from country to country;
difficulties and costs of staffing and managing foreign operations;
foreign taxes, including withholding of payroll taxes; and
the U.S. government’s and U.K. government’s restrictions on certain technology transfer to certain countries of concern.
For example, Rockley has significant international operations that are denominated in foreign currencies, primarily the British Pound and Euro, subjecting us to foreign currency exchange risk that may adversely impact our financial results. The occurrence of any of these risks could negatively affect Rockley’s international business and consequently its business, operating results, and financial condition.
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The average selling prices of Rockley’s products could decrease rapidly over the life of the product, which may negatively affect Rockley’s revenue and margins. In addition, the selling prices Rockley is able to ultimately charge in the future for the products it is currently developing or commercializing may be less than what Rockley currently anticipates, which may cause Rockley’s actual operating results to differ materially from its expectations.
The prices that Rockley is able to ultimately charge in the future for the products it is currently developing or commercializing may experience declines for a variety of reasons, many of which are outside of Rockley’s control. In order to sell products that have a falling average unit selling price and maintain margins at the same time, Rockley will need to continually reduce product and manufacturing costs. To manage manufacturing costs, Rockley must engineer the most cost-effective design for its products and collaborate with its manufacturing counterparties to reduce manufacturing costs. Rockley also needs to continually introduce new products with higher sales prices and gross margin in order to maintain its overall gross margin. If Rockley is unable to manage the cost of older products or successfully introduce new products with higher gross margin, its revenue and overall gross margin would likely decline. In addition, the selling prices Rockley is able to ultimately charge in the future for the products it is currently developing or commercializing may be less than what Rockley currently projects, which may cause Rockley’s actual operating results to differ materially from its estimates.
Rockley’s gross margins may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, which could negatively impact Rockley’s results of operations and Rockley’s financial condition.
Rockley’s gross margins may fluctuate due to a number of factors, including customer and product mix, market acceptance of Rockley’s new products, yield, wafer pricing, packaging and testing costs, competitive pricing dynamics, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and geographic and market pricing strategies. To the extent Rockley may offer certain customers favorable prices, it would decrease Rockley’s average selling prices and likely impact gross margins. Further, Rockley may in the future offer pricing incentives to Rockley’s customers on earlier generations of products that inherently have a higher cost structure, which would negatively affect Rockley’s gross margins. In addition, in the event Rockley’s customers, including Rockley’s larger customers, exert more pressure with respect to pricing and other terms, it could put downward pressure on Rockley’s margins.
Because Rockley does not operate its own manufacturing, assembly, or testing facilities, it may not be able to reduce its costs as rapidly as companies that operate their own facilities, and Rockley’s costs may even increase, which could further reduce Rockley’s gross margins. Rockley relies primarily on obtaining yield improvements and volume-based cost reductions to drive cost reductions. To the extent that such cost reductions do not occur at a sufficient level and in a timely manner, Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected and may vary from Rockley’s estimates.
In addition, Rockley may in the future maintain an inventory of Rockley’s products at various stages of production and in finished goods inventory. Rockley will hold these inventories in anticipation of customer orders. If those customer orders do not materialize in a timely manner, Rockley may have excess or obsolete inventory which Rockley would have to reserve or write-down, and Rockley’s gross margins would be adversely affected.
Because some of the raw materials and key components in its products come from limited or single source suppliers, Rockley is susceptible to supply shortages, long lead times for components, and supply changes, including as a result of industry consolidation, any of which could disrupt its supply chain and could delay deliveries of its products to customers, which could adversely affect Rockley’s business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Some of the components used in the manufacturing of Rockley’s products are sourced from third-party suppliers. To date, Rockley has produced its products in relatively limited quantities for use in products. Rockley does not have extensive experience in managing its supply chain to manufacture and deliver its products at scale. Some of the key components used to manufacture Rockley’s products come from limited or single source suppliers. Rockley is therefore subject to the risk of shortages and long lead times in the supply of these components and the risk that its suppliers discontinue or modify components used in its products. Rockley has a global supply chain and the COVID-19 pandemic and other health epidemics and outbreaks may adversely affect its ability to source components in a timely or cost effective manner from its third-party suppliers due to, among other things, work stoppages or interruptions. For example, Rockley relies on third-party foundries to manufacture its silicon photonic integrated circuits and for wafer scale integration. Any disruptions to those foundries could materially and adversely affect Rockley’s ability to manufacture its products. In addition, the lead times associated with certain components are lengthy and preclude rapid changes in quantities and delivery schedules. Rockley has in the past experienced and may in the future experience component shortages and price fluctuations of certain key components and materials, and the predictability of the availability and pricing of these components may be limited. In the event of a component shortage, supply interruption or material pricing change from suppliers of these components, Rockley may not be able to develop alternate sources in a timely manner or at all in the case of sole or limited sources. These risks may be exacerbated if any of Rockley’s suppliers were to cease operations or be acquired by a third party. If this were to occur, Rockley may need to re-qualify the supplier and/or otherwise confirm that such an event would not cause concerns with Rockley’s end customers or otherwise negatively impact Rockley’s relationships with its end customers. Developing alternate sources of supply for these components may be time-consuming, difficult, and costly and Rockley may not be able to source these components on terms that are acceptable to it, or at all, which may undermine Rockley’s ability to meet its requirements or to fill customer orders in a timely manner. Any interruption or delay in the supply of any of these parts or components, or the inability to obtain these parts or
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components from alternate sources at acceptable prices and within a reasonable amount of time, would adversely affect Rockley’s ability to meet its scheduled product deliveries to its customers. This could adversely affect Rockley’s relationships with its customers and channel partners and could cause delays in shipment of its products and adversely affect its operating results. In addition, increased component costs could result in lower gross margins. Even where Rockley is able to pass increased component costs along to its customers, there may be a lapse of time before it is able to do so such that Rockley must absorb the increased cost. If Rockley is unable to buy these components in quantities sufficient to meet its requirements on a timely basis, it will not be able to deliver products to its customers. This in turn could materially and adversely affect Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If the foundries with which Rockley contracts do not achieve satisfactory yields or quality, Rockley’s reputation and customer relationships could be harmed.
Rockley depends on satisfactory wafer foundry manufacturing capacity, wafer prices, and production yields, as well as timely wafer delivery, to meet customer demand and enable it to maintain gross margins. The fabrication of Rockley’s products is a complex and technically demanding process. Minor deviations in the manufacturing process can cause substantial decreases in yields and, in some cases, cause production to be suspended. Rockley’s foundry vendors may experience manufacturing defects and reduced manufacturing yields from time to time. Further, any new foundry vendors Rockley employs, whether due to industry consolidation, customer requirements, or otherwise, may present additional and unexpected manufacturing challenges that could require significant management time and focus. Changes in manufacturing processes or the inadvertent use of defective or contaminated materials by the foundries that Rockley employs could result in lower than anticipated production yields or unacceptable performance of Rockley’s products. Many of these problems are difficult to detect at an early stage of the manufacturing process and may be time-consuming and expensive to correct. Poor production yields from the foundries that Rockley employs, or defects, integration issues, or other performance problems in Rockley’s products could significantly harm Rockley’s customer relationships and financial results, and give rise to financial or other damages to Rockley’s customers. Any product liability claim brought against Rockley, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time-consuming and costly to defend.
