SOUNDHOUND AI, INC. (SOUN)
SIC breadcrumb: Services > Business Services > SIC 7372 Services-Prepackaged Software
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1840856. Latest filing source: 0001840856-26-000006.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read SOUN's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read SOUN's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 168,920,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-02 |
| Net income | -14,006,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-02 |
| Assets | 688,173,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-02 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-03-02. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001840856.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 21,197,000 | 31,129,000 | 45,873,000 | 84,693,000 | 168,920,000 | |
| Net income | -79,540,000 | -116,713,000 | -88,937,000 | -350,681,000 | -14,006,000 | |
| Operating income | -65,327,000 | -105,672,000 | -68,608,000 | -341,353,000 | -23,272,000 | |
| Diluted EPS | -1.18 | -0.74 | -0.40 | -1.04 | -0.28 | |
| Operating cash flow | -66,177,000 | -94,019,000 | -68,265,000 | -108,878,000 | -98,222,000 | |
| Capital expenditures | 636,000 | 1,329,000 | 392,000 | 640,000 | 902,000 | |
| Assets | 49,203,000 | 37,986,000 | 151,122,000 | 553,953,000 | 688,173,000 | |
| Liabilities | 716 | 112,937,000 | 74,551,000 | 122,954,000 | 371,300,000 | 224,387,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | -276,353,000 | -343,237,000 | -36,565,000 | 28,168,000 | 182,653,000 | 463,786,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 21,626,000 | 9,245,000 | 95,260,000 | 198,240,000 | 248,490,000 | |
| Free cash flow | -66,813,000 | -95,348,000 | -68,657,000 | -109,518,000 | -99,124,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | -8.29% | |||||
| Operating margin | -149.56% | -13.78% | ||||
| Return on equity | -315.74% | -191.99% | -3.02% | |||
| Return on assets | -161.66% | -58.85% | -63.31% | -2.04% | ||
| Liabilities / equity | 4.37 | 2.03 | 0.48 | |||
| Current ratio | 0.31 | 0.46 | 4.69 | 3.77 | 4.59 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001840856-26-000006; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001840856-26-000006; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001840856-26-000006; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001840856-26-000006; filed 2026-03-02. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-11. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001840856.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | -0.19 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | -0.15 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | -0.13 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 8,751,000 | -21,932,000 | -0.10 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-06-30 | -23,307,000 | -0.11 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 13,268,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 17,147,000 | -18,003,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 11,594,000 | -33,009,000 | -0.12 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 13,462,000 | -37,322,000 | -0.11 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 25,094,000 | -21,751,000 | -0.06 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 34,543,000 | -258,599,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 29,129,000 | 129,932,000 | 0.31 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-03-31 | 129,900,000 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 42,683,000 | -0.19 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 42,049,000 | -109,271,000 | -0.27 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 55,059,000 | 40,057,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 44,195,000 | -25,028,000 | -0.11 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001840856-26-000015; filed 2026-05-11. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001840856-26-000015; filed 2026-05-11. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001840856-26-000015; filed 2026-05-11. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001840856-26-000015.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of SoundHound should be read together with our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q ("Form 10-Q") and the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation as of and for the year ended December 31, 2025 included in our Annual Report on Form 10‑K for 2025 filed with the SEC on March 2, 2026 ("Form 10-K" or the "Annual Report). Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this report and in our Form 10-K, including information with respect to SoundHound’s plans and strategy for its business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements” section of this report, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “SoundHound,” “we,” “us,” “our” and other similar terms refer to SoundHound AI, Inc and our subsidiaries.
Company Overview
We are a global leader in conversational intelligence, offering independent Voice AI solutions that enable businesses to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound’s voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries via groundbreaking AI-driven products like Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, and Dynamic Interaction™, a real-time, multimodal customer service interface. Along with SoundHound Chat AI, a powerful voice assistant with integrated Generative AI, SoundHound powers millions of products and services, and processes billions of interactions each year for world class businesses.
We believe voice-enabled conversational user interface is a more natural interface for nearly all use cases, and product creators should have the ability to design, customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize the interface to their own product, as opposed to outsourcing it to a third-party assistant. For example, using SoundHound, businesses can voice-enable their products so consumers can say things like, “Turn off the air conditioning and lower the windows,” while in their cars, “Find romantic comedies released in the last year,” while streaming on their TV and even place food orders before arriving at a restaurant by talking to their cars, TVs or other IoT devices. Additionally, SoundHound’s technology can address complex user queries such as, “Show me all restaurants within half a mile of the Space Needle that are open past 9pm on Wednesdays and have outdoor seating,” and follow-on qualifications such as “Okay, don’t show me anything with less than 3 stars or fast food.”
The SoundHound developer platform, Houndify, is an open-access platform that allows developers to leverage SoundHound’s Voice AI technology and a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more. SoundHound's Collective AI is an architecture for connecting domain knowledge that encourages collaboration and contribution among developers. The architecture is based on proprietary software engineering technology, CaiLAN (Conversational AI Language), and machine learning technology, CaiNET (Conversational AI Network) to ensure fast, accurate and appropriate responses.
Our market position is strengthened by the technical barriers to entry in the Voice AI space, which tend to discourage new market participants. Furthermore, our technology is backed by significant investments in intellectual property, with over 240 patents granted and 99 patents pending, spanning multiple fields including speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine learning, monetization and more. We have achieved this critical momentum in part thanks to a long-tenured leadership team with deep expertise and proven ability to attract and retain talent. We believe that SoundHound has extensive technical expertise and a proven track record of innovation and value creation for us to continue to attract customers in the growing market for Voice AI transactions.
We believe that SoundHound is well-positioned to fill the growing void and demand for an independent Voice AI platform. The Voice AI offerings from big tech companies are primarily an extension of their more core services and offerings. Rather than strengthening a customer’s product, it can take over the entire experience, thus disintermediating our brand, users and data. As a result, brands relying on big tech may lose their ability to innovate, differentiate and customize. In some cases, these providers even compete with the products they support, making them increasingly less attractive as a choice for a voice interface.
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The alternative options are generally legacy vendors tending to use what we consider to be dated technologies at a high price. Furthermore, many of these technologies still require significant effort by the product creators to turn them into solutions that can compete with the quality of the big tech offering, which in many cases is not practical. Due to the high barrier to entry in Voice AI, there are not many independent players.
This creates a great opportunity for SoundHound: we believe that we provide disruptive technologies that are superior to the alternatives, with better terms, allowing customers to maintain their brand, control the user experience, get access to the data and define their own privacy policies, while being able to customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize.
When it comes to criteria for adoption, our goal is to win on every dimension. We believe to be the first two criteria customers typically consider are technology and brand control. We strive to provide our customers with the best technology, and we provide a white label solution giving our customers control of their brands. In some industries you may have to choose between technology and brand control. In our case, we offer our customers the best of both, enabling them to offer disruptive technologies to their users while maintaining control of their brand and user experience.
We also expect to provide an additional path to monetization for our customer base. By choosing our platform, product creators can generate additional revenue while making their product better by using Voice AI, providing further incentive to choose our platform.
We believe that we offer a superior ecosystem, benefiting from our Collective AI product architecture along with offering customers definable privacy controls, which are becoming increasingly important in the industry of Voice AI. Additionally, there is no conflict of interest between us and our partners and customers as we do not compete with them (as some other Voice AI vendors do). We also offer edge and hybrid solutions. This means our technology can optionally run without a cloud connection for increased flexibility and privacy. We aim to deliver the most advanced Voice AI in the world and thus allowing our partners to differentiate and innovate their overall experiences for their brands.
We strongly believe that product creators know their product and users best. The idea of a single third-party assistant taking over their product is not reflective of our anticipated future. We envision that every product will have its own identity, and will have Voice AI customized in different ways. Product creators can each tap into a single Collective AI to access the ever-growing set of domains, but the product creators can innovate on top of Collective AI and create value for the end users in their own way. This is the future that we are focusing on enabling.
When a product is voice enabled, we see three stages of integration and value propositions. The first stage is to enable the core use case of the product. For example, the product could be a TV, a coffee machine, a car, a wearable device, a robot, a smart speaker, or an appliance, and with your voice you can control the functionality of the device and the product. With a TV, you can ask it to change the channel, increase the volume, rewind by 30 seconds, search for movies and even add personalization by adding a TV show to your favorites. Note that this is different from adding a third-party voice assistant to the product. Our view is that every product needs to have an interface, and voice-AI is a natural and compelling interface that unlocks new use cases and potential. Consider just the simple example of rewinding or fast forwarding by a specific duration. That is a command that can be done with voice in only a few seconds, but it can take many steps to use alternative interfaces such as a remote control or a companion app.
Once the core features of a product are voice-enabled, it can be further enhanced in the second stage of integration: the addition of third-party content and domains. SoundHound has extensive partnerships with content providers and, through these partnerships, can fulfill many needs of our customers. For example, your TV, car or even a coffee machine can answer questions about weather, sports scores, stock prices or flight status, and even search for a local business. The addition of these public domains further enhances the value proposition of the product.
