AMBARELLA INC

Previous wording

We believe that our future revenue growth, if any, significantly depends on our ability to expand within the Internet of Things, or IoT, camera markets with our new artificial intelligence, or AI, computer vision SoC solutions, and the OEM automotive, robotics and industrial markets. Our AI computer vision SoC solutions have functionality that may also be applicable to other developing markets, such as processing of large language models (LLMs). Each of these markets presents distinct and substantial risks and, in many cases, requires us to develop new functionality or software to address the particular requirements of that market. If any of these markets do not develop as we currently anticipate, the technical requirements of these markets evolve in ways we do not anticipate, the development of such markets is delayed or impacted by factors outside of our control, or if we are unable to penetrate them successfully with our solutions, our revenue could decline and our financial condition would be negatively impacted. Some of these markets are primarily served by only a few large, multinational OEMs with substantial negotiating power relative to us and, in some instances, with internal solutions that are competitive to our products. Meeting the technical requirements and securing design wins with any of these companies requires a substantial investment of our time and resources and we cannot assure you that we will secure design wins from these or other companies or that we will achieve meaningful revenue from the sales of our solutions into these markets. In addition, we face competition from larger competitors with greater resources and more history in these markets, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage to these larger competitors. If we fail to penetrate these or other new markets we are targeting, our financial condition would likely suffer. Moreover, if we are successful in achieving design wins in these new markets, it will likely take longer to generate revenue from such design wins than in our traditional markets.

Current wording

We believe that our future revenue growth, if any, significantly depends on our ability to expand within the Internet of Things, or IoT, camera markets with our new artificial intelligence, or AI, computer vision SoC solutions, and penetrate, or further penetrate, the OEM automotive, robotics and industrial markets. Our AI computer vision SoC solutions have functionality that may also be applicable to other developing markets, such as processing of large language models (LLMs). Each of these markets presents distinct and substantial risks and, in many cases, requires us to develop new functionality or software to address the particular requirements of that market. If any of these markets do not develop as we currently anticipate, the technical requirements of these markets evolve in ways we do not anticipate, the development of such markets is delayed or impacted by factors outside of our control, or if we are unable to penetrate them successfully with our solutions, our revenue could decline and our financial condition would be negatively impacted. Some of these markets are primarily served by only a few large, multinational OEMs with substantial negotiating power relative to us and, in some instances, with internal solutions that are competitive to our products. Meeting the technical requirements and securing design wins with any of these companies requires a substantial investment of our time and resources and we cannot assure you that we will secure design wins from these or other companies or that we will achieve meaningful revenue from the sales of our solutions into these markets. In addition, we face competition from larger competitors with greater resources and more history in these markets, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage to these larger competitors. If we fail to penetrate these or other new markets we are targeting, our financial condition would likely suffer. Moreover, if we are successful in achieving design wins in these new markets, it will likely take longer to generate revenue from such design wins than in our traditional markets.

Previous wording

We operate a warehouse facility in Hong Kong through which the substantial majority of our finished SoCs are shipped to customers or our logistic partners. Hong Kong has experienced, and continues to experience, political unrest and social strife in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bureau of Industry and Security, or BIS, of the U.S. Department of Commerce, or Commerce, imposes on Hong Kong the same stringent export and reexport controls applicable to China, including licensing requirements such as those applicable to SoCs and semiconductor end-uses. It is possible that the U.S. government may take future measures to impose stricter export controls or duties on shipments made to Hong Kong, which could harm our business, increase the cost of conducting our operations in Hong Kong or result in retaliatory actions against U.S. interests. While we have not been materially impacted by these problems to date, continued deterioration in political, social or economic conditions in Hong Kong or future unforeseen problems, including health pandemics, could affect deliveries of our SoCs to our customers or logistic partners, possibly resulting in business interruptions, substantially delayed or lost sales, loss of inventory, or increased expenses that cannot be passed on to customers, any of which could ultimately have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. In addition, we could be forced to relocate our warehouse operations, either temporarily or permanently, to another potentially costlier location (or a location resulting in higher tax costs) or find alternative potentially costlier methods of shipping our finished SoCs to customers and logistic partners.