Manufacturing yields for new products initially tend to be lower as Rockley completes product development and commence volume manufacturing, and typically increase as Rockley brings the product to full production. While Rockley’s business model includes this assumption of improving manufacturing yields its assumptions may be incorrect and, as a result, material variances between projected and actual manufacturing yields will have a direct effect on Rockley’s gross margin and profitability. The difficulty of accurately forecasting manufacturing yields and maintaining cost competitiveness through improving manufacturing yields will continue to be magnified by the increasing process complexity of manufacturing silicon photonics products.
Raw material price fluctuations can increase the cost of Rockley’s products, impact Rockley’s ability to meet customer commitments, and may adversely affect its results of operations.
The cost of raw materials is a key element in the cost of Rockley’s products. Rockley’s inability to offset material price inflation through increased prices to customers, suppliers, productivity actions, or through commodity hedges could adversely affect Rockley’s results of operations. Many major components, product equipment items, and raw materials are procured or subcontracted on a single or sole-source basis. Although Rockley maintains a qualification and performance surveillance process and Rockley believes that sources of supply for raw materials and components are generally adequate, it is difficult to predict what effects shortages or price increases may have in the future. Rockley’s inability to fill its supply needs would jeopardize its ability to fulfill its contractual obligations, which could, in turn, result in reduced revenue, contract penalties or terminations, and damage to Rockley’s customer relationships.
Furthermore, increases in the price of wafers, testing costs, and commodities, which may result in increased production costs, mainly assembly and packaging costs, may result in a decrease in Rockley’s gross margins. Moreover, Rockley’s suppliers may pass the increase in raw materials and commodity costs onto it which would further reduce the gross margin of Rockley’s products. In addition, as Rockley is a fabless company, global market trends such as a shortage of capacity to fulfill Rockley’s fabrication needs also may increase Rockley’s raw material costs and thus decrease its gross margin.
Rockley is subject to the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry.
The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and is characterized by constant and rapid technological change, rapid product obsolescence, price erosion, evolving standards, short product life cycles, industry consolidation, and wide fluctuations in product supply and demand. The industry experienced significant downturns during past global recessions. These downturns have been characterized by diminished product demand, production overcapacity, high inventory levels, and accelerated erosion of average selling prices. While these downturns have not directly impacted Rockley’s business to date, any prolonged or significant downturn in the semiconductor industry could adversely affect Rockley’s business and reduce demand for Rockley’s products. Any future downturns in the semiconductor industry could also harm Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. Furthermore, any significant upturn in the semiconductor industry could result in increased competition for access to third-party foundry and assembly capacity. Rockley is dependent on the availability of this capacity to manufacture and assemble Rockley’s products and Rockley can provide no assurance that adequate capacity will be available to it in the future.
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If Rockley or its suppliers do not maintain sufficient inventory or if they do not adequately manage their respective inventory, Rockley could lose sales or incur higher inventory-related expenses, which could negatively affect Rockley’s operating results.
To ensure adequate inventory supply, Rockley and its suppliers must forecast inventory needs and expenses, place orders sufficiently in advance with their respective suppliers and manufacturing counterparties, and manufacture products based on its estimates of future demand for particular products. Changes in customer purchasing patterns may affect Rockley’s ability to forecast its future operating results, including revenue, gross margins, cash flows, and profitability. Rockley’s ability to accurately forecast demand for its products could be affected by many factors, including the growth rate, if any, in Rockley’s target markets or the market adoption of the end products into which Rockley’s products are incorporated, the emergence of new markets, an increase or decrease in customer demand for Rockley’s products or for products and services of its competitors, product introductions by competitors, the COVID-19 pandemic, other health epidemics and outbreaks, and any associated work stoppages or interruptions, unanticipated changes in general market conditions, and the weakening of economic conditions or consumer confidence in future economic conditions. If Rockley’s products are commercialized in markets that are quickly growing, including the consumer wearables, mobile device, and medical device markets, Rockley may face challenges acquiring adequate supplies to manufacture its products and/or Rockley and its manufacturing counterparties may not be able to manufacture its products at a rate necessary to satisfy the levels of demand, which would negatively affect Rockley’s revenue. This risk may be exacerbated by the fact that Rockley may not carry or be able to obtain for its manufacturers a significant amount of inventory to satisfy short-term demand increases. If it fails to accurately forecast customer demand, Rockley may experience excess inventory levels or a shortage of products available for sale.
Inventory levels in excess of customer demand may result in inventory write-downs or write-offs and the sale of excess inventory at discounted prices, which would adversely affect Rockley’s financial results, including its gross margin, and have a negative effect on its brand. Conversely, if Rockley underestimates customer demand for its products, Rockley, or its manufacturing counterparties, may not be able to deliver products to meet its requirements, and this could result in damage to Rockley’s brand and customer relationships and adversely affect its revenue and operating results.
If Rockley’s products do not conform to, or are not compatible with, existing or emerging industry standards, demand for Rockley’s products may decrease, which in turn would harm Rockley’s business and operating results.
Rockley’s ability to compete in the future will depend on its ability to identify and ensure compliance with evolving industry standards in its target markets, as well as in the silicon photonics and sensing technology industry generally. The emergence of new industry standards could render Rockley’s products incompatible with products developed by third-party suppliers or make it difficult for Rockley’s products to meet the requirements of certain device manufacturers and their suppliers. If Rockley’s customers or Rockley’s third-party suppliers adopt new or competing industry standards with which Rockley’s solutions are not compatible, or if industry groups fail to adopt standards with which Rockley’s products are compatible, Rockley’s products would become less desirable to its current or prospective customers. As a result, Rockley’s sales would suffer and it could be required to make significant expenditures to develop new products. Although Rockley designs its products to be compliant with applicable industry standards, proprietary enhancements may not in the future result in conformance with existing industry standards under all circumstances. If Rockley’s products do not conform to, or are not compatible with, existing or emerging standards, it would harm its business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Rockley may be subject to warranty or product liability claims, which could result in unexpected expenses and loss of market share.
Rockley may be subject to warranty or product liability claims. These claims may require Rockley to make significant expenditures to defend those claims, replace Rockley’s solutions, refund payments, or pay damage awards. Rockley has not yet commercialized its products. Accordingly, the operation of Rockley’s products and technology has not been validated over longer periods. If a customer’s end product fails in use, the customer may incur significant monetary damages, including a product recall or associated replacement expenses as well as lost revenue. The customer may claim that a defect in Rockley’s product caused the product failure and assert a claim against Rockley to recover monetary damages. The cost of defending these claims and satisfying any arbitration award or judgment with respect to these claims would result in unexpected expenses, which could be substantial, and could harm Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. Although Rockley carries product liability insurance, this insurance is subject to significant deductibles and may not adequately cover Rockley’s costs arising from defects in its products or otherwise.
