CERO THERAPEUTICS HOLDINGS, INC.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒** ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934**

For the fiscal year ended December 31,2024

OR

☐** TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934**

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number:001-40877

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

**(650) 407-2376

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

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b).☐

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

As of June 30, 2024, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting securities held by non-affiliates was approximately $5,765,325 based on the number of shares held by non-affiliates and the last reported sales price of the registrant’s Class A common stock as of that date.

As of April 11, 2025, the registrant had 5,380,723 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement relating to the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which the Registrant intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the Registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Table of Contents

i

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”)contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, drug candidates, planned preclinical studies and clinical trials, results of preclinical studies, clinical trials, research and development (“R&D”) costs, regulatory approvals, timing and likelihood of success, as well as plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that are in some cases beyond our control and may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report include, but are not limited to, statements about:

ii

iii

We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about our business, the industry in which we operate and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or development. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein until after we distribute this Annual Report, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

This Annual Report includes trademarks, tradenames and service marks that are the property of other organizations. Solely for convenience, trademarks and tradenames referred to in this Annual Report appear without the ® and ™ symbols, but those references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights, or that the applicable owner will not assert its rights, to these trademarks and tradenames.

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references herein to “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company” refer to the business and operations of CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (“CERo”) and its subsidiaries.

iv

SELECTED DEFINITIONS

As used in this Annual Report, unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise requires, references to the following capitalized terms have the meanings set forth below:

“Arena” refers to Arena Business Solutions Global SPC II, Ltd. on behalf of and for the account of Segregated Portfolio #13 – SPC #13.

“Arena Commitment Shares” refer to up to 10,000 shares of Common Stock issued to Arena as consideration for executing and delivering the Arena Purchase Agreement.

“Arena Purchase Agreement” refers to the Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 23, 2024, by and between CERo and Arena.

“Board” refers to the board of directors of CERo.

“Business Combination” or “Merger” refers to the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, including the merger between Merger Sub and Legacy CERo.

“Business Combination Agreement” refers to the Business Combination Agreement, dated as of June 4, 2023, as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated February 5, 2024 and Amendment No. 2, dated February 13, 2024, by and between PBAX, Merger Sub and Legacy CERo.

“Bylaws” refers to the Amended and Restated Bylaws of CERo.

“Charter” refers to CERo’s Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as filed with the Secretary of the State of Delaware February 14, 2024.

“Class A Common Stock” refers to the CERo Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

“Closing” refers to the closing of the Business Combination.

“Common Stock” refers to the Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of CERo.

“Common Warrants” refers to the Public Warrants, Private Placement Warrants, the Conversion Warrants, the Series A Warrants, the Series C Warrants, the December 2024 Common Warrants, the January 2025 Common Warrants, the February 2025 Common Warrants and the Pre-Funded Warrants.

“Conversion Warrants” refer to the warrants initially issued by CERo Therapeutics, Inc. and converted into warrants to purchase Common Stock in connection with the Business Combination.

“December 2024 Common Warrants” refer to the warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, at a current exercise price of $5.61 per share, issued by the Company in a private placement on December 23, 2024.

“DGCL” refers to the Delaware General Corporation Law, as may be amended from time to time.

v

“Earnout Shares” refer to the Primary Earnout Shares, the Secondary Earnout Shares and the Tertiary Earnout Shares, collectively.

“February 2025 Common Warrants” refer to the warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, at a current exercise price of $1.96 per share, issued by the Company in a public offering on February 7, 2025.

“First PIPE Financing” refers to the private placement pursuant to which we issued and sold, and the PIPE Investors purchased, shares of Series A Preferred Stock, the Series A Warrants and Preferred Warrants, on the terms and conditions set forth in the First Securities Purchase Agreement.

“First PIPE Registration Rights Agreement” refers to the Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of February 14, 2024, by and between CERo and certain PIPE Investors.

“First Securities Purchase Agreement” refers to the Amended and Restated Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 14, 2024, by and among PBAX, Legacy CERo and certain PIPE Investors, pursuant to which CERo agreed to issue and sell 10,039 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, 6,127 Series A Warrants and 2,500 Preferred Warrants.

“Initial Public Offering” refers to the initial public offering of PBAX, which closed on October 8, 2021.

“January 2025 Common Warrants” refer to the warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, at a current exercise price of $5.82 per share, issued by the Company in a private placement on January 6, 2025.

“Keystone” refers to Keystone Capital Partners, LLC.

“Keystone Commencement Date” refers to the time when all of the conditions to our right to commence sales of Common Stock to Keystone set forth in the respective Keystone Purchase Agreements have been satisfied.

“Keystone Commitment Shares” refers to the 19,833 shares of Common Stock that have been issued to Keystone as consideration for Keystone entering into the Keystone Purchase Agreements.

“Keystone Purchase Agreements” refers to the Old Keystone Purchase Agreement and the New Keystone Purchase Agreement.

“Keystone Purchase Shares” refers to the shares of Common Stock that CERo may elect to issue and sell to Keystone after the Keystone Commencement Date.

vi

“Legacy CERo” refers to CERo Therapeutics, Inc.

“Legacy CERo common stock” refers to the common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of Legacy CERo.

“Legacy CERo preferred stock” refers to the preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of Legacy CERo.