Current wording

We operate a warehouse facility in Hong Kong through which the substantial majority of our finished SoCs are shipped to customers or our logistic partners. Hong Kong has experienced, and continues to experience, political unrest and social strife. The Bureau of Industry and Security, or BIS, of the U.S. Department of Commerce, or Commerce, imposes on Hong Kong the same stringent export and reexport controls applicable to China, including licensing requirements such as those applicable to SoCs and semiconductor end-uses. It is possible that the U.S. government may take future measures to impose stricter export controls or duties on shipments made to Hong Kong, which could harm our business, increase the cost of conducting our operations in Hong Kong or result in retaliatory actions against U.S. interests. While we have not been materially impacted by these problems to date, continued deterioration in political, social or economic conditions in Hong Kong or future unforeseen problems, including health pandemics, could affect deliveries of our SoCs to our customers or logistic partners, possibly resulting in business interruptions, substantially delayed or lost sales, loss of inventory, or increased expenses that cannot be passed on to customers, any of which could ultimately have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. In addition, we could be forced to relocate our warehouse operations, either temporarily or permanently, to another potentially costlier location (or a location resulting in higher tax costs) or find alternative potentially costlier methods of shipping our finished SoCs to customers and logistic partners.

Previous wording

We derive a significant portion of our revenue from a limited number of ODMs who build products on behalf of a limited number of OEMs and from a limited number of OEMs to whom we ship directly. We anticipate that this customer concentration will continue for the foreseeable future. In fiscal year 2024, the customers representing 10% or more of our revenue were WT Microelectronics Co., Ltd., or WT, which serves as our non-exclusive sales representative and fulfillment partner in Asia other than Japan, and Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd., or Chicony, one ODM which manufactures devices incorporating our solutions on behalf of multiple end-customers, accounted for approximately 53% and 14% of total revenue, respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2024, the customer representing 10% or more of our revenue was WT, which accounted for approximately 62% of total revenue. In addition, we believe that revenue from our top 10 end customers, either directly or through a distributor or an ODM, accounted for approximately 51% of our total revenue in fiscal year 2024 and accounted for approximately 57% of our total revenue for the six months ended July 31, 2024. We believe that our operating results in the near term will continue to depend on sales to a relatively small number of customers and end customers. In the future, these customers may decide not to purchase our SoC solutions at all, may purchase fewer solutions than they did in the past or may alter their purchasing patterns. As substantially all of our sales to date have been made on a purchase order basis, these customers may cancel, change or delay product purchase commitments with little or no notice to us and often without penalty and may make our revenue volatile from period to period, which has happened in the past. The loss of a significant customer, or substantial reduction in purchases by a significant customer, could happen again at any time and without notice, and such loss would likely harm our financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because several of our largest OEM customers have a dominant position in their markets, a loss of a significant customer may not be easily replaced.

Current wording

We derive a significant portion of our revenue from a limited number of ODMs who build products on behalf of a limited number of OEMs and from a limited number of OEMs to whom we ship directly. We anticipate that this customer concentration will continue for the foreseeable future. In fiscal year 2024, the customers representing 10% or more of our revenue were WT Microelectronics Co., Ltd., or WT, which serves as our non-exclusive sales representative and fulfillment partner in Asia other than Japan, and Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd., or Chicony, one ODM which manufactures devices incorporating our solutions on behalf of multiple end-customers, accounted for approximately 53% and 14% of total revenue, respectively. For the nine months ended October 31, 2024, the customer representing 10% or more of our revenue were WT and Chicony, which accounted for approximately 64% and 10% of total revenue, respectively. In addition, we believe that revenue from our top 10 end customers, either directly or through a distributor or an ODM, accounted for approximately 51% of our total revenue in fiscal year 2024 and accounted for approximately 58% of our total revenue for the nine months ended October 31, 2024. We believe that our operating results in the near term will continue to depend on sales to a relatively small number of customers and end customers. In the future, these customers may decide not to purchase our SoC solutions at all, may purchase fewer solutions than they did in the past or may alter their purchasing patterns. As substantially all of our sales to date have been made on a purchase order basis, these customers may cancel, change or delay product purchase commitments with little or no notice to us and often without penalty and may make our revenue volatile from period to period, which has happened in the past. The loss of a significant customer, or substantial reduction in purchases by a significant customer, could happen again at any time and without notice, and such loss would likely harm our financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because several of our largest OEM customers have a dominant position in their markets, a loss of a significant customer may not be easily replaced.

Previous wording

The semiconductor industry requires substantial investment in research and development in order to bring to market new and enhanced solutions. Our research and development expense was $215.1 million, $204.9 million and $167.3 million in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2024, our research and development expense was $110.9 million. In general, we expect to increase our research and development expenditures in future periods as compared to prior periods as part of our strategy of focusing on the development of innovative computer vision, video and image processing solutions with increased functionality, and as we target key markets, such as the automotive OEM and robotics markets. We are unable to predict whether we will have sufficient resources to achieve the level of investment in research and development required to remain competitive. For example, development in the latest process nodes, such as 5 nanometer, or nm, or smaller, costs significantly more than required to develop in larger process nodes, such as 14 or 10nm. This added cost could prevent us from being able to maintain a technology advantage over larger competitors that have significantly more resources to invest in research and development. In addition, we cannot assure you that the technologies which are the focus of our research and development expenditures will become commercially successful or generate any revenue.