The complexity of Rockley’s products and its anticipated future product and service offerings could result in unforeseen delays or expenses from undetected defects, errors, or reliability issues in hardware or software that could reduce the market adoption of its new products, damage its reputation with current or prospective customers, and adversely affect its operating costs.
Rockley’s current and future products and service offerings are or are expected to be highly technical and very complex and require high standards to manufacture or distribute and have in the past and will likely in the future experience defects, errors, or reliability issues at various stages of development. Rockley may be unable to timely release new products, product updates, manufacture existing products, correct problems that have arisen, or correct such problems to its customers’ satisfaction. Additionally, undetected errors, defects, or security vulnerabilities, especially as new products or updates are introduced or as new versions are released, could result in inaccurate data to the end users of products incorporating Rockley’s products. Any of the foregoing could negatively impact Rockley’s ability to commercialize a product or service offering, result in litigation against Rockley, and damage
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Rockley’s credibility. These risks may be heightened in the medical device industry, one of Rockley’s target markets, where the end user may act in reliance upon inaccurate data as a result of errors or defects, or where there may be a privacy or data breach of an end user’s personal health information. Some errors or defects in Rockley’s products and service offerings may only be discovered after they have been tested, commercialized, and deployed by customers. In these cases, Rockley may incur significant additional development costs and product recall, repair, or replacement costs. These problems may also result in claims, including class actions, against Rockley by its customers or others. Rockley’s reputation or brand may be damaged as a result of these problems and customers may be reluctant to buy its products, which could adversely affect its ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers and could adversely affect its financial results.
In addition to product liability claims, Rockley could face material legal claims for breach of contract, fraud, tort, or breach of warranty as a result of these problems. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, could be costly and may divert management’s attention and adversely affect the market’s perception of Rockley and its products. In addition, Rockley’s business liability insurance coverage could prove inadequate with respect to a claim and future coverage may be unavailable on acceptable terms or at all. These product-related issues could result in claims against Rockley and its business could be adversely affected.
Rockley currently expects to recognize subscription revenue from its future cloud-based analytics subscription offering ratably over the term of these subscriptions and, to a lesser extent, perpetual licenses ratably over an expected period of benefit and, as a result, downturns in sales may not be immediately reflected in its operating results.
If Rockley is able to commercially launch its cloud-based analytics subscription service, which is currently expected to occur as early as 2023, it expects to recognize revenue ratably over the terms of its subscriptions with customers. As a result, a substantial portion of the revenue that it will report in each period will be derived from the recognition of deferred revenue relating to agreements entered into during previous periods. Consequently, a decline in new sales or renewals in any one period may not be immediately reflected in its revenue results for that period. This decline, however, will negatively affect its revenue in future periods. Accordingly, the effect of significant downturns in sales and market acceptance of its subscription service and potential changes in the rate of renewals may not be fully reflected in its results of operations until future periods. This will also make it difficult for Rockley to rapidly increase revenue growth through additional sales in any period, as revenue from new customers generally will be recognized over the term of the applicable agreement. Rockley may be unable to commercially launch its subscription service offering in a timely manner or at all and such subscription offering may not achieve widespread customer adoption.
If Rockley’s future platform offerings do not interoperate with its customers’ network and security infrastructure or with third-party products, websites, or services, it would negatively impact its business and results of operations.
Rockley’s cloud-based analytics subscription offering, which is under development and is currently expected to be commercially launched as early as 2023, is expected to allow for the deployment of Rockley’s technology through a cloud-based software-as-a-service model. As a result, it must interoperate with Rockley’s customers’ existing network and security infrastructure. The components of Rockley’s customers’ infrastructure have different specifications, rapidly evolve, utilize multiple protocol standards, include multiple versions and generations of products, and may be highly customized. Rockley must be able to interoperate and provide its software service to customers with highly complex and customized networks, which requires careful planning and execution between its customers, its customer support teams, and its channel partners. Further, whenever there are new or updated elements of the customers’ infrastructure or new industry standards or protocols, Rockley may have to update or enhance its cloud platform to continue to provide service to customers. Rockley’s competitors or other vendors may refuse to work with Rockley to allow their products to interoperate with Rockley’s, which could make it difficult for Rockley’s cloud-based analytics subscription service to function properly in customer networks that include these third-party products.
Rockley may not deliver or maintain interoperability quickly or cost-effectively, or at all. If Rockley fails to maintain compatibility of its cloud-based analytics subscription service with its customers’ network and security infrastructures, its customers may not be able to fully utilize the service, and Rockley may, among other consequences, fail to achieve widespread customer adoption of this subscription service and experience reduced demand for its products and services, which would materially harm its business, operating results, and financial condition.
Rockley licenses technology from third parties, and its inability to maintain those licenses could harm its business.
Rockley incorporates technology that it licenses from third parties, including software, into its software subscriptions. Rockley cannot be certain that its licensors are not infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties or that its licensors have sufficient rights to the licensed intellectual property in all jurisdictions in which Rockley may sell its software subscriptions. In addition, some licenses may be non-exclusive, and therefore its competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to Rockley. Some of Rockley’s license agreements may be terminated for convenience by the licensors. Rockley may also be subject to additional fees or be required to obtain new licenses if any of its licensors allege that Rockley has not properly paid for such licenses or that it has improperly used the technologies under such licenses, and such licenses may not be available on terms acceptable to Rockley or at all. If Rockley is unable to continue to license any of this technology because of intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties against its licensors or against it, or claims against Rockley by its licensors, or if Rockley is unable to continue its license agreements or enter into new licenses on commercially reasonable terms, its ability to develop and sell software
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subscriptions containing such technology would be severely limited, and its business could be harmed. Additionally, if Rockley is unable to license necessary technology from third parties, it may be forced to acquire or develop alternative technology, which it may be unable to do in a commercially feasible manner or at all, and Rockley may be required to use alternative technology of lower quality or performance standards. This would limit and delay its ability to offer new or competitive software subscriptions and increase its costs of production. As a result, Rockley’s margins, market share, and operating results could be significantly harmed.
Portions of Rockley’s cloud-based analytics subscription offering utilize open source software, and any failure to comply with the terms of one or more of these open source licenses could negatively affect its business.
Rockley’s cloud-based analytics subscription offering contains software made available by third parties under so-called “open source” licenses. From time to time, there have been claims against companies that distribute or use open source software in their products and services, asserting that such open source software infringes the claimants’ intellectual property rights. Rockley could be subject to suits by parties claiming that what Rockley believes to be licensed open source software infringes their intellectual property rights. Use and distribution of open source software may entail greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. In addition, certain open source licenses require that source code for software programs that are subject to the license be made available to the public and that any modifications or derivative works to such open source software continue to be licensed under the same terms. Further, certain open source licenses also include a provision that if Rockley enforces any patents against the software programs that are subject to the license, it will lose the license to such software. If Rockley were to fail to comply with the terms of such open source software licenses, such failures could result in costly litigation, lead to negative public relations, or require that it quickly find replacement software which may be difficult to accomplish in a timely manner.