“Legacy CERo options” refers to the options to purchase shares of Legacy CERo common stock.

“Legacy CERo Stockholders” refers to the holders of Legacy CERo common stock and/or Legacy CERo preferred stock prior to the Business Combination.

“Legacy CERo warrants” refers to the warrants to purchase shares of Legacy CERo preferred stock.

“Merger Sub” refers to PBCE Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

“New Keystone Purchase Agreement” refers to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of November 8, 2024, by and between CERo and Keystone.

“Old Keystone Purchase Agreement” refers to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 14, 2024, by and between PBAX and Keystone.

“PIPE Financings” refers to the First PIPE Financing, the Second PIPE Financing and the Third PIPE Financing.

“PIPE Investors” refer to the investors in the PIPE Financings.

“PIPE Registration Rights Agreement” refers to the First PIPE Registration Rights Agreement, the Second PIPE Registration Rights Agreement and the Third PIPE Registration Rights Agreement.

“Pre-Funded Warrants” refer to the warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, at an exercise price of $0.0001 per Share, issued in a public offering on February 7, 2025.

“Preferred Stock” refers to the shares of Series A, Series B, and Series C Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of CERo.

“Preferred Shares” refer to the shares of Series A Preferred Stock, Series B Preferred Stock and Series C Preferred Stock issued in the PIPE Financings, including the Warrant Preferred Shares.

“Preferred Warrants” refer to warrants to purchase shares of Series A Preferred Stock.

“Primary Earnout Shares” refer to the 12,000 shares of Common Stock issued to the holders of Legacy CERo common stock and Legacy CERo preferred stock in connection with the Business Combination, 10,000 of which are subject to vesting upon the achievement of certain stock price-based earnout targets and 2,000 of which are subject to vesting upon a change of control, respectively.

“Private Placement Warrants” refer to private placement warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, at an exercise price of $1,150.00 per share, that were originally sold in a private placement concurrently with the Initial Public Offering.

“Public Warrants” refer to the warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, at an exercise price of $1,150.00 per share, that were originally issued in the Initial Public Offering.

“Reverse Stock Split” refers to the Company’s reverse stock split that became effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on January 8, 2025, pursuant to which each 100 shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately prior thereto was converted into 1 share of Common Stock outstanding immediately thereafter.

“Rollover Warrants” refer to warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, at an exercise price of $1,000.00 per share, that were converted from Legacy CERo warrants in connection with the Business Combination.

vii

“SEC” refers to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Secondary Earnout Shares” refer to the 8,750 shares of Common Stock issued to the holders of Legacy CERo common stock and Legacy CERo preferred stock in connection with the Business Combination, which became fully vested at Closing.

“Second PIPE Financing” refers to the private placement pursuant to which we issued and sold, and the PIPE Investors purchased, shares of Series B Preferred Stock, on the terms and conditions set forth in the Second Securities Purchase Agreement.

“Second PIPE Registration Rights Agreement” refers to the Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of March 29, 2024, by and between CERo and certain PIPE Investors.

“Second Securities Purchase Agreement” refers to the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 29, 2024, by and among CERo and certain PIPE Investors, pursuant to which CERo agreed to issue and sell 626 shares of Series B Preferred Stock.

“Series A Preferred Stock” refers to the Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share, of CERo.

“Series A Warrants” refers to warrants to purchase Common Stock, at a current exercise price of $139.00 per share, sold to certain PIPE Investors pursuant to the First Securities Purchase Agreement.

“Series B Preferred Stock” refers to the Series B convertible preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share, of CERo.

“Series C Preferred Stock” refers to the Series C convertible preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share, of CERo.

“Series C Warrants” refers to warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock, at a current exercise price of $0.04 per share, sold to certain PIPE Investors pursuant to the Third Securities Purchase Agreement.

“Sponsor” refers to Phoenix Biotech Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

“Tertiary Earnout Shares” refer to the 10,000 shares of Common Stock issued to the holders of Legacy CERo common stock and Legacy CERo preferred stock in connection with the Business Combination, which became fully vested upon the achievement of certain regulatory milestone-based earnout targets.

“Third PIPE Financing” refers to the private placement pursuant to which we issued and sold, and the PIPE Investors purchased, shares of Series C Preferred Stock, on the terms and conditions set forth in the Third Securities Purchase Agreement.

“Third PIPE Registration Rights Agreement” refers to the Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of September 26, 2024, by and between CERo and certain PIPE Investors.

“Third Securities Purchase Agreement” refers to the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of September 25, 2024, by and among CERo and certain PIPE Investors, pursuant to which CERo agreed to issue and sell 2,853 shares of Series C Preferred Stock and the Series C Warrants to purchase 81,753 shares of Common Stock.

“Warrant Preferred Shares” refer to the shares of Preferred Stock underlying the Preferred Warrants.

“Warrants” refer to the Rollover Warrants, the Private Placement Warrants, the Common Warrants, the Preferred Warrants, the Public Warrants, the February 2025 Common Warrants and the Pre-Funded Warrants.

viii

RISK FACTORS SUMMARY

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that you should consider before investing in our securities. Some of the principal risk factors are summarized below:

Our current product candidates are in early clinical or preclinical development and have never been tested in humans. One or all of our current product candidates may fail in clinical development or suffer delays that materially and adversely affect their commercial viability.

ix

x

xi