Finally, as the third step, you enter the world of monetization where you can add features that deliver value to the end user, and also generate revenues that we share with the product creators. To summarize with an example, imagine walking up to your coffee machine and asking for a triple shot extra hot latte. While you are waiting for your drink, you can ask for weather and sports scores, and if you desire, you can even order bagels from your favorite nearby bakery.
There are three pillars to our revenue model. The first pillar is Product Royalties, where we voice enable a product and the product creator pays us a royalty based on volume, usage or duration. SoundHound collects royalty revenue when our technology is placed in a car, smart speaker or an appliance, for example.
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The second pillar is Service Subscription. This is when, for example, SoundHound enables customer service or food ordering for restaurants or content management, appointments and voice commerce. And, for that, we generate subscription revenue from the service providers. Pillars one and two can grow independently and they are proven, established business models.
The third pillar seeks to create a monetization ecosystem that brings the services from pillar two to the products in pillar one. When the users of a voice-enabled product in pillar one access the voice-enabled services of pillar two, these services generate new leads and transactions. SoundHound will generate monetization revenue from the services for generating these leads and transactions, and we will share the revenue with the product creators of pillar one.
For example, when the driver of a voice-enabled car places an order to a restaurant that is also voice enabled, we will have unlocked a seamless transaction. Accordingly, the restaurant will pay us for that order, and we will share that revenue with the product creator or the car manufacturer. In this example, each party receives value in the ecosystem. The r
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of SoundHound should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto. The fiscal years presented are the periods ended December 31, 2025 (“2025”) and December 31, 2024 (“2024”). Information concerning the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (“2023”) and a comparison of 2024 and 2023 may be found under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 11, 2025.
Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this report, including information with respect to SoundHound’s plans and strategy for its business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements” section of this report, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “SoundHound,” “we,” “us,” “our” and other similar terms refer to SoundHound AI, Inc. and our subsidiaries.
Company Overview
We are a global leader in conversational intelligence, offering independent Voice AI solutions that enable businesses to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound’s voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries via groundbreaking AI-driven products like Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, and Dynamic Interaction™, a real-time, multimodal customer service interface. Along with SoundHound Chat AI, a powerful voice assistant with integrated Generative AI, SoundHound powers millions of products and services, and processes billions of interactions each year for world class businesses.
We believe voice-enabled conversational user interface is a more natural interface for nearly all use cases, and product creators should have the ability to design, customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize the interface to their own product, as opposed to outsourcing it to a third-party assistant. For example, using SoundHound, businesses can voice-enable their products so consumers can say things like, “Turn off the air conditioning and lower the windows,” while in their cars, “Find romantic comedies released in the last year,” while streaming on their TV and even place food orders before arriving at a restaurant by talking to their cars, TVs or other IoT devices. Additionally, SoundHound’s technology can address complex user queries such as, “Show me all restaurants within half a mile of the Space Needle that are open past 9pm on Wednesdays and have outdoor seating,” and follow-on qualifications such as “Okay, don’t show me anything with less than 3 stars or fast food.”
The SoundHound developer platform, Houndify, is an open-access platform that allows developers to leverage SoundHound’s Voice AI technology and a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more. SoundHound's Collective AI is an architecture for connecting domain knowledge that encourages collaboration and contribution among developers. The architecture is based on proprietary software engineering technology, CaiLAN (Conversational AI Language), and machine learning technology, CaiNET (Conversational AI Network) to ensure fast, accurate and appropriate responses.
Our market position is strengthened by the technical barriers to entry in the Voice AI space, which tend to discourage new market participants. Furthermore, our technology is backed by significant investments in intellectual property, with over 359 patents granted and over 102 patents pending, spanning multiple fields including speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine learning, monetization and more. We have achieved this critical momentum in part thanks to a long-tenured leadership team with deep expertise and proven ability to attract and retain talent. We believe that SoundHound has extensive technical expertise and a proven track record of innovation and value creation for us to continue to attract customers in the growing market for Voice AI transactions.
We believe that SoundHound is well-positioned to fill the growing void and demand for an independent Voice AI platform. The Voice AI offerings from big tech companies are primarily an extension of their more core services and offerings. Rather than strengthening a customer’s product, it can take over the entire experience, thus disintermediating our brand, users and data. As a result, brands relying on big tech may lose their ability to innovate, differentiate and customize. In some cases, these providers even compete with the products they support, making them increasingly less attractive as a choice for a voice interface.
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The alternative options are generally legacy vendors tending to use what we consider to be dated technologies at a high price. Furthermore, many of these technologies still require significant effort by the product creators to turn them into solutions that can compete with the quality of the big tech offering, which in many cases is not practical. Due to the high barrier to entry in Voice AI, there are not many independent players.
This creates a great opportunity for SoundHound: we believe that we provide disruptive technologies that are superior to the alternatives, with better terms, allowing customers to maintain their brand, control the user experience, get access to the data and define their own privacy policies, while being able to customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize.
When it comes to criteria for adoption, our goal is to win on every dimension. We believe to be the first two criteria customers typically consider are technology and brand control. We strive to provide our customers with the best technology, and we provide a white label solution giving our customers control of their brands. In some industries you may have to choose between technology and brand control. In our case, we offer our customers the best of both, enabling them to offer disruptive technologies to their users while maintaining control of their brand and user experience.
We also expect to provide an additional path to monetization for our customer base. By choosing our platform, product creators can generate additional revenue while making their product better by using Voice AI, providing further incentive to choose our platform.
We believe that we offer a superior ecosystem, benefiting from our Collective AI product architecture along with offering customers definable privacy controls, which are becoming increasingly important in the industry of Voice AI. Additionally, there is no conflict of interest between us and our partners and customers as we do not compete with them (as some other Voice AI vendors do). We also offer edge and hybrid solutions. This means our technology can optionally run without a cloud connection for increased flexibility and privacy. We aim to deliver the most advanced Voice AI in the world and thus allowing our partners to differentiate and innovate their overall experiences for their brands.
We strongly believe that product creators know their product and users best. The idea of a single third-party assistant taking over their product is not reflective of our anticipated future. We envision that every product will have its own identity, and will have Voice AI customized in different ways. Product creators can each tap into a single Collective AI to access the ever-growing set of domains, but the product creators can innovate on top of Collective AI and create value for the end users in their own way. This is the future that we are focusing on enabling.
When a product is voice enabled, we see three stages of integration and value propositions. The first stage is to enable the core use case of the product. For example, the product could be a TV, a coffee machine, a car, a wearable device, a robot, a smart speaker or an appliance, and with your voice you can control the functionality of the device and the product. With a TV, you can ask it to change the channel, increase the volume, rewind by 30 seconds, search for movies and even add personalization by adding a TV show to your favorites. Note that this is different from adding a third-party voice assistant to the product. Our view is that every product needs to have an interface, and voice-AI is a natural and compelling interface that unlocks new use cases and potential. Consider just the simple example of rewinding or fast forwarding by a specific duration. That is a command that can be done with voice in only a few seconds, but it can take many steps to use alternative interfaces such as a remote control or a companion app.
Once the core features of a product are voice-enabled, it can be further enhanced in the second stage of integration: the addition of third-party content and domains. SoundHound has extensive partnerships with content providers and, through these partnerships, can fulfill many needs of our customers. For example, your TV, car or even a coffee machine can answer questions about weather, sports scores, stock prices or flight status, and even search for a local business. The addition of these public domains further enhances the value proposition of the product.
Finally, as the third step, you enter the world of monetization where you can add features that deliver value to the end user, and also generate revenues that we share with the product creators. To summarize with an example, imagine walking up to your coffee machine and asking for a triple shot extra hot latte. While you are waiting for your drink, you can ask for weather and sports scores, and if you desire, you can even order bagels from your favorite nearby bakery.
There are three pillars to our revenue model. The first pillar is Product Royalties, where we voice enable a product and the product creator pays us a royalty based on volume, usage or duration. SoundHound collects royalty revenue when our technology is placed in a car, smart speaker or an appliance, for example.
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The second pillar is Service Subscription. This is when, for example, SoundHound enables customer service or food ordering for restaurants or content management, appointments and voice commerce. And, for that, we generate subscription revenue from the service providers. Pillars one and two can grow independently and they are proven, established business models.
The third pillar seeks to create a monetization ecosystem that brings the services from pillar two to the products in pillar one. When the users of a voice-enabled product in pillar one access the voice-enabled services of pillar two, these services generate new leads and transactions. SoundHound will generate monetization revenue from the services for generating these leads and transactions, and we will share the revenue with the product creators of pillar one.
For example, when the driver of a voice-enabled car places an order to a restaurant that is also voice enabled, we will have unlocked a seamless transaction. Accordingly, the restaurant will pay us for that order, and we will share that revenue with the product creator or the car manufacturer. In this example, each party receives value in the ecosystem. The restaurant is happy because they generated a new lead and booked a sale. The user is happy because they have received value through a natural ordering process, simply by speaking to their car. And the car manufacturer is happy because they delivered value to the end user and generated additional revenue from the usage of their product.