Although Rockley monitors its use of open source software in an effort both to comply with the terms of the applicable open source licenses and to avoid subjecting its software to conditions it does not intend, the terms of many open source licenses have not been interpreted by U.S. or international courts, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on its ability to commercialize its product or operate its business. By the terms of certain open source licenses, Rockley could be required to release the source code of its software and to make its proprietary software available under open source licenses, if Rockley combines or distributes its software with open source software in a certain manner. In the event that portions of its software are determined to be subject to an open source license, Rockley could be required to publicly release the affected portions of its source code, re-engineer all, or a portion of, that software or otherwise be limited in the licensing of its software, each of which could reduce or eliminate the value of its product. Many of the risks associated with usage of open source software cannot be eliminated, and could negatively affect its business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Customer-Related Risks
Rockley currently has, and intends to target, customers and suppliers that are large corporations with substantial negotiating power, exacting product, quality, and warranty standards, and potentially competitive internal solutions. If Rockley is unable to sell its products to these customers or is unable to enter into agreements with customers and suppliers on satisfactory terms, its prospects and results of operations will be adversely affected.
Many of Rockley’s customers and suppliers, and potential customers, are large corporations with substantial negotiating power relative to it and, in some instances, may have internal solutions that are competitive to Rockley’s products. Many of these large corporations that are customers or potential customers also have significant development resources, which may allow them to acquire or develop independently, or in partnership with others, competitive technologies. Meeting the technical requirements and securing design wins with any of these companies will require a substantial investment of Rockley’s time and resources. Rockley cannot assure you that its products or technology will secure design wins from these or other companies or that it will generate meaningful revenue from the sales of its products to these key customers and potential customers. If Rockley’s products are not selected by these large corporations or if these corporations develop or acquire competitive technology, it will have an adverse effect on Rockley’s business.
Rockley currently depends on a few large customers for a substantial portion of its revenue. The loss of, or a significant reduction in, orders from Rockley’s customers, including its largest customer, could significantly reduce its revenue and adversely impact Rockley’s operating results.
Rockley believes that its operating results for the foreseeable future will continue to depend to a significant extent on revenue attributable to a few large customers. Revenue attributable to Rockley’s largest customer accounted for the majority of its revenue in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Rockley anticipates revenue attributable to this customer will fluctuate from period to period, although it expects to remain dependent on this customer for a significant portion of its revenue for the foreseeable future. Rockley has a master supply and development agreement with this customer, which provides a general framework for Rockley’s transactions with it. This agreement continues until either party terminates for material breach. Under this agreement, Rockley has agreed to develop and deliver new products to this customer at its request, provided it also meets Rockley’s business purposes, and has agreed to indemnify it for intellectual property infringement or any injury or damages caused by Rockley’s products. This customer does not have any minimum or binding purchase obligations to Rockley under this agreement and could elect to discontinue or reduce making purchases from Rockley with little or no notice.
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In addition, customers may seek to enter into licensing arrangements in lieu of product purchases, which could negatively impact Rockley’s revenue, and, to a lesser extent, Rockley’s gross margins. If Rockley’s customers were to choose to work with other manufacturers or its relationships with its customers is disrupted for any reason, it could have a significant negative impact on Rockley’s business. Any reduction in sales attributable to Rockley’s larger customers would have a significant and disproportionate impact on Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. Rockley’s customers, or the distributors through which it sells to these customers, may choose to use products in addition to Rockley’s, use a different product altogether, or develop an in-house solution. Any of these events could significantly harm its business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, if Rockley’s distributors’ relationships with Rockley’s end customers, including its larger end customers, are disrupted for inability to deliver sufficient products or for any other reason, it could have a significant negative impact on Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Rockley is dependent in part upon its relationships and alliances with industry participants to generate revenue, which involves risks and uncertainties.
Rockley has, and in the future may, acquire interests in joint ventures, which may subject Rockley to risk because, among other things, Rockley cannot exercise sole decision-making power and its partners may have different economic interests than Rockley has. There are additional risks involved in joint venture transactions. For example, as a co-investor in a joint venture, Rockley may not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority relating to the joint venture or other entity. As a result, the operations of any joint venture are subject to the risk that third parties may make business, financial, or management decisions with which Rockley does not agree, or the management of the joint venture may take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve Rockley’s interests. Further, there may be a potential risk of impasse in some business decisions because Rockley may not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority. In such situations, it is possible that Rockley may not be able to exit the relationship because it may not have the funds necessary to complete a buy-out of the other partner or it may be difficult to locate a third-party purchaser for its interest. Because Rockley may not have the ability to exercise control over such operations, it may not be able to realize some or all of the benefits that it believes will be created from its involvement. In addition, there is the potential that a joint venture partner may become bankrupt or have divergent, conflicting, or inconsistent economic or business interests from Rockley. This could result in, among other things, exposing Rockley to liabilities of the joint venture in excess of its proportionate share of these liabilities. If any of the foregoing were to occur, Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer.
If Rockley is unable to expand or further diversify its customer base, its business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer.
Rockley currently expects the composition of its largest customers to vary over time, and that revenue attributable to its largest customers in any given period may decline over time. Rockley’s relationships with existing customers may deter potential customers who compete with these customers from buying Rockley’s products. If Rockley is unable to expand or further diversify its customer base, it could harm its business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Rockley does not currently have any products in commercial production. Accordingly, Rockley views its current customer relationships in the following stages: (a) customers with whom it is “engaged”, or in discussions with, regarding potential product features for incorporation into such customer’s end products or (b) customers with whom it is “contracted” where Rockley has non-binding MOUs or development and supply agreements. These non-binding MOUs and development and supply agreements provide a general framework for Rockley’s transactions with the customer and typically provide that Rockley will develop and deliver new products meeting the customer’s specifications. These agreements do not contain any minimum or binding purchase obligations. If Rockley is unable to transition customers with whom it is engaged in discussions to contracted customers or if Rockley fails to otherwise attract new customers, it would negatively impact Rockley’s ability to grow its business and gain market share, which in turn would harm Rockley’s financial condition and results of operations.
Because Rockley does not anticipate long-term purchase commitments with its customers, orders may be cancelled, reduced, or rescheduled with little or no notice, which in turn exposes Rockley to inventory risk, and may cause its business and results of operations to suffer.
Rockley anticipates that its products will be sold directly to customers as well as through distributors and resellers, with, in certain cases, no long-term or minimum purchase commitments from them or their end customers. Rockley expects that sales of its products will be primarily made pursuant to standard purchase orders, which orders may be cancelled, reduced, changed, or rescheduled with little or no notice or penalty. Cancellations of orders could result in the loss of anticipated sales without allowing Rockley sufficient time to reduce its inventory and operating expenses. In addition, changes in forecasts or the timing of orders from its customers expose Rockley to the risks of inventory shortages or excess inventory. As a result, Rockley’s revenue and operating results could fluctuate materially and could be materially and disproportionately impacted by purchasing decisions of Rockley’s customers, including Rockley’s larger customers. In the future, Rockley’s customers or its distributors or their end customers may decide to purchase fewer units than expected, may alter their purchasing patterns at any time with limited or no notice, or may decide not to continue to purchase Rockley’s products at all, any of which could cause Rockley’s revenue to decline materially and materially harm Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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Cancellations of, reductions in, or rescheduling of customer orders could also result in the loss of anticipated sales without allowing Rockley sufficient time to reduce its inventory and operating expenses, as a substantial portion of Rockley’s expenses are fixed at least in the short term. In addition, changes in forecasts or the timing of orders expose Rockley to the risks of inventory shortages or excess inventory. Any of the foregoing events could materially and adversely affect Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If Rockley is unable to establish and maintain confidence in its long-term business prospects among customers and analysts and within its industry or is subject to negative publicity, then Rockley’s financial condition, operating results, business prospects, and access to capital may suffer materially.