Current wording

The semiconductor industry requires substantial investment in research and development in order to bring to market new and enhanced solutions. Our research and development expense was $215.1 million, $204.9 million and $167.3 million in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. For the nine months ended October 31, 2024, our research and development expense was $169.3 million. In general, we expect to increase our research and development expenditures in future periods as compared to prior periods as part of our strategy of focusing on the development of innovative computer vision, video and image processing solutions with increased functionality, and as we target key markets, such as the automotive OEM and robotics markets. We are unable to predict whether we will have sufficient resources to achieve the level of investment in research and development required to remain competitive. For example, development in the latest process nodes, such as 5 nanometer, or nm, or smaller, costs significantly more than required to develop in larger process nodes, such as 14 or 10nm. This added cost could prevent us from being able to maintain a technology advantage over larger competitors that have significantly more resources to invest in research and development. In addition, we cannot assure you that the technologies which are the focus of our research and development expenditures will become commercially successful or generate any revenue.

Previous wording

Deterioration of the financial condition of our distributors or customers could adversely impact our collection of accounts receivable. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, the customers representing 10% or more of revenue were WT and Chicony, which accounted for approximately 53% and 14% of total revenue, respectively. As of January 31, 2024, accounts receivable with WT and Chicony were approximately $10.3 million and $7.0 million, respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2024, the customer representing 10% or more of revenue was WT, which accounted for approximately 62% of total revenue. As of July 31, 2024, accounts receivable with WT was approximately $11.4 million. We regularly review the collectability and creditworthiness of our distributors and customers to determine an appropriate allowance for credit losses. Based on our review of our distributors and customers, we currently have only immaterial reserves for uncollectible accounts. If our uncollectible accounts, however, were to exceed our current or future allowance for credit losses, our operating results and cash flows would be negatively impacted.

Current wording

Deterioration of the financial condition of our distributors or customers could adversely impact our collection of accounts receivable. For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, the customers representing 10% or more of revenue were WT and Chicony, which accounted for approximately 53% and 14% of total revenue, respectively. As of January 31, 2024, accounts receivable with WT and Chicony were approximately $10.3 million and $7.0 million, respectively. For the nine months ended October 31, 2024, the customer representing 10% or more of revenue were WT and Chicony, which accounted for approximately 64% and 10% of total revenue, respectively. As of October 31, 2024, accounts receivable with WT and Chicony were approximately $16.8 million and $9.4 million, respectively. We regularly review the collectability and creditworthiness of our distributors and customers to determine an appropriate allowance for credit losses. Based on our review of our distributors and customers, we currently have only immaterial reserves for uncollectible accounts. If our uncollectible accounts, however, were to exceed our current or future allowance for credit losses, our operating results and cash flows would be negatively impacted.

Previous wording

Our sales have been historically denominated in U.S. dollars. An increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the currencies of the countries in which our end customers operate could impair the ability of our end customers to cost-effectively integrate our SoCs into their devices which may materially affect the demand for our solutions and cause these end customers to reduce their orders, which would adversely affect our revenue and business. We may experience foreign exchange gains or losses due to the volatility of other currencies compared to the U.S. dollar. A significant portion of our solutions are sold to customers located outside the United States, primarily in Asia. Sales to customers in Asia accounted for approximately 79%, 79% and 86% of our total revenue in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2024, sales to customers in Asia accounted for approximately 85% of our total revenue. Because most of our end customers or their ODM manufacturers are located in Asia, we anticipate that a majority of our future revenue will continue to come from sales to that region. Although a large percentage of our sales are made to customers in Asia, we believe that a significant number of the products designed by these customers and incorporating our SoCs are then sold to consumers globally. In addition, if in the future we sell products or purchase inventory in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, our exposure to foreign currency risk could become more significant.