During the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements, we have not generated revenue from leads and transactions on voice-enabled products from voice-enabled services other than from the SoundHound music identification app. Going forward, SoundHound expects monetization revenue to be generated through a combination of advertising revenue from the music identification app and, over time, from leads and transactions on voice-enabled products from voice-enabled services, which we expect will provide much more seamless opportunities for consumers to access goods and services that they covet as we further build out and scale the voice-enabled ecosystem.
We expect this disruptive, three-pillar business model will create a monetization flywheel; as more products integrate into our platform, more users will use it and more services will choose to integrate as well. This creates even more usage, and results in a flow of revenue share to product creators, which further encourages even greater adoption and integration with our platform and the cycle will perpetually continue and expand. This ecosystem increases adoption and increases our addressable market. While all three pillars contribute to our revenues today, the majority of the contribution is currently from our first and second pillar with only a small contribution from pillar three from our music identification app. Over time, we expect our revenues from the monetization pillar to increase meaningfully in the future.
Recent Developments
Interactions Acquisition
On September 3, 2025 (the “Interactions Acquisition Date”), we acquired all of the issued and outstanding equity of Interactions Corporation (the “Interactions Acquisition”), a pioneer in AI for customer service and workflow orchestration. This strategic deal is expected to strengthen and extend SoundHound’s growing leadership in Agentic AI and accelerate its market penetration in customer service across enterprise businesses. The combination also introduces certain new major powerhouse brands to the SoundHound customer portfolio, including global consumer icons, large technology device brands, insurers, automakers, and other preeminent Fortune 100 companies across industries.
We have incurred certain significant costs relating to the SYNQ3, Amelia and Interactions acquisitions, such as legal, accounting, financial advisory and other professional services fees, as well as other customary payments. Refer to "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K for a discussion regarding the risks associated with the acquisitions.
Known Trends, Demands, Commitments, Events or Uncertainties Impacting Our Business
We believe that our performance and future success depend on many factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including the following:
•Investments in Technology. Our business model since inception has been to invest in our technology in the form of dedicated research and development. We will continue to invest in the development of our software platform to deliver consumers with continually improving value and delight. Our investments include continuous enhancements to our technology we've developed over the last two decades or acquired from acquisitions, investments in data to help refine and improve our underlying algorithms and other costs to attract and retain a world-class technical workforce.
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•Revenue Growth. Our commercial success, including acceptance and use of our applications, will depend on a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as size of the market opportunity, successful integration with OEM, competition and demand from the public and members of the conversational AI community. Our product offerings, including those offerings that we have acquired, have disruptive effects in the ways human interact with computers and we are developing new, innovative economic models and acquiring companies such as SYNQ3, Amelia, and Interactions which have synergistic businesses to ours that we believe will enhance value to customers, partners and stockholders. For our revenue growth to continue, we will need to invest in sales and marketing to ensure our messaging, capabilities and offerings are well understood and valued by customers. With our primary focus on enterprise customers, we also need to align with enterprise sales cycles, which can be longer than consumer cycles. As we build new customer relationships, we continually focus on maintaining and growing our existing relationships through long-term partnerships through significant upfront investment in customer specific engineering projects. Additionally, in addition to our acquisitions of SYNQ3, Amelia, and Interactions, we may look to acquire other companies in the industry to develop synergies with our existing business.
•Cost of Revenues. The results of our business will depend in part on our ability to establish and increase our gross margins by scaling our business model and effectively managing our costs to produce our applications. Our revenue will be directly supported by data center investments in technology, both on premise and in the cloud. The associated workloads, along with supporting labor costs, will need to be managed effectively as we scale to improve our margins over time. Our Houndify platform is also powered by a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more.
•Seasonality. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our technology could be negatively affected by many factors, including seasonal demand. We anticipate that we will experience fluctuations in customer and user demand based on seasonality. For example, in the past, we have seen approximately 40% of our revenue in the first half of the year with the remaining 60% in the second half. Additionally, given that we address markets across several different industry verticals, the associated overall seasonality impact to us may not be consistent year-to-year.
•Development of International Markets. We have rapidly expanded our capabilities and global reach. For example, we have globalized our solution to include 25 languages. We view opportunities for conversational Voice AI to be global in reach, and we expect our growth to be fueled across multiple geographies.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenues
SoundHound generates revenues through: (1) “Product Royalties,” meaning royalties from voice-enabled products which are driven by volume, usage or life of applicable products and are affected by number of devices, users and units of usage, (2) “Service Subscriptions,” meaning subscription revenues, derived from fixed monthly fees or fees based on usage-based revenue, revenue per query or revenue per user, and (3) “Monetization,” meaning revenues generated from focused ad targeting to users of products and services that employ our technologies. Currently, our monetization revenue is derived only from our music identification application primarily in the form of ad impression revenue — revenue generated when an ad is shown in our music identification app — and, to a lesser extent, affiliate revenue for referrals to music stores for content sales and downloads of our premium music application.
“Houndified Products,” meaning products of our customers that employ SoundHound technology, and “Houndified Services,” meaning services provided to customers related to SoundHound technology, provide our customers with access to our Houndify platform over a contractual period without taking possession of the software. This generally includes revenues derived from implementation services (“professional services”) that develop and customize the Houndify platform to fit customers’ specific needs. These professional services are included in both our Product Royalties and Service Subscriptions revenues. Non-distinct professional services are recognized over the contractual life of the contract, whereas revenues from distinct professional services are recognized as the services are performed or when the services are complete depending on the arrangement.
“Amelia Software Platform” and “Virtual Assistance” meaning our AI-based digital resource solution that enables AI in our customers’ services, ranging across multiple industries. This generally includes revenue from hosted services if the customer elects our SaaS offering, or from licensing revenue if the customer requires an on-premise solution. Professional
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services are also offered and included within professional services revenue. The revenues from Amelia Software Platform and Virtual Assistance are included within Service Subscriptions, and are recognized point in time or over time depending on the arrangement.
We have and may continue to experience volatility for our remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue as a result of the timing for completing our performance obligations. We had remaining performance obligations in the amount of $79.5 million as of December 31, 2025. Given the applicable contract terms, $47.8 million is expected to be recognized as revenue within one year, $30.1 million is expected to be recognized between 2 to 5 years and the remainder of $1.6 million is expected to be recognized after 5 years. Deferred revenue consists of billings or payments received in advance of revenue being recognized and can fluctuate with changes in billing frequency and other factors. As a result of these factors, as well as our mix of revenue streams and billing frequencies, we do not believe that changes in our remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue in a given period are directly correlated with our revenue growth in that period.
We anticipate that we will experience fluctuations in our revenues from quarter-to-quarter due to a variety of factors, including the supply and demand of end user products such as automobiles, the size and success of our sales force and the number of users who are aware of and use our applications. See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Operating Expenses
We classify our operating expenses into the following seven categories, which are cost of revenues, sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative, change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities, amortization of intangible assets and restructuring. With respect to sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative, each expense category includes overhead, including rent and related occupancy costs, which is allocated based on headcount. We plan to continue investing to support our go-to-market strategies and customer engagement, develop our current and future applications and support our operations as a public company. While our gross margin may continue to fluctuate in the near-term due to revenue contributions from varying product mixes, as well as acquisitions, we expect it will stabilize as we continue to scale our business.
Cost of Revenues
SoundHound’s cost of revenues are comprised of direct costs associated directly with SoundHound’s revenue streams as described above. This primarily includes costs and depreciation related to hosting for cloud-based services, such as data centers, electricity charges, content fees and certain personnel-related expenses including personnel costs under call centers that are directly related to these revenue streams. Additionally, our cost of revenues also includes the amortization of developed technology acquired from SYNQ3, Amelia, Interactions and other acquisition as intangible assets.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist of personnel-related costs of the sales and marketing team, promotional campaigns, advertising fees and other marketing related costs. Advertising costs are expensed to sales and marketing when incurred.
Research and Development
Our research and development expenses are our largest operating expense as we continue to develop our software platforms and produce new technological capabilities.
The costs of these activities consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, third-party consultants and costs associated with technological supplies and materials, along with other direct and allocated expenses such as facility costs, depreciation and other shared expenses. We expense research and development costs associated with the design and development of new products in the periods in which they are incurred.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist of personnel-related costs, accounting and legal expenses, third-party consulting costs, insurance and allocated overhead including rent, depreciation and utilities.
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Change in Fair Value of Contingent Acquisition Liabilities
The change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities is related to contingent consideration from the SYNQ3, Amelia, and Interactions acquisitions. The contingent consideration was determined to be liability classified and is remeasured as of each reporting period with a corresponding change in fair value recorded.
Amortization of Intangible Assets
Amortization of acquired customer relationships, tradename and conversation data is included within operating expenses and arises from the amortization of assets acquired through the acquisitions. We review intangible assets for impairment at least annually, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. If an evaluation of recoverability is required, the estimated undiscounted future cash flows directly associated with the asset are compared with the asset’s carrying amount. If the estimated future cash flows from the use of the asset are less than the carrying value, an impairment charge would be recorded to write down the asset to its estimated fair value.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of stated interest incurred on our formerly outstanding convertible notes and term debt during the relevant periods, as well as the amortization of debt discounts and issuance costs over the life of the instruments or a shorter period if a lender can demand payment in the event certain events occur that are outside of our control.