Rockley has not yet fully developed or commercialized its products or services and the successful commercialization of Rockley’s products depends in part on Rockley’s customers and potential customers committing to use Rockley’s products in their own products. Customers may be less likely to purchase Rockley’s products if they are not convinced that Rockley’s business will succeed or that its service and support and other operations will continue in the long term. Similarly, suppliers and other third parties will be less likely to invest time and resources in developing business relationships with Rockley if they are not convinced that Rockley’s business will succeed. If Rockley is unable to establish and maintain confidence in its long-term business prospects among customers, suppliers, analysts, ratings agencies, and within its industry or is subject to negative publicity, then Rockley’s financial condition, operating results, business prospects, and access to capital may suffer materially.
Rockley’s investments in educating its customers and potential customers about the advantages of Rockley’s silicon photonics and sensing technology and its applications will require significant financial and talent resources and may not result in sales of Rockley’s products.
Educating Rockley’s prospective customers, and to a lesser extent, its existing customers, about Rockley’s silicon photonics and sensing technology and its applications in health monitoring devices, its advantages over competitive technologies, and the potential application of Rockley’s products in different industries and use cases is an integral part of Rockley’s strategy to expand into additional markets. Rockley’s efforts to educate potential customers and the market generally will require significant financial and talent resources. These educational efforts may not be successful and Rockley may not offset the costs of such efforts with revenue from the new customers. If Rockley is unable to acquire new customers to offset these expenses, its financial condition will be adversely affected.
Legal and Regulatory Risks Related to Rockley’s Business
Rockley is subject to governmental export and import control laws and regulations. Rockley’s failure to comply with these laws and regulations could have an adverse effect on its business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.
Certain of Rockley’s products and services are subject to export control and import laws and regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, U.S. Customs regulations, and various economic and trade sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls. U.S. export control laws and regulations and economic sanctions prohibit the shipment of certain products and services to U.S. embargoed or sanctioned countries, governments and persons. In addition, complying with export control and sanctions regulations for a particular sale may be time-consuming and result in the delay or loss of sales opportunities. Exports of Rockley’s products and technology must be made in compliance with these laws and regulations. If Rockley fails to comply with these laws and regulations, Rockley and certain of its employees could be subject to substantial civil or criminal penalties, including the possible loss of export or import privileges, fines, which may be imposed on Rockley and responsible employees or managers, and, in extreme cases, the incarceration of responsible employees or managers.
Changes to trade policy, tariffs, and import/export regulations may have a material adverse effect on Rockley’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Changes in global political, regulatory, and economic conditions, or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development, and investment in the territories or countries where Rockley may purchase its components, sell its products, or conduct its business, could adversely affect Rockley’s business. The United States has in the past instituted or proposed changes in trade policies that included the negotiation or termination of trade agreements, the imposition of higher tariffs on imports into the United States, economic sanctions on individuals, corporations, or countries, and other government regulations affecting trade between the United States and other countries where Rockley conducts its business. For instance, effective December 17, 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) of the U.S. Department of Commerce placed Hengtong and certain of its affiliates on the BIS “Entity List,” meaning that the U.S. Export Administration Regulations prohibit companies from providing products and
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technologies to organizations on the “Entity List” without prior authorization. In response to this decision, the Company terminated a planned technical sale to the JV. A number of other nations have proposed or instituted similar measures directed at trade with the United States in response. As a result of these developments or any future similar developments, there may be greater restrictions and economic disincentives on international trade and economic cooperation that could adversely affect Rockley’s business. It may be time-consuming and expensive for Rockley to alter its business operations to adapt to or comply with any such changes, and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Rockley may become involved in legal and regulatory proceedings and commercial or contractual disputes, which could have an adverse effect on its profitability and financial position.
Rockley may be, from time to time, involved in litigation, regulatory proceedings, and commercial or contractual disputes that may be significant. These matters may include, without limitation, disputes with Rockley’s suppliers and customers, intellectual property claims, shareholder litigation, government investigations, class action lawsuits, personal injury claims, environmental issues, customs and value-added tax disputes, and employment and tax issues. In addition, Rockley could face in the future a variety of labor and employment claims against it, which could include but is not limited to general discrimination, wage and hour, privacy, ERISA, or disability claims. In such matters, government agencies or private parties may seek to recover from Rockley indeterminate amounts in penalties or monetary damages (including, in some cases, treble or punitive damages) or seek to limit Rockley’s operations in some way. These types of lawsuits could require significant management time and attention or could involve substantial legal liability, adverse regulatory outcomes, and/or substantial expenses to defend. Often these cases raise complex factual and legal issues and create risks and uncertainties. No assurances can be given that any proceedings and claims will not have a material adverse impact on Rockley’s operating results and financial position or that its established reserves or its available insurance will mitigate this impact.
Rockley is subject to, and must remain in compliance with, numerous laws and governmental regulations across various jurisdictions concerning the use, distribution, and sale of its products. Some of Rockley’s customers also require that it comply with their own unique requirements relating to these matters.
Rockley sells products that contain electronic components, and such components may contain materials that are subject to government regulation in locations where Rockley sells its products. For example, certain regulations limit the use of lead in electronic components. Since Rockley operates on a global basis, compliance with regulations is a complex process which requires continual monitoring of regulations and an ongoing compliance process to ensure that Rockley and its suppliers are in compliance with existing regulations in each market where it operates. If there is an unanticipated new regulation that significantly impacts Rockley’s use and sourcing of various components or requires more expensive components, that regulation could materially and adversely affect its business, results of operations, and financial condition. Rockley’s products may also be used in healthcare monitoring and other medical devices, which are subject to additional regulation. If Rockley fails to adhere to these new regulations or fails to continually monitor the updates, it may be subject to litigation, loss of customers, or negative publicity and its business, results of operations, and financial condition will be adversely affected.
Rockley may in the future become subject to additional regulations, including Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) clearance or approval, for health monitoring products in which Rockley’s products are incorporated. Achieving and maintaining compliance and approval under applicable regulations may be difficult to achieve.
Rockley’s products may be incorporated into end products in the health monitoring sector, including products which collect clinical data. Accordingly, it is possible that certain of Rockley’s products, or the end products which incorporate Rockley’s products will be subject to current and future regulation by the FDA, as well as by other federal, state, and local agencies. As Rockley’s target market is consumer wellness rather than medical, Rockley currently anticipates that FDA clearance will be unnecessary for its products targeting the consumer wearables market; however, Rockley intends to monitor and comply with regulations to the extent they become applicable to Rockley.
