Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This annual report on Form 10-K and our annual report to shareholders (the “Annual Report”) include forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, the plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial, of Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (“Ginkgo”). These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the management of Ginkgo. Although Ginkgo believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, Ginkgo cannot assure you that it will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words “believes”, “estimates”, “expects”, “projects”, “forecasts”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “seeks”, “plans”, “scheduled”, “anticipates” or “intends” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in the Annual Report include, but are not limited to, statements about:

•Ginkgo’s ability to raise additional capital in the future and to comply with restrictive covenants related to long-term indebtedness;

•Ginkgo’s ability to retain or recruit, or adapt to changes required in, its founders, senior executives, key personnel or directors;

•factors relating to the business, operations and financial performance of Ginkgo, including:

◦the performance and output of Ginkgo’s cell engineering and biosecurity offerings;

◦Ginkgo’s ability to effectively manage its organizational changes, including its restructuring actions commenced in 2024, and related impacts on Ginkgo’s financial performance;

◦Ginkgo’s exposure to the volatility and liquidity risks inherent in holding equity interests in certain of its customers;

◦rapidly changing technology and extensive competition in the synthetic biology industry that could make the products and processes Ginkgo is developing obsolete or non-competitive unless it continues to collaborate on the development of new and improved products and processes and pursue new market opportunities;

◦Ginkgo’s ability to convert potential customers from “on prem” research and development (“R&D”) to outsourced services, Ginkgo’s reliance on its customers to develop, produce and manufacture products using the engineered cells and/or biomanufacturing processes that Ginkgo develops and Ginkgo’s ability to accurately predict customer demand, including with respect to the data we access and hold;

◦the anticipated growth of Ginkgo’s biomonitoring and bioinformatics services and the relative value of the services on Ginkgo’s future Biosecurity revenue;

◦the scope and timing of Ginkgo's partnerships around the world;

◦Ginkgo’s ability to comply with laws and regulations applicable to its business; and

◦market conditions and global and economic factors beyond Ginkgo’s control, including initiatives undertaken by the U.S. government in the biotechnology sector, the frequency and scale of biological risks and threats, and the future potential and commercial applications of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and the biotechnology sector.

Each forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others:

•intense competition and competitive pressures from other companies worldwide in the industries in which Ginkgo operates;

•litigation, including securities or shareholder litigation, and the ability to adequately protect Ginkgo’s intellectual property rights;

•the success of Ginkgo’s programs, including the growing efficiency and cost-advantage of Foundry cell engineering services, and their potential to contribute revenue, and the relative contribution of Ginkgo’s programs to its future revenue, including the potential for future revenue related to downstream value to be in the form of potential future milestone payments, royalties, and/or equity consideration; and

•other factors detailed under the section entitled “Risk Factors.”

These and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report are more fully described under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report. The risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” are not exhaustive. Other sections of this Annual Report describe additional

i factors that could adversely affect the business, financial condition or results of Ginkgo. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all such risk factors, nor can Ginkgo assess the impact of all such risk factors on the business of Ginkgo, or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. You should not put undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements attributable to Ginkgo or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. Ginkgo undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Risk Factors Summary

Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully consider the risks described in “Risk Factors” beginning on page 22 before making a decision to invest in our Class A common stock. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations would likely be materially adversely affected. Some of the risks related to Ginkgo’s business and industry are summarized below. References in the summary below to “we,” “us,” “our” and “the Company” generally refer to Ginkgo.

•We have a history of net losses. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability.

•Only our employees and directors are entitled to hold shares of Class B common stock (including shares of Class B common stock issued in the future), which have ten votes per share. This limits or precludes other stockholders’ ability to influence the outcome of matters submitted to stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, the approval of certain employee compensation plans, the adoption of certain amendments to our organizational documents and the approval of any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other major corporate transactions requiring stockholder approval.

•We may need substantial additional capital in the future in order to fund our business.

•We have experienced periods of significant organizational change, and if we fail to effectively manage these changes, then our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.

•Our limited operating history and evolving business makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects.

•We have exposure to the volatility and liquidity risks inherent in holding equity interests in other operating companies and other non-cash consideration.

•We have in the past, and in the future may continue to pursue strategic acquisitions and investments that are dilutive to our stockholders and that could have an adverse impact on our business if they are unsuccessful.

•We must continue to secure and maintain sufficient and stable supplies of laboratory reagents, consumables, equipment, and laboratory services. We depend on a limited number of suppliers, some of which are single-source suppliers, and contract manufacturers for critical supplies, equipment, and services for research, development, and manufacturing of our products and processes. Our reliance on these third parties exposes us to risks relating to costs, contractual terms, supply, and logistics, and the loss of any one or more of these suppliers or contract manufacturers or their failure to supply us with the necessary supplies, equipment, or services on a timely basis, could cause delays in our research, development, or production capacity and adversely affect our business.

•We use biological, hazardous, flammable and/or regulated materials that require considerable training, expertise and expense for handling, storage and disposal and may result in claims against us.

•Third parties may use our engineered cells, materials, and organisms and accompanying production processes in ways that could damage our reputation.

•Our investments in and use of AI may result in reputational harm, liabilities, or other adverse consequences to our business operations.

•Our recent restructuring actions in connection with our plans to reduce operational expenditures may not result in anticipated savings, could result in total costs and expenses that are greater than expected and could disrupt our business.

•If our customers discontinue their development, production and manufacturing efforts using our engineered cells and/or biomanufacturing processes, our future financial position may be adversely impacted.

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•Further, because our revenue is concentrated in a limited number of customers, some of which are related parties, our revenue, results of operations, cash flows and reputation in the marketplace may suffer upon the loss of a significant customer.

•We are or could become involved in securities or shareholder litigation and other related matters, which could be expensive and time-consuming. Such litigation and related matters could harm our business.

•In certain cases, our business partners may have discretion in determining when and whether to make announcements about the status of our collaborations, including about developments and timelines for advancing programs, and the price of our common stock may decline as a result of announcements of unexpected results or developments.

•Uncertainty regarding the demand for passive monitoring programs and biosecurity services could materially adversely affect our business.

•Rapidly changing technology and emerging competition in the synthetic biology industry could make the platform, programs, and products we and our customers are developing obsolete or non-competitive unless we continue to develop our platform and pursue new market opportunities.

•Ethical, legal and social concerns about genetically modified organisms (“GMOs”) and genetically modified plant or animal cells and genetically modified proteins and biomaterials (collectively, “Genetically Modified Materials”) and their resulting products could limit or prevent the use of products or processes using our technologies, limit public acceptance of such products or processes and limit our revenues.

•If we are unable to obtain, maintain and defend patents protecting our intellectual property, our competitive position will be harmed. If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position will be harmed. We may become involved in lawsuits or other enforcement proceedings to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and potentially unsuccessful.

•We rely on our customers, joint venturers, equity investees and other third parties to deliver timely and accurate information in order to accurately report our financial results in the time frame and manner required by law.

•We had in the past identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting, and we may identify additional material weaknesses in the future. A failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting may result in a failure to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, stockholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.

•Failure to comply with federal, state, local and international laws and regulations could expose us to significant liabilities or penalties and adversely affect our business, our financial condition and results of operations and we may incur significant costs complying with such laws and regulations

•We and our laboratory partners are subject to a variety of laboratory testing standards, compliance with which is an expensive and time-consuming process, and any failure to comply could result in substantial penalties and disruptions to our business.

•Significant disruptions to our and our service providers’ information technology systems or data security incidents could result in significant financial, legal, regulatory, business and reputational harm to us.

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