The issuance of debt instruments with direct transaction costs, embedded derivatives and warrant instruments has resulted in debt discounts. Direct transaction costs consist of various transaction fees and third-party costs, such as bank and legal fees, that are incurred upon issuance. No interest expense was incurred during the year ended December 31, 2025 due to the repayment of Amelia Debt in December 2024 and the repayment of Term Loan in June 2024.
Other Income, Net
Other income, net consists of the change in fair value related to our derivative liability, interest income and other income (expense).
Provision (benefit) for Income Taxes
Income tax expense includes federal, state and foreign taxes and is based on reported income before income taxes. We are in a cumulative loss position for tax purposes based on historical earnings. As of December 31, 2025, we had $892.9 million of U.S. federal and $379.7 million of state net operating loss carryforwards available to reduce future taxable income. The federal and state net operating loss carryforwards will start to expire in 2026 with the exception of $691.0 million federal net operating loss carryforwards and $18.5 million state net operating loss carryforwards, which can be carried forward indefinitely.
We had federal and state research and development credit carryforwards of $27.2 million and $15.4 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2025. The federal credits will expire starting in 2029 if not utilized. The state credits can be carried forward indefinitely. We also had Canadian SR&ED tax credits of $1.9 million, which expire starting in 2039 if not utilized.
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and similar state tax laws, utilization of net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits may be subject to annual limitations due to certain ownership changes. Our net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits could expire before utilization if subject to annual limitations.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth the significant components of our results of operations ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 168,920 | $ | 84,693 | $ | 84,227 | 99 | % | ||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | 97,369 | 43,309 | 54,060 | 125 | % | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 61,640 | 29,126 | 32,514 | 112 | % | |||||||||
| Research and development | 98,250 | 70,555 | 27,695 | 39 | % | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 82,188 | 53,270 | 28,918 | 54 | % | |||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities* | (163,127) | 222,670 | (385,797) | (173) | % | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 15,872 | 7,116 | 8,756 | 123 | % | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 192,192 | 426,046 | (233,854) | (55) | % | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | (23,272) | (341,353) | 318,081 | (93) | % | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net: | ||||||||||||||
| Loss on early extinguishment of debt | — | (15,629) | 15,629 | (100) | % | |||||||||
| Interest expense | (670) | (12,168) | 11,498 | (94) | % | |||||||||
| Other income, net | 14,668 | 9,222 | 5,446 | 59 | % | |||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | 13,998 | (18,575) | 32,573 | (175) | % | |||||||||
| Loss before provision (benefit) for income taxes | (9,274) | (359,928) | 350,654 | (97) | % | |||||||||
| Provision (benefit) for income taxes | 4,732 | (9,247) | 13,979 | (151) | % | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (14,006) | $ | (350,681) | $ | 336,675 | (96) | % |
*The change in fair value of acquisition related liabilities is mainly driven by the movements in our stock price during the reporting period and changes in the assessed probability of achieving certain future revenue targets defined as part of the acquisition agreements. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
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The following table summarizes our gross profit and gross margin ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | % | ||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 168,920 | $ | 84,693 | 99 | % | ||||
| Cost of revenues | 97,369 | 43,309 | 125 | % | ||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 71,551 | $ | 41,384 | 73 | % | ||||
| Gross margin | 42 | % | 49 | % | (7) | % |
Revenues
The following tables summarize our revenues by type and geographic regions ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Service Subscriptions | $ | 133,547 | $ | 56,347 | $ | 77,200 | 137 | % | ||||||
| Product royalties | 34,913 | 27,964 | 6,949 | 25 | % | |||||||||
| Monetization | 460 | 382 | 78 | 20 | % | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 168,920 | $ | 84,693 | $ | 84,227 | 99 | % |
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Americas | $ | 116,333 | $ | 51,094 | $ | 65,239 | 128 | % | ||||||
| Asia | 27,465 | 17,678 | 9,787 | 55 | % | |||||||||
| EMEA | 25,122 | 15,921 | 9,201 | 58 | % | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 168,920 | $ | 84,693 | $ | 84,227 | 99 | % |
Total revenues increased by 99% in 2025 compared to 2024. The increase of $77.2 million in service subscription revenue, primarily based in the Americas, was driven by the contribution of revenue from acquisitions. The increase of $6.9 million in product royalties revenue was due to the increase in license revenue in the Asia region.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues increased by $54.1 million, or 125%, in 2025 compared to 2024. Gross margin decreased to 42% in 2025 compared to 49% in 2024 primarily due to the acquisition of Amelia in 2024, which included a amortization of acquired intangible assets in the amount of $14.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, and the acquisition of Interactions in 2025, which included a amortization of acquired intangible assets in the amount of $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. In the past, our gross margin has fluctuated and may continue to fluctuate from quarter to quarter due to revenue contributions from varying product mixes. However, we expect to gradually improve gross margins in the mid-term, especially as it relates the integration of Amelia, Interactions and SYNQ3.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $32.5 million, or 112%, from $61.6 million in 2025 compared to $29.1 million in 2024, primarily due to increases in 2025 of $27.6 million in personnel-related costs caused by Amelia and Interactions acquisitions, $3.3 million in office expense, $1.1 million in consulting fees, $0.8 million in advertising expenses, $0.8 million in travel expenses, $0.2 million in legal and professional fees, and $0.2 million in meal and entertainment, which were partially offset by a decrease of $1.5 million incurred for information technology and facility allocations.
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We expect our sales and marketing expenses to remain stable in the short term. However, in the long term, we expect sales and marketing expenses to grow at a rate below that of our revenue, aligning with our strategic emphasis on cost effectiveness and sustainable financial performance.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses increased by $27.7 million, or 39%, in 2025 compared to 2024, primarily due to increases in 2025 of $25.6 million in personnel-related costs caused by Amelia and Interactions acquisitions, $2.7 million in legal and professional fees, $2.7 million in office expense, $1.8 million in consulting fees, $0.2 million in utilities, $0.2 million in travel expense, and $0.1 million in hardware cost, which were partially offset by a decrease of $4.5 million incurred for information technology and facility allocations, $0.6 million in rent expense and $0.5 million in cloud computing services.
We expect our research and development expenses to remain stable in the short term. However, in the long term, we expect research and development expenses to grow at a rate below that of our revenue, aligning with our strategic emphasis on cost effectiveness and sustainable financial performance.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses increased by $28.9 million, or 54%, in 2025 compared to 2024, primarily due to increases in 2025 of $16.3 million in personnel-related costs caused by Amelia and Interactions acquisitions, $6.0 million in information technology and facility allocations, $2.5 million in legal and professional fees, $1.5 million in bad debt expense, $0.9 million in office expense, $0.5 million in insurance expense, $0.5 million in hardware and software cost, $0.4 million in taxes and licenses, $0.2 million in tax and payroll processing fees, $0.1 million in rent expense, $0.1 million in utilities, and other immaterial increase totaling $0.1 million including virtual services, meals and entertainment, and consulting fees, which were partially offset by a decrease of $0.2 million in cloud computing services.
We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in the short term as we invest in our control environment. However, in the long term, we expect general and administrative expenses to grow at a rate below that of our revenue, aligning with our strategic emphasis on cost effectiveness and sustainable financial performance.
Change in Fair Value of Contingent Acquisition Liabilities
The change in fair value of acquisition related liabilities, which is marked-to-market based on the movements in our stock price and changes in the assessed probability of achieving certain future revenue targets, was a gain of $163.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to a loss of $222.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The decrease of the Company's stock price as of December 31, 2025 compared to the stock price as of December 31, 2024, resulted in a decrease in its fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2025. The fluctuation is non-operating and non-cash in nature. We will continue to review our estimates on a quarterly basis over the remaining earnout period until 2026. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
Amortization of Intangibles Assets
Amortization of acquired developed technology is included within cost of revenues, while the amortization of other intangible assets, including acquired customer relationships, tradename and conversation data, are included within operating expenses. All intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives.
The following table summarizes the amortization of intangible assets by operating expense category ($ in thousands):
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| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | 17,175 | $ | 7,696 | $ | 9,479 | 123 | % | ||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 15,872 | 7,116 | 8,756 | 123 | % | |||||||||
| Total amortization | $ | 33,047 | $ | 14,812 | $ | 18,235 | 123 | % |
Amortization of intangibles increased by $18.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The increase in amortization of intangibles was primarily attributable to the Amelia Acquisition that was closed during the third quarter of 2024 and Interaction Acquisition that was closed during the third quarter of 2025.
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt
The $15.6 million decrease in loss on extinguishment of debt during the year ended December 31, 2025 was attributable to a loss on the repayment of Amelia Debt in December 2024 and the repayment of Term Loan in June 2024. See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased by $11.5 million, or 94%, in 2025 compared to 2024. The decrease in interest expense was primarily attributable to the early repayment of Term Loan in June, 2024 and Amelia Debt in December, 2024, resulting in the decrease in interest expense.