Manufacturers of medical devices are required to comply with applicable laws and regulations governing development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, marketing, and distribution of medical devices. Devices are generally subject to varying levels of regulatory control, based on the risk level of the device. Governmental regulations specific to medical devices are wide-ranging and govern, among other things:
product design, development, and manufacture;
laboratory, pre-clinical and clinical testing, labeling, packaging, storage, and distribution;
premarketing clearance or approval;
record-keeping;
product marketing, promotion and advertising, sales, and distribution; and
post-marketing surveillance, including reporting of deaths or serious injuries and recalls and correction and removals.
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Rockley or its customers may not be able to obtain the necessary clearances or approvals for their products or may be unduly delayed in doing so, which could harm Rockley’s business. Furthermore, even if Rockley is granted regulatory clearances or approvals, they may include significant limitations on the permitted uses for the product, which may limit the market potential for the product. Delays in obtaining clearance or approval could increase Rockley’s costs and harm Rockley’s revenue and growth.
Additionally, Rockley’s products may be subject to regulation by similar agencies in other states and foreign countries. While Rockley believes that it has complied with all applicable laws and regulations, continued compliance with such laws or regulations, including any new laws or regulations, might impose additional costs on Rockley which could adversely affect its financial performance and results of operations.
Rockley is subject to various environmental laws and regulations that could impose substantial costs upon Rockley.
Concerns over environmental pollution and climate change have produced significant legislative and regulatory efforts on a global basis, and Rockley believes this will continue both in scope and in the number of countries participating. In addition, as climate change issues become more prevalent, foreign, federal, state, and local governments and Rockley’s customers have been responding to these issues. The increased focus on environmental sustainability may result in new regulations and customer requirements, or changes in current regulations and customer requirements, which could materially and adversely impact Rockley’s business, results of operations, and financial condition. If Rockley is unable to effectively manage real or perceived issues, including concerns about environmental impacts or similar matters, sentiments toward Rockley or its products could be negatively impacted, and its business, results of operations, or financial condition could suffer.
Rockley’s operations are and will be subject to foreign, federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, and such laws and regulations could directly increase the cost of energy, which may have an effect on the way Rockley manufactures products or utilizes energy to produce its products. In addition, any new regulations or laws in the environmental area might increase the cost of raw materials or key components Rockley uses in its products. Environmental regulations require Rockley to reduce product energy usage, monitor and exclude an expanding list of restricted substances, and to participate in required recovery and recycling of its products. Environmental and health and safety laws and regulations can be complex, and Rockley has limited experience complying with them. Capital and operating expenses needed to comply with environmental laws and regulations can be significant, and violations may result in substantial fines and penalties, third-party damages, suspension of production, or a cessation of Rockley’s operations.
The costs of complying with environmental laws and regulations and any claims concerning noncompliance, or liability with respect to contamination in the future, could have a material adverse effect on Rockley’s financial condition or operating results. Rockley may face unexpected delays in obtaining the required permits and approvals in connection with its planned production facilities that could require significant time and financial resources and delay its ability to operate these facilities, which would adversely impact Rockley’s business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.
Rockley is subject to U.S. and foreign anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Rockley can face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations, which can harm its business.
Rockley is subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, and possibly other anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in countries in which Rockley conducts activities. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees, agents, contractors, and other collaborators from authorizing, promising, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or anything else of value to recipients in the public or private sector. Rockley can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of its employees, agents, contractors, and other collaborators, even if Rockley does not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. Any violations of the laws and regulations described above may result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm, and other consequences.
Failures, or perceived failures, to comply with privacy, data protection, and information security requirements in the variety of jurisdictions in which Rockley operates may adversely impact its business, and such legal requirements are evolving, uncertain, and may require improvements in, or changes to, Rockley’s policies and operations.
Rockley’s current and potential future operations and sales are subject to laws and regulations addressing privacy and the collection, use, storage, disclosure, transfer, and protection of a variety of types of data. For example, the European Commission has adopted the General Data Protection Regulation and California recently enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, both of which provide for potentially material penalties for non-compliance. These regimes may, among other things, impose data security requirements, disclosure requirements, and restrictions on data collection, uses, and sharing that may impact Rockley’s operations and the development of its business. Rockley has limited access to collect, store, process, or share certain information collected by its products, and Rockley’s products may evolve to collect additional information. Therefore, the full impact of these privacy regimes on Rockley’s business is rapidly evolving across jurisdictions and remains uncertain at this time.
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Rockley may also be affected by cyber-attacks and other means of gaining unauthorized access to its products, systems, and data. For instance, cyber criminals or insiders may target Rockley or third parties with which it has business relationships to obtain data, or in a manner that disrupts Rockley’s operations or compromises its products or the systems into which its products are integrated. Due to the political uncertainty involving Russia and Ukraine, there is an increased likelihood that escalation of tensions could result in cyber-attacks that could either directly or indirectly impact our operations.
Rockley is assessing the continually evolving privacy and data security regimes and measures it believes are appropriate in response. Since these data security regimes are evolving, uncertain, and complex, especially for a global business like Rockley, Rockley may need to update or enhance its compliance measures and these updates or enhancements may require implementation costs. In addition, Rockley may not be able to monitor and react to all developments in a timely manner. The compliance measures Rockley does adopt may prove ineffective. Any failure, or perceived failure, by Rockley to comply with current and future regulatory or customer-driven privacy, data protection, and information security requirements, or to prevent or mitigate security breaches, cyber-attacks, or improper access to, use of, or disclosure of data, or any security issues or cyber-attacks affecting Rockley, could result in significant liability, costs (including the costs of mitigation and recovery), and a material loss of revenue resulting from the adverse impact on its reputation and brand, loss of proprietary information and data, disruption to its business and relationships, and diminished ability to retain or attract customers and business partners. Such events may result in governmental enforcement actions and prosecutions, private litigation, fines, and penalties or adverse publicity, and could cause customers and business partners to lose trust in Rockley, which could have an adverse effect on its reputation and business.
Further, in the event Rockley’s products, or the end products into which Rockley’s products are incorporated, involve the collection of personal medical or clinical data, Rockley would be subject to additional privacy regulations. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) regulations apply U.S. national standards for some types of electronic health information transactions and the data elements used in those transactions to ensure the integrity, security, and confidentiality of health information and standards to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information businesses receive, maintain or transmit. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (“HITECH Act”) expanded the scope of the privacy and security requirements under HIPAA and increased penalties for violations. In addition, the HITECH Act enacted federal breach notification rules requiring notification to affected individuals and the Department of Health and Human Services (and in some cases, relevant media outlets) whenever a breach of protected health information occurs. Rockley’s failure to maintain confidentiality of sensitive protected health information or other personal information in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements could damage its reputation and expose Rockley to claims, fines, and penalties. Rockley’s business, operating results, and financial condition could also be negatively impacted by a violation of the HIPAA privacy or security rules or any other applicable privacy or data security law.