Current wording

Our sales have been historically denominated in U.S. dollars. An increase in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the currencies of the countries in which our end customers operate could impair the ability of our end customers to cost-effectively integrate our SoCs into their devices which may materially affect the demand for our solutions and cause these end customers to reduce their orders, which would adversely affect our revenue and business. We may experience foreign exchange gains or losses due to the volatility of other currencies compared to the U.S. dollar. A significant portion of our solutions are sold to customers located outside the United States, primarily in Asia. Sales to customers in Asia accounted for approximately 79%, 79% and 86% of our total revenue in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. For the nine months ended October 31, 2024, sales to customers in Asia accounted for approximately 85% of our total revenue. Because most of our end customers or their ODM manufacturers are located in Asia, we anticipate that a majority of our future revenue will continue to come from sales to that region. Although a large percentage of our sales are made to customers in Asia, we believe that a significant number of the products designed by these customers and incorporating our SoCs are then sold to consumers globally. In addition, if in the future we sell products or purchase inventory in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, our exposure to foreign currency risk could become more significant.

Previous wording

As of July 31, 2024, we had approximately $98.5 million in money market funds and debt security investments and $9.6 million in fixed deposit accounts. The debt security investments consisted of commercial paper, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities and U.S. government securities. We currently do not use derivative financial instruments to adjust our investment portfolio risk or income profile. These investments, as well as any cash deposited in bank accounts, are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks, which may be exacerbated by unusual events, such as the pandemics or widespread public health problems, the Eurozone crisis and the U.S. debt ceiling crisis, which affected various sectors of the financial markets and led to global credit and liquidity issues. For example, in March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was closed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed as receiver. At the time of closing on March 10, 2023, we had cash deposits with SVB of approximately $17.0 million. We also had cash equivalents and marketable debt security investments residing in custodial accounts held by U.S. Bank for which SVB Asset Management was the investment advisor until March 15, 2023. While we were able to recover all deposited amounts from SVB, there can be no assurance that our current or future banks will not face similar risks as SVB or that we will be able to recover in full our deposits in the event of similar closures. We regularly maintain cash balances that are not insured or are in excess of the FDIC’s insurance limit. If the global financial markets continue to experience volatility or deteriorate, our investment portfolio may be impacted and some or all of our investments may become illiquid or otherwise experience loss which could adversely impact our financial results and position. To the extent that we increase the amount of our security investments in the future, these risks would be exacerbated.

Current wording

As of October 31, 2024, we had approximately $99.5 million in money market funds and debt security investments and $3.7 million in fixed deposit accounts. The debt security investments primarily consisted of commercial paper, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities and U.S. government securities. We currently do not use derivative financial instruments to adjust our investment portfolio risk or income profile. These investments, as well as any cash deposited in bank accounts, are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks, which may be exacerbated by unusual events, such as the pandemics or widespread public health problems, the Eurozone crisis and the U.S. debt ceiling crisis, which affected various sectors of the financial markets and led to global credit and liquidity issues. For example, in March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was closed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed as receiver. At the time of closing on March 10, 2023, we had cash deposits with SVB of approximately $17.0 million. We also had cash equivalents and marketable debt security investments residing in custodial accounts held by U.S. Bank for which SVB Asset Management was the investment advisor until March 15, 2023. While we were able to recover all deposited amounts from SVB, there can be no assurance that our current or future banks will not face similar risks as SVB or that we will be able to recover in full our deposits in the event of similar closures. We regularly maintain cash balances that are not insured or are in excess of the FDIC’s insurance limit. If the global financial markets continue to experience volatility or deteriorate, our investment portfolio may be impacted and some or all of our investments may become illiquid or otherwise experience loss which could adversely impact our financial results and position. To the extent that we increase the amount of our security investments in the future, these risks would be exacerbated.

Previous wording

We sell a significant percentage of our solutions through a single distributor, WT, which serves as our non-exclusive sales representative and fulfillment partner in Asia other than Japan. Approximately 53%, 57% and 62% of our revenue was derived from sales through WT for the fiscal years ended January 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and approximately 62% of our revenue was derived from sales through WT for the six months ended July 31, 2024. We anticipate that a significant portion of our revenue will continue to be derived from sales through WT in the foreseeable future. Our current agreement with WT is effective until January 2026, unless it is terminated earlier by either party for any or no reason with 60 days written notice or by failure of the breaching party to cure a material breach within 30 days following written notice of such material breach by the non-breaching party. Our agreement with WT will automatically renew for additional successive 12-month terms unless at least 60 days before the end of the then-current term either party provides written notice to the other party that it elects not to renew the agreement. Termination of the relationship with WT, either by us or by WT, could result in a temporary or permanent loss of revenue. We may not be successful in finding suitable alternative distributors on satisfactory terms, or at all, and this could adversely affect our ability to effectively sell our solutions in certain geographical locations or to certain end customers. Furthermore, WT, or any successor or other distributors we do business with, may face issues obtaining credit, which could impair their ability to make timely payments to us.