Other Income, Net
The following table summarizes our other income, net by type ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Other income, net | ||||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 9,799 | $ | 8,370 | $ | 1,429 | 17 | % | ||||||
| Change in fair value of derivative | 4,676 | — | 4,676 | 100 | % | |||||||||
| Gain on bargain purchase | — | 1,223 | (1,223) | (100) | % | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 193 | (371) | 564 | (152) | % | |||||||||
| Total other income, net | $ | 14,668 | $ | 9,222 | $ | 5,446 | 59 | % |
Interest Income
Interest income increased by $1.4 million, or 17%, in 2025 compared to 2024. The increase was primarily attributable to interest earned on greater money market and treasury bond balances during the year ended December 31, 2025, as we engaged in significant transactions that increased our liquidity. Refer to "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for a discussion of the changes in our business that led to an increase in cash for the year ended December 31, 2025.
Gain on Bargain Purchase
The gain on bargain purchase of $1.2 million was recorded within other income, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss in the year ended December 31, 2024 as a result of a favorable fair value of identifiable net assets acquired from an immaterial acquisition at the date of acquisition as compared with the purchase price. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
Change in Fair Value of Derivative
Change in fair value of derivative increased by $4.7 million or 100% in the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The increase was primarily attributable to the remeasurement gain from the change in fair value
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of a derivative assumed from Amelia acquisition. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
Provision (benefit) for Income Taxes
| ($ in thousands) | Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Provision (benefit) for income taxes | $ | 4,732 | $ | (9,247) | $ | 13,979 | (151) | % |
Provision (benefit) for income taxes increased by $14.0 million, or 151%, in 2025 compared to 2024. This increase was primarily attributable to decreased tax benefit from acquisitions.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Total unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on hand as of December 31, 2025 was $248.5 million. Although we have incurred recurring losses each year since our inception, except for a net income of $129.9 million reported for the three months ended March 31 2025, $55.2 million reported for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and $40.1 million reported for the three months ended December 31, 2025, primarily due to the change in fair value of acquisition related liabilities, we expect we will be able to fund our operations for at least the next twelve months. We believe we will meet longer-term expected future cash requirements and obligations through a combination of cash flows from operating activities, available cash balances and expected cash proceeds from the future ATM program. Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates, among other things, the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business.
Sources of Cash and Material Cash Requirements
Our principal sources of liquidity are our cash and cash equivalents, which are sourced primarily from the sale of marketable securities. The primary uses of cash include the funding of operating expenses, as well as acquisition related costs.
The following table presents our material cash requirements for future periods:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thereafter | Total | ||||||||
| Cloud service provider agreement | — | 64,000 | 64,000 | |||||||
| Operating leases | 2,037 | 2,212 | 4,249 | |||||||
| Finance leases | 377 | 159 | 536 | |||||||
| Total material cash requirements | $ | 2,414 | $ | 66,371 | $ | 68,785 |
Second Equity Distribution Agreement
On January 24, 2025, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement (the "Second Equity Distribution Agreement") with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Northland Securities, Inc. with respect to an ATM program. Under this program, we may offer and sell up to $250.0 million of shares of our Class A Common Stock from time to time through the sales managers. Sales of our Class A Common Stock, if any, under the Second Equity Distribution Agreement will be made at market prices by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The sales managers are entitled to commission at a fixed rate of 2.0% of the gross sales price per share for their services in acting as agent in the sale of our Class A Common Stock. During the year ended December 31, 2025, we sold an aggregate of 13,913,014 shares of our common stock under the Second Equity Distribution Agreement, at an average price of $14.48 per share and raised $201.5 million of gross proceeds. The commissions and offering costs borne by us were approximately $4.0 million. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had a remaining capacity to sell up to an additional $48.5 million of our common stock under the Second Equity Distribution Agreement.
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SYNQ3 Acquisition
On January 3, 2024 (the "SYNQ3 Acquisition Date"), we acquired all of the issued and outstanding equity of SYNQ3, a leading provider of voice AI and other technology solutions to the restaurant industry, for total purchase consideration of $15.8 million (the “SYNQ3 Acquisition”).
The total purchase consideration includes $3.9 million in cash paid and 5,755,910 in shares of our Class A Common Stock issued as of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date. We also withheld purchase consideration of $0.5 million in cash and 1,179,514 shares of our Class A Common Stock, subject to customary net working capital adjustments, to partially secure the indemnification obligations of SYNQ3's former stockholders under the merger agreement and agreed to pay up to $0.8 million in cash and 1,434,936 in shares of our Class A Common Stock to certain former stockholders of SYNQ3 based upon the achievement of specified future milestones. On the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date, we also issued 2,033,156 restricted shares of our Class A Common Stock subject to time and performance-based vesting conditions. The fair value of the purchase consideration was $15.8 million.
We incurred $2.2 million in acquisition related expenses, of which $0.1 million, $1.0 million, and $1.1 million were incurred during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and recorded as general and administration expenses in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
SYNQ3 Holdback
The $0.5 million in cash and 1,179,514 shares of our Class A Common Stock were withheld for a period of 15 months (the “SYNQ3 Holdback Amount”). We determined that there are two components to the SYNQ3 Holdback Amount related to deferred consideration and contingent consideration, each comprised of cash and shares.
The deferred cash holdback consideration of $0.1 million and the deferred share holdback consideration of 361,145 shares of our Class A Common Stock (collectively, the “Deferred Consideration”) were not recognized as of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date as such amounts were offset by the indemnification obligations of SYNQ3's former stockholders.
The contingent cash and share holdback consideration to be issued is variable (“Contingent SYNQ3 Holdback Consideration”). Final amounts to be issued will be reduced based upon future actions and settlements with third parties to resolve assumed contingent sales tax liabilities and certain other assumed contingent liabilities of SYNQ3 in connection with the SYNQ3 Acquisition. We accounted for the Contingent SYNQ3 Holdback Consideration as a liability on the consolidated balance sheet. As of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date, the Contingent SYNQ3 Holdback Consideration was estimated to be $0.6 million in aggregate and to be settled in $0.1 million cash and the remainder in shares of our Class A Common Stock. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we issued 38,277 shares of our Class A Common Stock and paid an immaterial amount in cash from the Contingent SYNQ3 Holdback Consideration to SYNQ3's former stockholders as a result of the net working capital adjustments settled during the year. The Contingent SYNQ3 Holdback Consideration will be subsequently remeasured at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognized as a component of operating expense on our consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. For the year ended December 31, 2025, we recognized a loss of less than $0.1 million related to the Contingent SYNQ3 Holdback Consideration.
In April 2025, the Contingent SYNQ3 Holdback Consideration was settled by issuing 472,501 shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock and paying $0.2 million in cash. After the holdback settlement, any remaining indemnifications by the sellers to cover unsettled claims was offset against the Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration to the extent of its fair value as of June 30, 2025. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information on the fair value measurement of Contingent SYNQ3 Holdback Consideration.
Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration
We also agreed to pay in aggregate up to $0.8 million in cash and 1,434,936 in shares of Class A Common Stock, to certain stockholders of SYNQ3 based on tiered annual revenue targets for each fiscal year 2024, 2025 and 2026 (the “Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration”). We accounted for the Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration as a liability within contingent acquisition liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets and will subsequently remeasure the liability at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognized as a component of operating expense in our consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. As of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date, the Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration was estimated to be $1.7 million in aggregate and to be settled in $0.2 million cash and the remainder in shares of our Class A Common Stock. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information on the fair value measurement of Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration.
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For the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, we recognized a gain of $6.9 million and a loss of $7.0 million, respectively, related to the Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration, reflected in the change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.
As of December 31, 2025, the 2024 revenue target was not met, but the 2025 revenue target was met and the related earnout consideration is expected to be settled in the first quarter of 2026. The Company assessed the 2026 revenue target as probable of being met. No earnout consideration was issued as of December 31, 2025.
Restricted stock awards
The 2,033,156 restricted shares of our Class A Common Stock issued at the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date to certain continuing employees of SYNQ3 subject to time and performance-based vesting conditions was determined to be a separate transaction from the SYNQ3 Acquisition and therefore is excluded from purchase consideration.
Restricted stock units
As a condition of the SYNQ3 Acquisition, we additionally granted certain employees awards with future vesting conditions. As a result, we determined that these awards should be accounted for separately from the SYNQ3 Acquisition and therefore are excluded from purchase consideration.
The purchase price allocation was finalized as of December 31, 2024.
Amelia Acquisition
On August 6, 2024 (the “Amelia Acquisition Date”), we completed the acquisition of Amelia Holdings, Inc. (the “Amelia Acquisition”), a privately-held conversational AI software company involved in the development and delivery of AI and automation solutions and related services to improve customer experience and optimize business outcomes.
On the Amelia Acquisition Date, we issued a total of 3,809,520 shares of the SoundHound Class A Common Stock to the sellers. Pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement, we also issued and deposited 2,149,530 shares of the SoundHound Class A Common Stock into an escrow account in order to partially secure the indemnification obligations of the selling shareholders under the purchase agreement. We also paid $8.4 million of cash for seller transaction expenses in connection with the closing of the Amelia Acquisition. We agreed to issue up to 16,822,429 shares to the selling shareholders based on achievement of certain revenue targets in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The fair value of the purchase consideration was $98.6 million.
In connection with the Amelia Acquisition, we assumed the amended senior secured term loan facility from Amelia in an aggregate principal amount of $121.5 million (“Amelia Debt”). On December 3, 2024, we entered into a letter agreement (the “Amelia Debt Payoff Letter”) to prepay in full all indebtedness and other amounts outstanding and owing under the Amelia Debt Credit Agreement and the Amelia Debt was subsequently paid in full.
Escrow Consideration
On the Amelia Acquisition Date, we issued and deposited 2,149,530 shares of our Class A Common Stock into an escrow account in order to partially secure the indemnification obligations of the selling shareholders under the purchase agreement. We accounted for the escrow consideration as equity issued as part of consideration transferred. Upon the settlement of any valid indemnification claims against the sellers, the escrow agent will return a number of shares to us equal to the dollar value of the indemnified loss divided by the reference price of $5.35 as stipulated in the purchase agreement. We concluded that this variability in settlement value is a derivative that is requirement to be remeasured to fair value due to changes in stock price. This derivative did not have a material impact to the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we recognized a gain of $4.7 million and zero, respectively, related to remeasurement of the derivative, reflected in the other income, net in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. Upon the expiration of the escrow period, any remaining shares in the escrow account will be released to the selling shareholders. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information on the fair value measurement of the derivative related to indemnification rights. Upon the expiration of the escrow period, any remaining shares within the escrow account will be released to the selling shareholders.
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Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration
We agreed to pay up to 16,822,429 in shares of Class A Common Stock to the selling shareholders based on achievement of certain revenue targets in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 (the “Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration”). We accounted for the Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration as a liability within contingent acquisition liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet and will subsequently remeasure the liability at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognized as a component of operating expense in our consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. As of the Amelia Acquisition Date, the Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration had an estimated fair value of $66.3 million and will be settled in shares of our Class A Common Stock. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we recognized a $157.6 million gain and a $211.9 million loss related to the Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration, respectively, reflected in the change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information on the fair value measurement of Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration. As of December 31, 2025, the 2025 revenue target was met and the related earnout consideration is expected to be settled in the first quarter of 2026. We assessed the 2026 revenue target as probable of being met.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, we recorded measurement period adjustments to decrease the accrued liabilities by $0.1 million and other current liabilities by $0.4 million due to true-up of the accrued payroll taxes and sales taxes subsequent to the acquisition. As a result of the adjusted acquisition-date fair value of liabilities assumed, we recorded a decrease of $0.5 million to the goodwill recognized. The measurement period adjustments were recorded in the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2025 and were made to reflect facts and circumstances that existed as of the Amelia Acquisition Date.
The purchase price allocation was finalized as of September 30, 2025.
We incurred $6.7 million in acquisition related expenses, of which $0.9 million and $5.8 million were incurred during the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively, and recorded as general and administration expenses in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Interactions Acquisition
On September 3, 2025 (the “Interactions Acquisition Date”), we acquired all of the issued and outstanding equity of Interactions Corporation (the “Interactions Acquisition”), a pioneer in AI for customer service and workflow orchestration. This strategic deal is expected to strengthen and extend SoundHound’s growing leadership in Agentic AI and accelerate its market penetration in customer service across enterprise businesses. The transaction also expands SoundHound’s customer portfolio across various industries, including global consumer icons, large technology device brands, insurers, automakers, and other preeminent Fortune 100 companies across industries.
The fair value of the preliminary purchase consideration was $76.1 million. The preliminary purchase consideration includes $19.4 million of cash paid to the selling shareholders. We also paid $4.1 million of cash for seller transaction expenses in connection with the closing of the Interactions Acquisition.
In connection with the Interactions Acquisition, we paid the debt held by Interactions (the “Interactions Debt”) on the Interactions Acquisition Date in an aggregate principal amount of $41.5 million as part of the purchase consideration under the merger agreement.
We have also withheld purchase consideration of $1.2 million in cash, subject to customary net working capital adjustments, to partially secure the indemnification obligations of Interactions' former stockholders under the merger agreement and agreed to pay up to $25.0 million in cash to certain former stockholders of Interactions based upon the
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achievement of specified future milestones in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 (the "Contingent Interactions Earnout Consideration).
Interactions Holdback
As of the Interactions Acquisition Date, the $1.2 million in cash withheld (the "Deferred Interactions Holdback Consideration") consisted of two components, adjustment holdback consideration and indemnity holdback consideration.
The adjustment holdback consideration of $1.0 million was recorded within other current liabilities at fair value as of the Interactions Acquisition Date (the "Interactions Adjustment Holdback Consideration"), and is estimated to be paid within 120 days subsequent to the Interactions Acquisition Date to Interactions' former stockholders for the settlement of net working capital adjustments.
The indemnity holdback consideration of $0.2 million was recorded within other current liabilities, which was withheld for a period of 12 months subsequent to the Interactions Acquisition Date (the "Interactions Indemnity Holdback Consideration"). Payment will occur after the sellers complete their review of the closing statement which must be submitted by the acquirer within 120 days of the Interactions Acquisition Date.
Contingent Interactions Earnout Consideration
We also agreed to pay up to $25.0 million in cash to the selling shareholders based on achievement of certain annual revenue targets in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 and renewal or extension of an existing contract with a specific customer on or before March 31, 2026. We accounted for the Contingent Interactions Earnout Consideration as a liability within contingent acquisition liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets and will subsequently remeasure the liability at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognized as a component of operating expense in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. As of the Interactions Acquisition Date, the Contingent Interactions Earnout Consideration had an estimated fair value of $9.9 million. For year ended December 31, 2025, we recognized a loss of $1.3 million related to the Contingent Interactions Earnout Consideration, reflected in the change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. As of December 31, 2025, we assessed the 2026 and 2027 revenue targets were probable of being met, and an existing contract with a specific customer was probable of being renewed or extended on or before March 31, 2026.
The purchase accounting is not yet complete as of December 31, 2025 and as such, the final allocation among purchase consideration, intangible assets, net assets acquired and goodwill may be subject to change. Any adjustments to the preliminary purchase price allocation will be made in the periods in which the adjustments are determined, and the cumulative effect of such adjustments will be calculated as if the adjustments had been completed as of the acquisition date. The Company expects to finalize the purchase price allocation within 12 months from the Interactions Acquisition Date.
We incurred $5.0 million in acquisition related expenses during the year ended December 31, 2025 and recorded as general and administration expenses in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Other Acquisition
On June 14, 2024, we completed an immaterial acquisition for total purchase consideration of $1.0 million. As part of the acquisition, we acquired net assets of $2.2 million, including intangible assets of $2.6 million, and recognized a gain on bargain purchase of $1.2 million within other income, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss during the year ended December 31, 2025, resulting from a favorable fair value of identifiable net assets acquired at the date of acquisition as compared with the purchase price. We were able to negotiate a bargain purchase price as a result of the recurring losses and pre-filing bankruptcy status of the selling entity.
Contractual and Other Obligations
Because we expect to continue investing in software application and development, we enter into various contracts and agreements to increase our availability of capital. Cash that is received through these obligations is used to meet both short- and long-term liquidity requirements as discussed above. These requirements generally include funding for the research and development of software, the development of applications that enable voice interaction, marketing programs and personnel-related costs. The primary types of obligations into which we enter include contractual obligations, operating and
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finance lease obligations and a diversified spread of debt instruments. See Note 8, Note 10 and Note 16 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (98,222) | $ | (108,878) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (59,504) | (12,372) | ||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 208,074 | 210,906 | ||||
| Effects of exchange rate changes on cash | (98) | 225 | ||||
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | 50,250 | $ | 89,881 |
Cash Flows Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $98.2 million during 2025 compared to $108.9 million during 2024.The $10.7 million decrease in cash used in operating activities was primarily due to decreases of $336.7 million in net loss, and increases of $47.5 million in stock-based compensation, $18.1 million in depreciation and amortization, $13.5 million in deferred income taxes, $2.5 million in other non-cash loss, $1.6 million in amortization of capitalized commissions and non-cash lease amortization of $0.3 million, which were partially offset by the movement of $385.8 million in change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities, decrease of $15.6 million in loss on early extinguishment of debt, $4.7 million from change in the fair value of derivatives, $1.6 million in amortization of debt issuance cost, $0.9 million in changes in operating assets and liabilities, and $0.9 million in foreign currency gain from remeasurement. Within the increase of $47.5 million in stock-based compensation, $3.8 million was related to accelerated vesting of RSAs during the year ended December 31, 2025 as part of our integration plan of SYNQ3.
Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $59.5 million during 2025 compared to $12.4 million during 2024. The $47.1 million increase in cash used in investing activities was primarily driven by the increases of payments related to acquisitions of $42.9 million and software development costs of $4.0 million and payments related to purchases of property and equipment of $0.3 million.
Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $208.1 million during 2025 compared to $210.9 million during 2024. The $2.8 million decrease in cash provided by financing activities was primarily due to decreases of $199.4 million in net proceeds from sales of Class A Common Stock under the Sales Agreement and Second Equity Distribution Agreement and $18.9 million in proceeds from exercise of stock options and employee stock purchase plan, which is partially offset by decreases of $215.4 million in the payment of notes payable.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have during the periods presented, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Indemnification Agreements
We enter into standard indemnification arrangements in the ordinary course of business. Pursuant to these arrangements, we indemnify, hold harmless and agree to reimburse the indemnified parties for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party, in connection with any trade secret, copyright, patent or other intellectual property infringement claim by any third party with respect to its technology. The term of these indemnification agreements is generally perpetual any time after the execution of the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to
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make under these arrangements is not determinable. Additionally, we have, and may in the future, indemnify third parties in connection with our issuance of securities (including pursuant to our ATM offering program) and in connection with acquisitions of other companies. Our liability is generally limited to the aggregate amount of consideration actually received in these instances. We have never incurred costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification agreements. As a result, we believe the fair value of these agreements is minimal.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Management Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report that have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported income (loss) generated and expenses incurred during the reporting periods. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgment about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and any such differences may be material. Historically, our assumptions, judgments and estimates relative to our critical accounting policies have not differed materially from actual results.
We believe that the assumptions, judgments and estimates involved in the accounting for revenue recognition, derivative liabilities, warrant liabilities, stock-based compensation, business combinations, contingent consideration, goodwill, intangible assets with definite lives, and capitalized software development costs, have the greatest potential impact on our consolidated financial statements. These areas are key components of our results of operations and are based on complex rules requiring us to make judgments and estimates, and consequently, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue with customers in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. We recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Revenues are generally recognized upon the transfer of control of promised products or services provided to customers, reflecting the amount of consideration we expect to receive for those goods or services.
Our arrangements with customers may contain multiple performance obligations. Individual services are accounted for separately if they are distinct — that is, if a customer can benefit from it on its own or with other resources that are readily available to the customer and if the service is separately identifiable from other promised obligation in the contract.
We primarily derive revenue from the following performance obligations: (1) hosted services, (2) professional services, (3) monetization, and (4) licensing. Revenues are reported net of applicable sales and use taxes that are passed through to customers. We apply significant judgment in identifying and evaluating any terms and conditions in contracts which may impact revenue recognition.
Hosted Services
Hosted services, along with non-distinct customization, integration, maintenance and support professional services, allow customers to access the Houndify, Amelia Software Platform, and Virtual Assistance applications over the contract period without taking possession of the software.
We have determined that the hosted services arrangements are a single performance obligation comprised of a series of distinct services, since each day of providing access to hosted services is substantially the same and the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits as access is provided. These services are provided either on a usage basis (i.e., variable consideration) or on a fixed fee subscription basis. We recognize revenue as each distinct service period is performed.
Hosted services may include implementation services to develop and/or customize the applications to each customer’s specification. Judgment is required to determine whether these professional services are distinct from the hosted services. In making this determination, factors such as the degree of integration, the significance of enhancement to existing
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functionality, the customers’ ability to start using the software prior to customization, the evaluation as to whether the services extend the economic life of the application, and the availability of these services from other independent vendors are considered.
In instances where we concluded that the implementation services are not distinct performance obligations, revenues for these activities are recognized over the period which the hosted services are expected to be provided and is included within hosted services revenue.
All revenues derived as a result of the SYNQ3 Acquisition, and substantial revenues derived as a result of the Amelia Acquisition and Interactions Acquisition are categorized as hosted services revenue.
Professional Services
Revenues from distinct professional services, such as non-integrated development services and other professional services, are either recognized over time based upon the progress towards completion of the project, or at a point in time at project completion. The Company assesses distinct professional services to determine whether the transfer of control is over-time or at a point in time. The Company considers three criteria in making their assessment including (1) the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits; (2) the Company’s performance creates or enhances an asset that the customer controls as the asset is created or enhanced; or (3) the Company’s performance does not create an asset with an alternative use to the entity and the entity has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. If none of the criteria are met, revenues are determined to be recognized at a point in time.
Monetization
Monetization revenues are primarily derived from advertising payments associated with ad impressions placed on the SoundHound music identification application. The amount of revenue is based on actual monetization generated or usage, which represent a variable consideration with constrained estimates. Therefore, we recognize the related revenues at a point in time when advertisements are placed, when commissions are paid, or when the SoundHound application is downloaded. The determination of whether revenue should be reported on a gross or net basis is based on an assessment of whether we are acting as a principal or an agent in the transaction. We have determined that we do not act as the principal in monetization arrangements because we do not control the transfer of the service and it does not set the price. Based on these factors, we report revenue on a net basis.
Licensing
We license Amelia's software solutions, Virtual Assistance applications, and other voice solutions that are embedded in customers' products or services. Licensing revenue is a distinct performance obligation that is recognized when control is transferred to the customer, which is at a point in time for non-customized solutions. For licenses with non-distinct customized solutions, revenues are recognized over time based on the progress towards completion of the customized solution. Revenues generated from licensing are on royalty arrangements with a per unit pricing or on fixed considerations. The Company records licensing revenue relating to usage-based royalty arrangements in the same period in which the underlying usage occurs. Licensing revenue on fixed considerations including fixed fee and minimum guarantee from royalty arrangements are recognized when the Company grants the customer the right to use and benefit from the license at the start of the licensing period. Licenses may include post-contract support, which is a distinct performance obligation and revenue from post-contract support is recognized ratably over the licensing period.
When a contract has multiple performance obligations, the transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative estimated standalone selling price (“SSP”). Judgments are required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. SSP is determined by maximizing observable inputs from pricing of standalone sales, when possible. Since prices vary from customer to customer based on customer relationship, volume discount and contract type, in instances where the SSP is not directly observable, we estimate SSP by considering the following factors:
•Costs of developing and supplying each performance obligation;
•Industry standards;
•Major product groupings; and
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•Gross margin objectives and pricing practices, such as contractually stated prices, discounts offered and applicable price lists.
These factors may vary over time, depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each deliverable. If the facts and circumstances underlying the factors considered change or should future facts and circumstances lead us to consider additional factors, our best estimate of SSP may also change. When such observable data is not available because there is a limited number of transactions or prices are highly variable, the Company will estimate the standalone selling price using the residual approach.
Common Stock Offerings
We enter into certain agreements to sell common stock with counterparties to further support our growth strategy through initiatives such as accretive acquisitions and internal investments, to bolster working capital and for general corporate purposes. We evaluate our common stock purchase agreements to determine whether they are indexed to our own common stock, and therefore whether they should be accounted for as derivatives with changes in fair value as other income, net in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss in the period in which they occur. We subsequently assess the changes in the fair value of the derivative liability and record these changes through profit or loss in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Warrants
We determine whether to classify contracts, such as warrants, that may be settled in our own stock as equity of the entity or as a liability. An equity-linked financial instrument must be considered indexed to the Company's own stock to qualify for equity classification. We classify warrants as liabilities for any contracts that may require a transfer of assets. Warrants classified as liabilities are accounted for at fair value and remeasured at each reporting date until exercise, expiration or modification that results in equity classification. Any change in the fair value of the warrants is recognized as other expense, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure stock options and other stock-based awards granted to employees, directors and other service providers based on their fair value on the date of grant and recognize compensation expense of those awards over the requisite service period. We recognize the impact of forfeitures on stock-based compensation expense as forfeitures occur. We apply the straight-line method of expense recognition. We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options and ESPP shares. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions to determine the fair value of the awards, including the expected term of the award and the price volatility of the underlying stock. We calculate the fair value of the awards by using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:
Expected Volatility — We estimate volatility for the awards by evaluating the average historical volatility of a peer group of companies for the period immediately preceding the award grant for a term that is approximately equal to the awards’ expected term.
Expected Term — The expected term of the awards represents the period that the stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. We have elected to use the midpoint between the stock options’ vesting term and contractual expiration period to compute the expected term, as we do not have sufficient historical information to develop reasonable expectations about future exercise patterns and post-vesting employment termination behavior. For the valuation of ESPP shares, we use the period of time from the valuation date to the purchase date.
Risk-Free Interest Rate — The risk-free interest rate is based on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with a term that is equal to the awards' expected term at the grant date.
Expected Dividend Yield — The Company has not declared or paid dividends to date and does not anticipate declaring dividends. As such, expected dividend yield is zero.