Many U.S. states and international jurisdictions in which Rockley operates also have laws and regulations that protect the privacy and security of confidential, protected health information, or other personal information and have similar or even more protection than U.S. federal regulations. Furthermore, state data breach notification laws continue to expand the type of protected health information and other personal information they encompass, and in many cases are more burdensome than the HIPAA/HITECH breach reporting requirements.
Risks Related to Rockley’s Intellectual Property
Despite the actions Rockley is taking to defend and protect its intellectual property, Rockley may not be able to adequately protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or prevent unauthorized parties from copying or reverse engineering its products or technology. Rockley’s efforts to protect and enforce its intellectual property rights and prevent third parties from violating its rights may be costly.
The success of Rockley’s products and its business depend in part on Rockley’s ability to obtain patents and other intellectual property rights and maintain adequate legal protection for its products in the United States and other international jurisdictions. Rockley relies on a combination of patent, trademark, and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to establish and protect its proprietary rights, all of which provide only limited protection.
Rockley cannot assure you that any patents will be issued with respect to its currently pending patent applications or that any trademarks will be registered with respect to its currently pending applications in a manner that gives Rockley adequate defensive protection or competitive advantages, if at all, or that any patents issued to Rockley or any trademarks registered by it will not be challenged, invalidated, or circumvented. Rockley may file for patents and trademarks in the United States and in certain international jurisdictions, but such protections may not be available in all countries in which it operates or in which Rockley seeks to enforce its intellectual property rights, or may be difficult to enforce in practice. For example, the legal environment relating to intellectual property protection in certain emerging market countries where Rockley may operate in the future is relatively weaker, often making it difficult to create and enforce such rights. Rockley’s currently registered trademarks and any patents and trademarks that may be issued or registered, as applicable, in the future with respect to pending or future applications may not provide sufficiently broad protection or may not prove to be enforceable in actions against alleged infringers. Rockley cannot be certain that the steps it has taken will prevent unauthorized use of its technology or the reverse engineering of its technology. Moreover, others may independently develop technologies that are competitive to Rockley or infringe Rockley’s intellectual property.
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Protecting against the unauthorized use of Rockley’s intellectual property, products, and other proprietary rights is expensive and difficult, particularly internationally. Unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or reverse engineer Rockley’s sensing technology or certain aspects of Rockley’s products or manufacturing processes that it considers proprietary. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or defend Rockley’s intellectual property rights, to prevent unauthorized parties from copying or reverse engineering its products, or technology to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to block the importation of infringing products into the United States.
Any such litigation, whether initiated by Rockley or a third party, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management resources, either of which could adversely affect Rockley’s business, operating results, and financial condition. Even if it obtains favorable outcomes in litigation, Rockley may not be able to obtain adequate remedies, especially in the context of unauthorized parties copying or reverse engineering its products or technology.
Further, many of Rockley’s current and potential competitors have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to defending intellectual property infringement claims and to enforcing their intellectual property rights than Rockley has. Attempts to enforce its rights against third parties could also provoke these third parties to assert their own intellectual property or other rights against Rockley or result in a holding that invalidates or narrows the scope of Rockley’s rights, in whole or in part. Effective patent, trademark, service mark, copyright, and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which Rockley’s products are available and competitors based in other countries may sell infringing products in one or more markets. Failure to adequately protect Rockley’s intellectual property rights could result in Rockley’s competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of Rockley’s competitive advantage and a decrease in its revenue, which would adversely affect Rockley’s business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects.
Third-party claims that Rockley is infringing intellectual property, whether successful or not, could subject Rockley to costly and time-consuming litigation or expensive licenses, and its business could be adversely affected.
Although Rockley has applied for patents related to its products and technology, a number of companies hold patents covering aspects of sensing and photonic chip technologies. In addition to these patents, participants in this industry typically also protect their technology, especially embedded software, through copyrights and trade secrets. As a result, there is frequent litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation, or other violations of intellectual property rights. Rockley may in the future receive inquiries from other intellectual property holders and may become subject to claims that it infringes their intellectual property rights, particularly as Rockley expands its presence in the market, expands to new use cases, and faces increasing competition. In addition, parties may claim that the names and branding of Rockley’s products infringe their trademark rights in certain countries or territories. If such a claim were to prevail, Rockley may have to change the names and branding of its products in the affected territories and it could incur other costs.
Rockley currently has a number of agreements in effect pursuant to which it has agreed to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless its customers, suppliers, and channel partners and other counterparties from damages and costs which may arise from the infringement by Rockley’s products of third-party patents or other intellectual property rights. The scope of these indemnity obligations varies, and, in some instances, include indemnification for damages and expenses, including attorneys’ fees. Rockley’s insurance may not cover all intellectual property infringement claims. A claim that its products infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, even if untrue, could adversely affect Rockley’s relationships with its customers, may deter future customers from purchasing its products, and could expose Rockley to costly litigation and settlement expenses. Even if Rockley is not a party to any litigation between a customer and a third party relating to infringement by its products, an adverse outcome in any such litigation could make it more difficult for Rockley to defend its products against intellectual property infringement claims in any subsequent litigation in which it is a named party. Any of these results could adversely affect Rockley’s brand and operating results.
Rockley may in the future need to initiate infringement claims or litigation to try to protect its intellectual property rights. In addition to litigation where Rockley is a plaintiff, Rockley’s defense of intellectual property rights claims brought against it or its customers, suppliers, and channel partners, with or without merit, could be time-consuming, expensive to litigate or settle, divert management resources and attention, and force Rockley to acquire intellectual property rights and licenses, which may involve substantial royalty or other payments and may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. Further, a party making such a claim, if successful, could secure a judgment that requires Rockley to pay substantial damages or obtain an injunction and also Rockley may lose the opportunity to license its technology to others or to collect royalty payments. An adverse determination also could invalidate or narrow Rockley’s intellectual property rights and adversely affect its ability to offer its products to its customers and may require that Rockley procure or develop substitute products that do not infringe, which could require significant effort and expense. Any of these events could adversely affect Rockley’s business, reputation, operating results, financial condition, and prospects.
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Rockley’s intellectual property applications, including patent applications, may not be approved or granted or may take longer than expected to result in approval or grant, which may have a material adverse effect on Rockley’s ability to prevent others from commercially exploiting products similar to Rockley’s.
Rockley cannot be certain that it is the first inventor of the subject matter to which it has filed a particular patent application, or if it is the first party to file such a patent application. If another party has filed a patent application to the same subject matter as Rockley has, Rockley may not be entitled to the protection sought by the patent application. Rockley also cannot be certain whether the claims included in a patent application will ultimately be allowed in the applicable issued patent or the timing of any approval or grant of a patent application. Further, the scope of protection of issued patent claims is often difficult to determine. As a result, Rockley cannot be certain that the patent applications that it files will issue, or that its issued patents will afford protection against competitors with similar technology. In addition, Rockley’s competitors may design around Rockley’s registered or issued intellectual property, which may adversely affect Rockley’s business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.