Current wording

We sell a significant percentage of our solutions through a single distributor, WT, which serves as our non-exclusive sales representative and fulfillment partner in Asia other than Japan. Approximately 53%, 57% and 62% of our revenue was derived from sales through WT for the fiscal years ended January 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and approximately 64% of our revenue was derived from sales through WT for the nine months ended October 31, 2024. We anticipate that a significant portion of our revenue will continue to be derived from sales through WT in the foreseeable future. Our current agreement with WT is effective until January 2026, unless it is terminated earlier by either party for any or no reason with 60 days written notice or by failure of the breaching party to cure a material breach within 30 days following written notice of such material breach by the non-breaching party. Our agreement with WT will automatically renew for additional successive 12-month terms unless at least 60 days before the end of the then-current term either party provides written notice to the other party that it elects not to renew the agreement. Termination of the relationship with WT, either by us or by WT, could result in a temporary or permanent loss of revenue. We may not be successful in finding suitable alternative distributors on satisfactory terms, or at all, and this could adversely affect our ability to effectively sell our solutions in certain geographical locations or to certain end customers. Furthermore, WT, or any successor or other distributors we do business with, may face issues obtaining credit, which could impair their ability to make timely payments to us.

Previous wording

General trade tensions between the United States and China have been escalating, which has, in our view, created and will perpetuate an uncertain business environment. Tariffs on Chinese-origin products have continued to increase. Additionally, in 2022, the U.S. government announced new controls restricting the ability to send certain products and technology related to semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing, advanced computing, supercomputing, and artificial intelligence to China, including Hong Kong, without an export license. In many cases, these licenses are subject to a policy of denial and will not be issued. These controls have continued to expand. While our current products are not restricted by these controls, such controls could impact our ability to export products to China in the future. It also is possible that the Chinese government will retaliate in ways that could impact our business. End-user and end-use restrictions continue to evolve and may change what we can provide to certain entities both in China and other countries.

Current wording

General trade tensions between the United States and China have been escalating, which has, in our view, created and will perpetuate an uncertain business environment. Tariffs on Chinese-origin products have continued to increase and may do so further under the new U.S. administration. Additionally, in 2022, the U.S. government announced new controls restricting the ability to send certain products and technology related to semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing, advanced computing, supercomputing, and artificial intelligence to China, including Hong Kong, without an export license. In many cases, these licenses are subject to a policy of denial and will not be issued. These controls have continued to expand. While our current products are not restricted by these controls, such controls could impact our ability to export products to China in the future. It also is possible that the Chinese government will retaliate in ways that could impact our business. End-user and end-use restrictions continue to evolve and may change what we can provide to certain entities both in China and other countries.

Previous wording

We have significant business operations in Taiwan, including 345 employees as of July 31, 2024, and many of our third-party manufacturing suppliers are located in Taiwan. Accordingly, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be affected by changes in governmental and economic policies in Taiwan, social instability and diplomatic and social developments in or affecting Taiwan due to its international political status. Although significant economic and cultural relations have been established between Taiwan and China, we cannot assure that relations between Taiwan and China will not face political or economic uncertainties in the future. Any deterioration in the relations between Taiwan and China, and other factors affecting military, political or economic conditions in Taiwan, could disrupt our business operations and materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

Current wording

We have significant business operations in Taiwan, including 346 employees as of October 31, 2024, and many of our third-party manufacturing suppliers are located in Taiwan. Accordingly, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be affected by changes in governmental and economic policies in Taiwan, social instability and diplomatic and social developments in or affecting Taiwan due to its international political status. Although significant economic and cultural relations have been established between Taiwan and China, we cannot assure that relations between Taiwan and China will not face political or economic uncertainties in the future. Any deterioration in the relations between Taiwan and China, and other factors affecting military, political or economic conditions in Taiwan, could disrupt our business operations and materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

Previous wording

The market price of our ordinary shares has historically been highly volatile, and has been particularly volatile in recent years. For example, since February 1, 2020, the trading price of our common stock ranged from a low of $36.02 to a high of $227.59 and was $52.64 at the close of trading on July 31, 2024. The trading price of our ordinary shares is likely to remain volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in price in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include:

Current wording

The market price of our ordinary shares has historically been highly volatile, and has been particularly volatile in recent years. For example, since February 1, 2020, the trading price of our common stock ranged from a low of $36.02 to a high of $227.59 and was $56.19 at the close of trading on October 31, 2024. The trading price of our ordinary shares is likely to remain volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in price in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include: