AUDDIA INC.
For the period ended Dec 31, 2025. Filed Mar 6, 2026.
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FY2025 · Filed Mar 6, 2026
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Item 1. Business
| Item 1. | Business |
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Overview of Auddia
Auddia (the “Company”) is an AI technology company headquartered in Boulder, CO that is reinventing how consumers engage with audio through the development of its faidr app—an industry-first audio platform, which utilizes proprietary AI technology to personalize and customize both radio and podcast listening experiences—and the Discovr Radio platform, a web-based portal that allows artists and record labels to promote songs on radio streams, through an integration with faidr.
faidr historically allowed users to listen to AM/FM radio stations without unwanted commercial breaks. The app replaces these ad breaks in real time with songs supplied by Discovr Radio, giving artists exposure on mainstream airwaves. The faidr app represents the first-time consumers can combine the local content uniquely provided by AM/FM radio with commercial-free and personalized listening many consumers demand from digital-media consumption and preference-based new music discovery. In addition to commercial-free AM/FM, faidr includes podcasts with its Forward+ ad skipping technology on iOS.
The combination of AM/FM streaming and new-music distribution, with Auddia’s unique, AI technology-driven differentiators, addresses large (radio streamers) and rapidly growing (independent and emerging artists) audiences and customer bases.
We have developed our AI platform on top of Google’s TensorFlow open-source library that is being “taught” to know the difference between all types of audio content on the radio. For instance, the platform recognizes the difference between a commercial and a song and DJ conversation. Not only does the technology learn the differences between the various types of audio segments, but it also identifies the beginning and end of each piece of content.
The faidr app with its advanced features allows users to skip any content heard on the station and request audio content on-demand. We believe the faidr app represents a significant differentiated audio streaming product, the first to give audio streamers a more personalized middle ground between passive content like broadcast radio and fully on-demand content like Spotify. No other audio streaming app available today, including category leaders like TuneIn, iHeart, and Audacy, can compete with faidr’s full product offerings.
We launched an MVP version of faidr through several consumer trials in 2021 to measure consumer interest and engagement with the App. The full app launched on February 15, 2022, and included all major U.S. radio stations in the US. In February 2023, we added faidrRadio, our exclusive content offerings, to the app. Podcasts were added to the app for the iOS version before the end of Q1 2023 and added to the Android app in May of 2023.
The Company initially launched faidr with a B2C subscription model in February of 2022 and transitioned to a B2B subscription model in Q1 of 2026.
In August 2025, the Company announced a new B2B business model with a strategic shift to AI driven music discovery. Auddia is targeting artists and labels for SaaS subscription access to ad-free AM/FM streaming listeners on the faidr app, while faidr users will enjoy free access to AI driven ad-free AM/FM streams on all music stations. Consumer subscriptions will no longer be required to enjoy faidr’s ad-free and content personalization listening experience.
New music platforms like Bandcamp and SoundCloud are integral tools for artists to connect with new fans and even monetize their content, but those platforms only cater to a subset of the total addressable market for an artist. The Company believes the largest group of potential fans for most artists remains on commercial radio, listening to music passively and not searching for new artists even though Company surveys and research indicate radio listeners are interested in hearing new music when listening to their favorite radio stations. Auddia’s new Discovr Radio platform delivers the experience of passively listening to commercial AM/FM radio streams while being exposed to new music instead of radio ads.
Unlike other new music discovery platforms, which allow artists to upload songs in the hopes that new listeners will find them among the other songs available, Discovr Radio delivers guaranteed plays to artists, leveraging AI to place their songs into radio feeds as part of a custom programming experience and as unique content during what would typically be an ad break. This gives artists opportunities to be heard by the many millions of streaming radio listeners worldwide.
The new Discovr Radio platform consists of a new AI Placement Engine and Artist Portal. The AI Placement Engine aims to put the right new song in front of the right listener, on the right station, adjacent to the right artist, to optimize music discovery and the connection between artists and fans. The Artist Portal gives artists performance analytics on number of total plays, likes and dislikes, demographic data, and facilitate the connection of artists to their new fans. In addition to streaming songs on live radio streams, the Discovr Radio offering will eventually allow artists and labels to launch campaigns on streaming apps to promote new songs, albums, and tours.
Auddia is evolving its business model from direct-to-consumer to business-to-business, shifting its focus from individual radio-streaming subscribers to artists and labels as subscribers. Through a modest monthly subscription, artist and label customers gain guaranteed radio plays—offering a new channel for music promotion.
The faidr mobile App is available today through the iOS and Android App stores and the MVP version of the Discovr Radio platform was released on January 20, 2026. The MVP is expected to be supported by a pilot program of participating customers.
Since the release of Discovr Radio, participating artists are seeing an average of 116 plays over radio per week. In addition to plays and likes, faidr users have been engaging with artists through visits to artists pages and clicking on outbound links. As of February 12, 2026, artist pages are seeing an average 30% clickthrough rate, meaning nearly a third of all artist-page visits results in a user clicking to listen to the artist’s full library elsewhere, or following them on socials, or buying the artist’s merch, tickets, or music.
Recent Developments
Proposed Business Combination
On August 5, 2025, the Company issued a press release announcing that it had entered into a non-binding letter of intent (“LOI”) for a proposed business combination between the Company and Thramann Holdings, LLC (“Thramann Holdings”). Thramann Holdings is a privately held holding company that controls LT350, Influence Healthcare, and Voyex, three early stage AI-native companies founded by Jeff Thramann, Auddia’s founder, CEO and Executive Chairman.
The Company has established a special committee of independent directors to evaluate the related party transaction. The special committee has engaged its own counsel and financial advisor.
Upon closing of the proposed transaction, the Company would be renamed McCarthy Finney and would trade under its new MCFN ticker symbol. Auddia would become a wholly owned subsidiary of McCarthy Finney, and each of the three Thramann Holdings entities would also be wholly owned by McCarthy Finney. Jeff Thramann would remain as CEO of McCarthy Finney and John Mahoney would remain as CFO. Auddia’s current board members are expected to continue as members of the board of the combined company.
Auddia shareholders at the time of closing are expected to own a 20% economic interest of McCarthy Finney, with an 80% economic interest of the combined company expected to be owned at closing by Jeff Thramann. Under certain circumstances, these ownership percentages may be adjusted upward or downward based on the level of Auddia’s cash at closing.
The consideration to be paid to Thramann Holdings in the proposed transaction will consist of (i) shares of McCarthy Finney convertible preferred stock and (ii) $3.5 million aggregate principal amount of McCarthy Finney notes with a two year maturity date.
The closing of the merger will be conditioned on Auddia having at least $12 million cash on hand at closing in order to provide cash runway to fund McCarthy Finney to key future business milestones. There can be no assurances as to Auddia’s level of cash at closing.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both companies. In connection with the approval of the merger agreement, Houlihan Capital provided a fairness opinion to Auddia’s special committee and board of directors.
The proposed transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including approvals by the Auddia stockholders, the effectiveness of the S-4 registration statement to be filed with the SEC to register the shares of McCarthy Finney stock to be issued in connection with the merger, and the continued listing of the combined company’s common stock on Nasdaq.
The proposed business combination is subject to a number of known and unknown risk and uncertainties. There can be no assurances that such business combination will be approved by stockholders or will ultimately be consummated.
Mergers and Acquisitions Strategy
We are exploring various merger and acquisition options as part of a broader strategy which aims to scale the business more rapidly; accelerate user adoption and subscriber growth; enter new markets (international); and open new pathways toward raising capital. The overall strategy focuses on three areas: (1) acquiring retained customers of the Discovr Radio platform to generate significant subscription revenue, (2) acquiring retained users of faidr to supply the audience to Discovr Radio customers (3) scaling the faidr userbase and the Discovr Radio customer base once we’ve achieved product-market fit.
Nasdaq Deficiency Notices
During 2022, 2023 and 2024, the Company received notices from Nasdaq indicating that the Company was not in compliance with (i) Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), which requires companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market to maintain a minimum of $2,500,000 in stockholders’ equity for continued listing or (ii) Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) which requires companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market to maintain a minimum of a $1.00 bid price for continued listing.
On May 24, 2024, we received a letter from Nasdaq indicating that we had regained compliance with the equity requirement in Listing Rule 5550(b) (1). We will be subject to a Mandatory Panel Monitor for a period of one year from the date of the letter in accordance with application of Listing Rule 5815(d)(4)(B).
On October 16, 2024, we received a written notice from Nasdaq indicating that we were not in compliance with the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing. The bid price notice does not result in the immediate delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market. The bid price notice indicated that we have 180 calendar days (or until April 14, 2025) in which to regain compliance. If at any time during this 180 calendar day period the bid price of our common stock closes at or above $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive business days, the Nasdaq staff will provide us with a written confirmation of compliance and the matter will be closed.
The reverse stock splits did not change the authorized number of shares of the Company’s common stock. No fractional shares were issued and any fractional shares resulting from the reverse stock splits were rounded up to the nearest whole share.
The reverse stock splits applied to the Company’s outstanding warrants, stock options and restricted stock units. The number of shares of common stock into which these outstanding securities are convertible or exercisable were adjusted proportionately as a result of the reverse stock splits. The exercise prices of any outstanding warrants or stock options were also proportionately adjusted in accordance with the terms of those securities and the Company’s equity incentive plans.
History of Auddia
The Company was originally formed in 2012 as Clip Interactive, LLC to provide the broadcast radio industry with digital consumer products (mobile apps and web applications) that increased radio listener engagement and generated new revenue for radio stations from digital ads synchronized to the audio ad. In late 2017 the Company recognized a need to provide the radio industry with a new capability that would allow for a more efficient business model, similar to the subscription models that had emerged for music and video through companies like Apple, Spotify, SiriusXM and Netflix. The Company began to conceptualize what would become Auddia, a commercial-free subscription platform for broadcasters and radio listeners.
Management of the Company commenced evaluating essential aspects of the opportunity such as technical feasibility, consumer viability, basic economics, intellectual property matters and basic legality. The Company’s Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer all have experience in performing similar assessments for consumer facing products in various industries, including elections, gaming, secure document processing, and digital advertising. Further, the Executive Chairman has extensive experience developing strategy and determining business viability of products in the several previous companies that he founded.
Management’s assessment also included metrics from subscription platforms for broadcast audio content, which show that consumers are willing to pay a subscription fee for commercial-free audio content. For example, SiriusXM, Inc. offers a service that demonstrates the viability of a commercial-free broadcast audio product that is purchased by consumers, in their case, for an average $13 (estimated) per month. SiriusXM has 33 million subscribers (end of 2025) at this average price point. SiriusXM does not offer the local content and personalities that local broadcast radio exclusively delivers.
In early 2018 and over the period of next year, management analyzed and assessed the commercial viability of the proposed faidr platform to determine whether a subscription-based commercial free radio service would generate consumer interest. This assessment was based upon: (a) the Company’ experience in having developed, deployed and operated over 580 mobile apps for broadcast radio companies over the last seven years; (b) discussions of the Auddia concept with radio industry leaders, most of whom were our current or previous customers; (c) discussions with radio industry analysts; and (d) research into the state of broadcast and subscription radio industries. As part of the management assessment, in January of 2019, we commenced discussions with a Harris Insights and Analytics, LLC (“Harris”), to assist management in gauging consumer response to our planned service, and in March of 2019 we commissioned Harris to conduct a survey. The results of that survey, when integrated with our internally developed analysis, supported our conclusion of consumer interest and viability of the product. Harris asked consumers to answer a variety of questions exploring their interest in such a service; how much they would be willing to pay; and several other related topics. Our interpretation of the results of the survey also supported our assessment that consumers will continue to listen to local radio channels, and they are willing to pay a monthly subscription fee to avoid commercials.
Based upon management’s analysis, the above discussions, and industry research, the Company concluded that a subscription product for local radio audio content, where commercials are removed, was of great interest to the radio broadcast industry. Further, the Company also concluded that consumers would be interested in subscribing to commercial free local audio content that only local radio produces and broadcasts, and that faidr would have commercial viability.
The Company’s podcast platform was conceptualized during this transition period described above, when management recognized the opportunity to leverage previously developed technology and mobile app capabilities to provide products to podcasters and podcast listeners in the burgeoning podcasting space. Having provided interactive digital content feeds for radio stations for several years, a similar product for podcasting was explored. The Company presented a product concept to podcasters and podcaster “rep firms” and sufficient interest from those explorations warranted the development of a minimally viable mobile app product, branded Vodacast. Eventually, with further support and interest from prospect podcasters and listeners, the product was expanded to include both iOS and Android mobile apps and the development of the podcast Hub, which is the platform’s content management system.
The Company was poised to execute early, small-scale marketing trials in which podcasters would promote the Vodcast mobile app to their listeners via the audio of their podcast episodes. The incentive for podcasters to promote Vodacast came from the monetization features that are inherent on the platform, where podcasters understand that a “download” or unique listening session would generate more revenue for podcasters when it occurs on the Vodcast mobile app. The expectation was that listeners will convert at sufficiently high rates to justify wide scale launch and broad promotion by podcasters. After the launch of the proof-of-concept Vodacast app, and monitoring engagement and retention for close to a year, Auddia was confident the podcast platform achieved differentiation and should be moved into the company’s audio Superapp faidr as the podcast offering.
We launched an MVP version of faidr through several consumer trials in 2021 to measure consumer interest and engagement with the App. The full app launched on February 15, 2022, and included all major U.S. radio stations in the US. In February 2023, we added faidrRadio, our exclusive content offerings, to the app. Podcasts were added to the app for the iOS version before the end of Q1 2023 as planned and added to the Android app in May of 2023.
In August 2025, the Company announced a new B2B business model with a strategic shift to AI driven music discovery. Auddia began targeting artists and labels for SaaS subscription access to ad-free AM/FM streaming listeners on the faidr app, shifting faidr from a subscription-based app to a completely free experience, leveraging AI driven ad-free AM/FM streams on all music stations.
Discovr Radio, a new-music discovery engine, was developed and launched, targeting artists and record labels. Discovr Radio is a subscription-based music promotion tool that integrates into faidr, playing customer songs over ad breaks on commercial radio streams. Discovr Radio was launched on January 20, 2026.
Streaming audio landscape and opportunities for emerging artists
Despite the growth of on-demand streaming, AM/FM radio remains a significant driver of audio listening in the United States, particularly within ad-supported audio. Nielsen’sThe Record (Q3 2025) reports that Americans spend 3 hours and 53 minutes per day with audio across ad-supported and ad-free platforms, and that ad-supported audio accounts for 64% of all listening; within that ad-supported universe, consumers spent 62% of daily time with radio, compared to 20% with podcasts, 15% with streaming music, and 3% with satellite radio. This persistent scale means broadcast radio continues to influence which music reaches mass audiences, including casual listeners who may not actively seek out new artists.
At the same time, radio’s programming and economic incentives tend to favor familiarity and repeat listening, which can constrain the number of “open slots” available for emerging artists. Industry programming practices commonly rely on tight rotations and a mix of “current,” “recurrent,” and “gold” titles to maintain predictable listener satisfaction; for example, programming analyses of Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) illustrate how a small set of “power” songs can be played 100+ times per week on major stations, reflecting highly concentrated playlists and heavy repetition. In parallel, radio programming guidance frequently emphasizes the use of recurrents as a strategy to keep stations sounding “familiar and fresh,” reinforcing the structural preference for established songs over a broader set of brand-new releases. As a result, even though radio remains a large pool of listening time, breaking new music through radio can be challenging, and airplay opportunities may be concentrated among a limited set of songs and artists at any given time.
These dynamics occur against a backdrop of rapidly expanding music supply on digital platforms. Luminate-cited reporting indicates that in 2025 an average of ~106,000 new tracks (new ISRCs) were delivered to streaming services each day, underscoring both the accessibility of distribution and the intensifying competition for attention. In this environment, platforms and products that help listeners efficiently discover relevant new music—and help emerging artists reach new fans—may benefit from (i) the continued importance of ad-supported audio, (ii) consumer demand for personalization, and (iii) the gap between the scale of new releases and the limited new-music capacity of traditional broadcast programming.
Competitive Landscape — Artist Discovery and Promotion Platforms
The digital audio ecosystem includes a range of platforms and services that support music discovery and artist promotion, each offering different mechanisms by which emerging artists can reach new listeners. These platforms operate outside traditional broadcast radio and provide alternative or complementary avenues for music exposure in a highly competitive and saturated environment.
Streaming services with promotional tools: Major on-demand streaming services such asSpotify andApple Music provide artists with discovery and promotional features integrated into their platforms. Through artist-focused toolkits, editorial playlist submissions, algorithmic discovery modes, targeted recommendation initiatives, and promotional features (e.g., Spotify’s Campaign Kit with tools like Marquee and Discovery Mode), artists can increase the visibility of their music within large user bases and personalized listening experiences. These mechanisms—while not dedicated promotional marketplaces—leverage the platforms’ scale and recommendation systems to help connect artists with new fans and influence streaming outcomes.
Digital promotion and playlist-placement services: Dedicated promotion services have emerged to support artists in securing placements on curated playlists, blogs, radio, and social channels. Platforms such asGroover,SubmitHub,Playlist Push,SoundCampaign, and similar services offer tools and campaign frameworks that assist in pitching music to playlists, curators, press, and influencers, thereby increasing potential exposure across major streaming and discovery channels. These services often operate on paid campaigns or credit-based submissions designed to help independent artists expand their audience reach beyond organic discovery.
Social and alternative discovery platforms: Social media and creator-driven platforms likeTikTok,YouTube, andSoundCloud serve as influential discovery environments where viral trends, user-generated content, and community engagement can rapidly elevate an emerging artist’s visibility. While not exclusively promotional in structure, these platforms facilitate music discovery through user sharing, influencer amplification, and content virality, presenting competitive touchpoints for audience engagement outside of curated audio streams.
Niche and community-oriented platforms: Other services and networks, includingBandcamp and artist networking tools likeVampr, focus on direct artist-to-fan connections and professional collaborations. Bandcamp, for example, recently introduced curated subscription-based discovery offerings that provide thematic selections and community engagement opportunities, helping emerging artists connect with dedicated listeners in curated contexts. Similarly, social discovery platforms aim to facilitate connections within music communities.
Comprehensive artist development and marketing tools: In addition to promotion services, broader marketing and analytics tools (e.g.,Spotify for Artists analytics,Chartmetric,Soundcharts, and social media marketing suites) provide artists with data, audience insights, and campaign optimization capabilities. These tools are increasingly utilized as part of integrated promotional strategies that help emerging acts understand listener behavior and refine their outreach efforts across digital channels.
Collectively, these platforms and services create a competitive landscape in which emerging artists can pursue multiple paths to increase visibility and build audiences. They differ in their approaches—from algorithmic recommendation and curated playlist placement to direct fan engagement and social virality—but each represents an alternative to traditional radio airplay for connecting new music with fans at scale.
However, none of the above solutions offer a direct pathway or exposure to traditional radio audiences.
Integrated ecosystem and differentiation (faidr + Discovr Radio)
Auddia operates an integrated ecosystem that includes both (i) a consumer-facing audio streaming product (faidr) and (ii) an artist-facing distribution and promotion product (Discovr Radio). faidr is positioned as a streaming application that enables consumers to listen to radio streams with features such as ad-free listening and other controls, depending on subscription tier and product configuration. Discovr Radio is positioned as an artist-focused platform that allows artists, managers, and labels to upload tracks for insertion into live radio streams delivered through faidr—particularly by using portions of the stream that would otherwise be dedicated to commercial breaks—and provides campaign and performance analytics.
Together, these two products create a two-sided network in which consumer listening supply (faidr) and artist promotion demand (Discovr Radio) can be coordinated within a single operating environment.
This integrated approach differs from many competing promotion pathways for emerging artists. In the broader market, artist promotion is often executed either (a) within large streaming platforms’ own ecosystems (e.g., Spotify’s paid in-app promotional placements such as Marquee and algorithmic tools such as Discovery Mode, and SoundCloud’s self-serve Promote tool) or (b) via third-party promotion and playlist pitching services that do not control the end listening experience. By contrast, Auddia’s model is designed to connect artist campaigns to listeners inside Auddia’s owned consumer experience (faidr) and to monetize a specific, addressable inventory opportunity associated with radio streaming (commercial-break time) via Discovr Radio.
Potential points of differentiation versus the competitive landscape
| · | Owned audience + owned distribution workflow: Auddia can align artist promotion (Discovr Radio) with a consumer listening environment it operates (faidr), rather than relying solely on external editorial playlisting, third-party curator networks, or off-platform paid media. |
| · | Distinct discovery “placement” context: Discovr Radio is positioned around inserting emerging-artist tracks into live radio streams—specifically leveraging time that is typically commercial inventory—rather than competing only for placement in on-demand playlists or algorithmic recommendation slots within a major DSP. |
| · | Closed-loop measurement inside the ecosystem: Because the listener experience and insertion mechanics occur within faidr, Auddia may be able to provide campaign reporting tied to exposure and engagement inside its environment (subject to product capabilities, privacy practices, and data availability). |
The effectiveness of this ecosystem is likely dependent on factors such asfaidr user growth and retention, the Company’s ability tomaintain and enhance product functionality, competitive responses from larger platforms with substantial scale and promotion tooling (e.g., Spotify and SoundCloud), and broader market dynamics in radio streaming and digital audio discovery.
Software Products and Services
The faidr App
The faidr App is our one key component to Auddia’s audio ecosystem and connects its customers with an engaged audience to consume Discovr Radio content.
How the faidr App Works
A faidr user will select a specific streaming radio station to record and be able to listen to the recording of that station in a customized manner. The App will record the station in real time and its AI algorithm will identify the beginning and end of audio content segments including music and commercials. When the recorded station is played back by the App subscriber, faidr will identify the audio content segments the user chooses not to consume and automatically switch the audio playback of the recording to a different piece of audio content, namely a track sourced from a Discovr Radio artist that has been matched to the station and user.
As the audio content ecosystem continues to expand, the Company believes faidr will represent an attractive distribution platform for content providers. There is no guarantee the audio content ecosystem will continue to expand along its current trajectory or that the Company will be able to secure access to content in an economically advantageous manner, both of which would negatively impact the user experience within faidr. The Company has not yet secured the rights from content providers to place any audio content into the platform in an on-demand use case.
Users of faidr can also access any podcast that’s publicly available as well as exclusive programming, music stations and Music Casts, through its exclusive content offering.
The faidr App is built on a proprietary artificial intelligence platform developed and owned by the Company and subject to one issued patent and additional patent applications that are pending.
The Discovr Radio Platform
Discovr Radio is Auddia’s artist-facing distribution and promotional platform designed to help emerging and independent artists reach new listeners and is expected to generate the majority of the Company’s future revenue.
The platform enables artists, managers, and labels to upload and manage music campaigns for placement within live AM/FM radio streams delivered through the Company’s faidr application.
Discovr Radio is designed to utilize available inventory within radio streams to introduce new music to engaged listeners in a contextual listening environment. The platform also provides campaign management tools and performance reporting intended to give artists visibility into audience reach and engagement.
Through Discovr Radio, Auddia seeks to create a scalable pathway for music discovery that connects artists directly with listeners inside its owned streaming ecosystem.
Copyright Law
To secure the rights to stream music and other content through the faidr app, the Company may enter into license agreements with copyright owners of sound recordings and musical works or their authorized agents. In June 2021, the Company filed a Notice of Use of Sound Recordings Under Statutory License in accordance with 37 CFR § 370.2, which authorized the Company to make noninteractive digital audio transmissions and reproductions of certain sound recordings pursuant to the statutory licenses set forth in 17 U.S.C. §§ 112 and 114. The Company is also in the process of obtaining licenses with the performing rights organizations (“PROs”) in the United States, which negotiate blanket licenses with copyright users for the public performance of compositions in their repertory, collect royalties under such licenses, and distribute those royalties to copyright owners.
The faidr App’s architecture presents a built-in digital audio recorder (“DAR”) that will allow consumers to record third-party transmissions made available through the faidr App. The Company believes such consumer-initiated recordings are authorized as non-infringing, fair use time shifting by consumers pursuant to the Supreme Court’s decision inSony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984). The Supreme Court also ruled that the manufacturers of home video recording devices were not liable for reproductions made by consumers where the devices had substantial non-infringing uses. faidr’s DAR is analogous to the Betamax television recorders found non-infringing in the Universal City Studios decision. With the faidr’s DAR, users can select radio stations to record. Users can also control their listening experience by deciding whether they will listen to commercials or other programming categories selected by the user. The Company believes giving users the ability to avoid commercials is protected, non-infringing activity.
If a court were to hold that one or more functionalities offered by the faidr App resulted in the violation of protected rights of third parties, the Company could be subject to liability for infringement, the damages for which could be material.
Business Model and Customer Acquisition Strategy for faidr
The Company is following a B2B, go-to-market strategy to bring artists, labels, managers and distributors to the Discovr Radio platform and sign up for paid promotional airplay.
Our Legacy Interactive Radio Platform
From 2014 through 2020, the Company was successful in deploying our legacy platform across 580 major radio stations and 1.6 million monthly active users. Although this represents a meaningful user base, it is a small fraction of the listening audience represented by the 580 stations on the Company’s legacy platform. We believe the two main reasons radio was not able to drive more users to the platform are that the number of consumers willing to download an individual radio station app is small and that to appeal to a greater digital audience the core listening experience of radio needs to incorporate a premium offering that includes skips, on-demand content and a commercial-free option.
The Company’s legacy product served the broadcast industry by providing a platform that allowed for the delivery of actionable digital ads that are synchronized with broadcast and streaming audio ads. Broadcasters offered mobile and web digital interfaces to their listeners, typically for their individual stations. Our Interactive Radio Platform provided mobile and web products that provided end users (listeners) with a visual display of everything a radio station has played in recent history (referred to as a “station feed”). In addition to displaying album art for songs played, and digital insertions for station promotions and programs (e.g., a radio station contest), the station feed also included a digital element for each audio ad that was played. These interactive, synchronized digital ads generate additional revenue for broadcasters and allow for the collection of meaningful advertising analytics which we present to broadcasters through an analytics dashboard.
The Company began phasing out the Interactive Radio Platform in 2020 and ceased operations related to all legacy deployments and services by July 1, 2020. Much of the core technology of this platform is being leveraged for re-use within faidr. Furthermore, our well-established relationships with more than a dozen broadcasters through the sales, marketing and digital services operations are being maintained as we seek to deploy the faidr App at national scale.
Intellectual Property
We rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets, non-disclosure agreements, and other intellectual property to protect the proprietary technologies that we believe are important to our business. Our success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other proprietary protection for commercially important inventions and know-how, defend and enforce our patents, maintain our licenses, preserve our trade secrets, and operate without infringing valid and enforceable patents and other proprietary rights of third parties. We also rely on continuing technological innovation to develop, strengthen, and maintain our proprietary position in the field of interactive audio.
The Company holds issued patents and has patents pending in the areas of audio content monitoring, identification, distribution and presentation. The Company’s intellectual property has been used in the development of products that allow broadcasters and audio content distributors to present digital content and supplemental audio and video content along with and even synchronized with their standard audio content. These products introduce new consumer use scenarios, such as offering direct response to audio ads (such as a standard broadcast radio commercial). The products give consumers, via smartphone applications, a mechanism to identify both the content and the source of content and allow the consumer to act on what they may have heard and/or receive additional information about what they heard.
On March 12, 2019, the United States Patent and Technology Office issued a patent to the Company (titled “Method and System for Sub-Audible Signaling”) that covers an advanced “watermarking” technology to attach source-attribution information, as well as highly detailed content descriptors into an audio broadcast or stream. We believe this technology improves the state of the art by potentially increasing the amount of information that can be embedded in an audio stream or broadcast, as well as supporting the real time addition of sub-audio information. The Company does not utilize this patent technology in its current products, but the technology may be useful for future products or potential licensing to others. However, there can be no assurance that this patent or the technology underlying the patent will be utilized or licensed by the Company or, even if utilized or licensed, this patented technology will result in revenues or profits.
The most recent intellectual property to be submitted for patent application is a set of technologies that are integral to the development and operation of consumer-oriented platform that can deliver commercial free broadcast radio content. These technologies involve distributed content monitoring (*e.g.,*on the smartphones of consumers) and content identification, including the identification of the beginning and end of specific segments of content, such as a song or an ad. Combining these capabilities with time-shifting and real-time audio content replacement provides the end user with a dynamic, multi-source, commercial free audio content experience that can include the local content heard on the radio as well as any other content available form an accessible source. This intellectual property serves as the cornerstone of the Company’s new focus and allows the Company to eventually expand to provide numerous and various audio content sources on a single platform.
In June 2020 the United States Patent and Technology Office approved the first of these patent applications (titled “Seamless Integration of Radio Broadcast Audio with Streaming Audio”) that details a process that can be used to monitor, time shift and play an over the air radio broadcast. This patent will protect key Company functionality that is central to the delivery of our core offering of commercial free radio. For example, using this technology, when a commercial break is detected on the over the air broadcast, alternate content from local or streaming sources can be injected to cover the break. Additionally, a second broadcast radio station can be similarly time shifted and used as alternate content. This intellectual property gives the Company exclusive advantages when dealing with established music rights and content costs issues related to broadcast versus streaming music. This gives the Company leverage when working with both the broadcast industry and the music industry, and options to deliver services from lower cost, over the air audio content sources.
The Company holds trademarks and is in the process of applying for trademarks for key products and brands. The Company holds the trademark for a product named PLAZE, which is a potential commercial-free music streaming product that is a future, strategic opportunity of the business. The Company also holds the trademark for AUDDIA which is used as both the corporate brand name as well as the name of the consumer-facing mobile application that delivers the Company’s commercial free radio service. The Company holds the trademark for faidr, which is used as the brand name for their audio Superapp.
In addition, any intellectual property litigation to which we become a party may require us to do one or more of the following:
| · | cease selling, licensing, or using products or features that incorporate the intellectual property rights that we allegedly infringe, misappropriate, or violate; |
| · | make substantial payments for legal fees, settlement payments, or other costs or damages, including indemnification of third parties; |
| · | obtain a license or enter into a royalty agreement, either of which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, in order to obtain the right to sell or use the relevant intellectual property; or |
| · | redesign the allegedly infringing products to avoid infringement, misappropriation, or violation, which could be costly, time-consuming, or impossible. |
Intellectual property litigation is typically complex, time consuming, and expensive to resolve and would divert the time and attention of our management and technical personnel. It may also result in adverse publicity, which could harm our reputation and ability to attract or retain customers. As we grow, we may experience a heightened risk of allegations of intellectual property infringement. An adverse result in any litigation claims against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Employees
Our workforce consists of a combination of full-time and part-time employees, as well as independent contractors and third-party service providers who support specialized or project-based activities. As of December 31, 2025, we employed 5 full-time employees. We also engaged approximately 10 independent contractors and consultants during the year, primarily in engineering, sales and marketing and general administrative activities. Independent contractors do not receive employee benefits and are engaged under time-bound or project-specific agreements. We believe our mix of employees and contractors provides operational flexibility while ensuring access to specialized expertise. We continually evaluate our workforce structure to support our strategic objectives, maintain compliance with applicable labor and employment laws, and ensure appropriate oversight of third-party personnel.
Health, Safety and Wellness
We believe that our employees are the summation of our successes, which is why we offer an excellent health and benefits program to our employees and their families. We offer our employees comprehensive health insurance as well as optional dental and vision coverage. Additionally, we provide our employees with paid vacation, holiday, family leave and sick leave, with numerous other benefits offered to our employees.
We continue to maintain our commitment to ensuring our employees’ health, safety, and wellness by providing our employees with the option to work in office or fully remote. Any employee who works in office must adhere to the Auddia’s policy regarding vaccination status to ensure the health and safety of our employees.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may be involved in litigation relating to claims arising out of our operations in the normal course of business. We are not currently a party to any material legal proceedings, the adverse outcome of which, in our management’s opinion, individually or in aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on the results of our operations or financial position. There are no material proceedings in which any of our directors, officers, or affiliates or any registered or beneficial stockholder of more than 5% of our common stock is an adverse party or has a material interest adverse to our interest.
Facilities
On March 25, 2024, the Company entered into a new 37-month operating lease for approximately 2,900 square feet of office space commencing on April 1, 2024 with two separate two year renewal options. The monthly base rent for months two through 14 is $2,456, increasing to $3,070 for months 15 through 26, and ending at $3,684 for months 27 through 37. Rent expense was $35,842 and $85,842 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Regulatory and Certifications
We are subject to varying degrees of regulations in each of the jurisdictions in which we provide services. Local laws and regulations, and their interpretation and enforcement, differ significantly among those jurisdictions.
Data privacy has become a significant issue in the United States and in other countries. The regulatory framework for privacy issues worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. Many federal, state and foreign government bodies and agencies have adopted or are considering adopting laws and regulations affecting or regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. In the United States, these include, for example, rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, the ACA, state breach notification laws and state privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”), the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”) and the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (the “IBIPA”). Further, because some of our clients have establishments internationally, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and other foreign data privacy laws may impact our processing of certain client and employee information.
We rely on a combination of copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secret laws and contractual restrictions to establish and protect our intellectual property rights. We also have a number of registered and unregistered trademarks and will continue to evaluate the registration of additional trademarks as appropriate. We do not have any patents or patent applications pending.
Segment Information
We operate in a single operating segment and a single reporting segment. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial information is regularly evaluated by the chief operating decision maker function (which is fulfilled by our chief executive officer) in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. Our chief executive officer allocates resources and assesses performance based upon financial information at the level. Since we operate inone operating segment, all required financial segment information is presented in the financial statements.
Corporate Information
We were originally formed as Clip Interactive, LLC in January 2012, as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Colorado. In connection with our initial public offering (“IPO”) in February 2021, we converted into a Delaware corporation pursuant to a statutory conversion under the name Auddia Inc. Our principal executive offices are located in Boulder, Colorado. Our internet website is www.auddia.com and our corporate website is www.auddiainc.com. The information contained in or accessible from our website is not incorporated into this Annual Report, and you should not consider it part of this Annual Report. We have included our website address in this Annual Report solely as an inactive textual reference.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th, and (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Based on these criteria, the Company’s emerging growth company status is currently expected to expire on December 31, 2026, unless it earlier meets one of the disqualifying conditions described above.
Available Information
Our internet address is www.auddia.com and our investor relations website is located at investors.auddiainc.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports can be found on our investor relations website, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K. The SEC maintains a public website, www.sec.gov, which includes information about and the filings of issuers that file electronically with the SEC.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.