In addition to patented technology, Rockley relies on its unpatented proprietary technology, trade secrets, designs, experiences, workflows, data, processes, software, and know-how.
Rockley relies on proprietary information (such as trade secrets, designs, experiences, workflows, data, know-how, and confidential information) to protect intellectual property that may not be patentable or subject to copyright, trademark, trade dress, or service mark protection, or that Rockley believes is best protected by means that do not require public disclosure. Rockley generally seeks to protect this proprietary information by entering into confidentiality agreements, or consulting, services, or employment agreements that contain non-disclosure and non-use provisions with its employees, consultants, contractors, and third parties. However, these agreements may be breached or may otherwise fail to prevent disclosure, third-party infringement, or misappropriation of its proprietary information, may be limited as to their term, and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure or use of proprietary information. Rockley has limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by its current or future manufacturing counterparties and suppliers and could lose future trade secret protection if any unauthorized disclosure of such information occurs. In addition, Rockley’s proprietary information may otherwise become known or be independently developed by its competitors or other third parties. To the extent that its employees, consultants, contractors, advisors, and other third parties use intellectual property owned by others in their work for Rockley, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of Rockley’s proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain protection for its proprietary information could adversely affect its competitive business position. Furthermore, laws regarding trade secret rights in certain markets where Rockley operates may afford little or no protection to its trade secrets.
Rockley also relies on physical and electronic security measures to protect its proprietary information, but it cannot provide assurance that these security measures will not be breached or provide adequate protection for its property. There is a risk that third parties may obtain and improperly utilize Rockley’s proprietary information to its competitive disadvantage. Rockley may not be able to detect or prevent the unauthorized use of such information or take appropriate and timely steps to enforce its intellectual property rights.
Rockley may be subject to damages resulting from claims that it or its current or former employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of its current or former employees’ former employers. Rockley may be subject to damages if its current or former employees wrongfully use or disclose Rockley’s trade secrets.
Rockley may be subject to claims that it or its current or former employees have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of a current or former employee’s former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If Rockley fails to defend against such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, it may lose valuable intellectual property rights or talent. A loss of key talent or their work product could hamper or prevent Rockley’s ability to commercialize its products, which could severely harm its business. Even if Rockley is successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and demand on management resources.
Risks Related to Infrastructure, Cybersecurity and Privacy
A network or data security incident may allow unauthorized access to Rockley’s network or data, harm its reputation, create additional liability, and adversely impact its financial results.
Rockley and its third-party service providers may face security threats and attacks from a variety of sources. In addition to traditional computer “hackers,” malicious code (such as viruses and worms), phishing attempts, employee theft or misuse, and denial of service attacks, sophisticated nation-state and nation-state supported actors engage in attacks (including advanced persistent threat intrusions) and increase the risks to Rockley’s internal networks and customer facing environments and the information they store and process. These risks may increase due to COVID-19. A breach in Rockley’s data or an attack against its service availability, or that of its third-party service providers, could impact Rockley’s networks, creating system disruptions or slowdowns and exploiting security vulnerabilities of Rockley’s products, and the information stored on Rockley’s networks or those of its third-party service providers could be accessed, publicly disclosed, altered, lost, or stolen, which could subject Rockley to liability and cause it financial harm.
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Unauthorized access by a third party to Rockley’s internal network, any actual or perceived breach of network security in its systems or networks, or any other actual or perceived data security incident Rockley or its third-party service providers suffer, could result in damage to its reputation, negative publicity, loss of channel partners, end-customers and sales, loss of competitive advantages over its competitors, increased costs to remedy any problems and otherwise respond to any incident, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, costly litigation, and other liability. In addition, Rockley may incur significant costs to investigate and remediate any security breaches and other security incidents. Rockley’s data, corporate systems, third-party systems, and security measures may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, employee error, malfeasance, a combination of these, or otherwise, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to its data. For example, in late 2020, Rockley was subject to phishing attacks, one involving a spoofed email whereby certain vendor account information was charged and payment was made to a fraudulent account and a second closely timed incident where a “forwarding” rule was applied to the spoofed email’s recipient. While no personal data was accessed and the issue was addressed, the incident resulted in a net loss of approximately $66,345, which loss has been accounted for in Rockley’s 2020 financial statements (which amount has been offset by a payout under our cybersecurity insurance policy in March 2021). While Rockley maintains cybersecurity insurance, such insurance may be insufficient to cover all liabilities incurred by these incidents, and any incidents may result in loss or increased costs of its cybersecurity insurance. Any of these negative outcomes could adversely impact the market perception of, and investor confidence in, Rockley.
Any disruption or performance issues with Rockley’s network infrastructure could harm its brand, reputation, and business.
Rockley has experienced, and may in the future experience, disruptions, outages, and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, capacity constraints, and fraud. Any disruptions or other performance problems with Rockley’s products or reliability or security of Rockley’s systems could harm its reputation, brand, and Rockley’s business and operating results. In addition, Rockley must continually improve its computer network and infrastructure to avoid service interruptions or slower system performance. Rockley will need to devote additional resources to improving its platform architecture and its infrastructure. Any failure or delays in Rockley’s computer systems could cause service interruptions or slower system performance. These performance issues could harm Rockley’s business operations and financial condition.
Rockley relies on third parties to maintain and operate certain elements of its network infrastructure.
Rockley relies on third parties to operate and maintain certain elements of its network infrastructure. Interruptions in Rockley’s systems or the third-party systems on which it relies, whether due to system failures, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins, or other factors, could affect the security or availability of Rockley’s network infrastructure and website. Rockley’s existing data center facilities and third-party hosting providers have no obligations to renew their agreements with Rockley on commercially reasonable terms or at all, and certain of the agreements governing these relationships may be terminated by either party at any time, with no or limited notice. If any of these arrangements with third parties are terminated, Rockley could experience interruptions, as well as downtime, delays, and additional expenses in arranging alternative cloud infrastructure services. Rockley may incur significant liability from those customers and from third parties with respect to any breach of security affecting third parties’ infrastructure.
General Risks
The recurrence or continued effects of a global economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, political instability, and geopolitical conflicts could have an adverse effect on Rockley’s business and operating results.
Rockley operates globally and as a result its business and revenue are impacted by global macroeconomic conditions. The multinational efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 had a significant adverse effect on the global macroeconomic environment. In addition, the instability in the global credit markets, uncertainties regarding the effects of Brexit, uncertainties related to the timing of the lifting of governmental restrictions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, uncertainties related to changes in public policies such as domestic and international regulations, taxes, or international trade agreements, international trade disputes, government shutdowns, geopolitical turmoil such as the conflict between Russian and Ukraine, and other disruptions to global and regional economies and markets could continue to add uncertainty to global economic conditions. These adverse conditions could result in longer sales, development, and production cycles, slower adoption of new technologies, and increased price competition. As a result, any continued or further uncertainty, weakness, or deterioration in global macroeconomic and market conditions may cause Rockley’s customers to modify spending priorities or delay purchasing decisions, and result in lengthened sales, development, and production cycles, any of which could harm its business and operating results.