Business Combinations and Contingent Consideration
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Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method. We allocate the fair value of the purchase price of an acquisition to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, based on their estimated fair values as of the date of acquisition. The excess of the fair value of the purchase price over the fair values of these net tangible and intangible assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Fair value of the acquired intangible assets was determined using an income approach, specifically the multi-period excess earnings method, relief-from-royalty method, or the with-and-without method, depending on the nature of the respective assets. Management’s estimates of fair value are based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable, but the estimates and assumptions are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. The significant judgments and assumptions used in valuing the developed technology include revenue growth rates, prospective financial information for cost of sales, research and development expenses and, other operating expenses, the discount rate, the technological obsolescence rate, and contributory asset charges. For customer relationships, the significant judgments and assumptions include revenue growth rates, customer attrition rate, prospective financial information for cost of sales and fixed and variable operating expenses and the discount rate. These estimates are inherently uncertain and, therefore, actual results may differ from the estimates made. As a result, during the measurement period of up to one year from the acquisition date, we may make adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the measurement period's conclusion or final determination of the fair value of the purchase price of an acquisition, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations in the period they are identified. Acquisition-related expenses are recognized separately from the business combination and expensed as incurred.
Certain business combinations include contingent consideration arrangements, which are generally based on achievement of future financial performance or future events. If it is determined the contingent consideration arrangement is not compensatory, we estimate fair value of contingent consideration payments as part of the initial purchase price and record the estimated fair value of contingent consideration as a liability in the consolidated balance sheet. We review and assess the estimated fair value of contingent consideration each reporting period, and the updated fair value could differ materially from the initial estimates. Adjustments to estimated fair value related to changes in fair value are reported as change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities in our consolidated statements of operations.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price in a business combination over the fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized but tested annually for impairment or when indicators of impairment are present. The test for goodwill impairment involves a qualitative assessment of impairment indicators. If indicators are present, a quantitative test of impairment is performed. Goodwill impairment, if any, is determined by comparing the reporting unit’s fair value to its carrying value. An impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying value over its fair value, up to the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. Our policy is to review goodwill for impairment annually on October 1st unless a triggering event requires an analysis sooner. There was no goodwill impairment for the year ended December 31, 2025.
Intangible Assets with Definite Lives
Our intangible assets consist principally of developed technology, customer relationships, tradename, and conversation data. We assess the appropriate method of amortization of the intangible assets that reflects the pattern in which the economic benefits of the intangible assets are consumed. We determined that a straight-line method of amortization was appropriate for its intangible assets. The remaining useful lives of long-lived assets are re-assessed periodically at the asset group level for any events and circumstances that may change the future cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived asset or asset group.
Intangible assets with definite lives are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of a specific asset or asset group may not be recoverable. We assess the recoverability of intangible assets with definite lives at the asset group level. Asset groups are determined based upon the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. For the purpose of the recoverability test, we compare the total undiscounted future cash flows from the use and disposition of the assets with its net carrying amount. When the carrying value of the asset group exceeds the undiscounted future cash flows, the asset group is deemed to be impaired. The amount of the impairment loss represents the excess of the asset or asset group’s carrying value over its estimated fair value, which is generally determined based upon the present value of estimated future pre-tax cash flows that a market participant would expect from use and disposition of the long-lived asset or asset group. There were no intangible asset impairments in any of the periods presented.
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Capitalized Software Development Costs
We capitalizes qualifying internal-use software development costs under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 350-40, Internal-use Software ("ASC 350-40"). The costs consist of personnel costs, including related benefits and stock-based compensation, and cloud costs that were incurred during the application development stage. Capitalization of costs begins when two criteria are met: (1) the preliminary project stage is completed, and (2) it is probable that the software will be completed and used for its intended function. Capitalization ceases when the software is substantially complete and ready for its intended use, including the completion of all significant testing. Costs related to preliminary project activities and post-implementation operating activities are expensed as incurred.
We also capitalize qualifying software development costs under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 985-20, Costs of Software to be Sold, Leased or Marketed ("ASC 985-20"). All costs to establish technological feasibility are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred subsequent to establishing technological feasibility are capitalized until the software product is available for general release to customers.
Capitalized software development costs under ASC 350-40 and ASC 985-20 are included in other non-current assets, net of amortization, on the consolidated balance sheets. These costs are amortized over the estimated useful life of the software, which is estimated to be three years. The amortization of capitalized software development costs is included in cost of revenue in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our notes to the consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding recent accounting pronouncements that are of significance, or potential significance to us.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001628280-25-011821.
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of SoundHound should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto. The fiscal years presented are the periods ended December 31, 2024 (“2024”) and December 31, 2023 (“2023”). Information concerning the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (“2022”) and a comparison of 2023 and 2022 may be found under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10‑K for 2023, filed with the SEC on March 1, 2024.
Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this report, including information with respect to SoundHound’s plans and strategy for its business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements” section of this report, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “SoundHound,” “we,” “us,” “our” and other similar terms refer to SoundHound AI, Inc.
Company Overview
We are a global leader in conversational intelligence, offering independent Voice AI solutions that enable businesses to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound’s voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries via groundbreaking AI-driven products like Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, and Dynamic Interaction™, a real-time, multimodal customer service interface. Along with SoundHound Chat AI, a powerful voice assistant with integrated Generative AI, SoundHound powers millions of products and services, and processes billions of interactions each year for world class businesses.
We believe voice-enabled conversational user interface is a more natural interface for nearly all use cases, and product creators should have the ability to design, customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize the interface to their own product, as opposed to outsourcing it to a third-party assistant. For example, using SoundHound, businesses can voice-enable their products so consumers can say things like, “Turn off the air conditioning and lower the windows,” while in their cars, “Find romantic comedies released in the last year,” while streaming on their TV and even place food orders before arriving at a restaurant by talking to their cars, TVs or other IoT devices. Additionally, SoundHound’s technology can address complex user queries such as, “Show me all restaurants within half a mile of the Space Needle that are open past 9pm on Wednesdays and have outdoor seating,” and follow-on qualifications such as “Okay, don’t show me anything with less than 3 stars or fast food.”
The SoundHound developer platform, Houndify, is an open-access platform that allows developers to leverage SoundHound’s Voice AI technology and a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more. SoundHound's Collective AI is an architecture for connecting domain knowledge that encourages collaboration and contribution among developers. The architecture is based on proprietary software engineering technology, CaiLAN (Conversational AI Language), and machine learning technology, CaiNET (Conversational AI Network) to ensure fast, accurate and appropriate responses.
Our market position is strengthened by the technical barriers to entry in the Voice AI space, which tend to discourage new market participants. Furthermore, our technology is backed by significant investments in intellectual property, with over 192 patents granted and over 109 patents pending, spanning multiple fields including speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine learning, monetization and more. We have achieved this critical momentum in part thanks to a long-tenured leadership team with deep expertise and proven ability to attract and retain talent. We believe that SoundHound has extensive technical expertise and a proven track record of innovation and value creation for us to continue to attract customers in the growing market for Voice AI transactions.
We believe that SoundHound is well-positioned to fill the growing void and demand for an independent Voice AI platform. The Voice AI offerings from big tech companies are primarily an extension of their more core services and offerings. Rather than strengthening a customer’s product, it can take over the entire experience, thus disintermediating the company’s brand, users and data. As a result, brands relying on big tech may lose their ability to innovate, differentiate and customize. In some cases, these providers even compete with the products they support, making them increasingly less attractive as a choice for a voice interface.
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The alternative options are generally legacy vendors tending to use what we consider to be dated technologies at a high price. Furthermore, many of these technologies still require significant effort by the product creators to turn them into solutions that can compete with the quality of the big tech offering, which in many cases is not practical. Due to the high barrier to entry in Voice AI, there are not many independent players.
This creates a great opportunity for SoundHound: we believe that we provide disruptive technologies that are superior to the alternatives, with better terms, allowing customers to maintain their brand, control the user experience, get access to the data and define their own privacy policies, while being able to customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize.
When it comes to criteria for adoption, our goal is to win on every dimension. We believe to be the first two criteria customers typically consider are technology and brand control. We strive to provide our customers with the best technology, and we provide a white label solution giving our customers control of their brands. In some industries you may have to choose between technology and brand control. In our case, we offer our customers the best of both, enabling them to offer disruptive technologies to their users while maintaining control of their brand and user experience.
We also expect to provide an additional path to monetization for our customer base. By choosing our platform, product creators can generate additional revenue while making their product better by using Voice AI, providing further incentive to choose our platform.
We believe that we offer a superior ecosystem, benefiting from our Collective AI product architecture along with offering customers definable privacy controls, which are becoming increasingly important in the industry of Voice AI. Additionally, there is no conflict of interest between us and our partners and customers as we do not compete with them (as some other Voice AI vendors do). We also offer edge and hybrid solutions. This means our technology can optionally run without a cloud connection for increased flexibility and privacy. We aim to deliver the most advanced Voice AI in the world and thus allowing our partners to differentiate and innovate their overall experiences for their brands.
We strongly believe that product creators know their product and users best. The idea of a single third-party assistant taking over their product is not reflective of our anticipated future. We envision that every product will have its own identity, and will have Voice AI customized in different ways. Product creators can each tap into a single Collective AI to access the ever-growing set of domains, but the product creators can innovate on top of Collective AI and create value for the end users in their own way. This is the future that we are focusing on enabling.
When a product is voice enabled, we see three stages of integration and value propositions. The first stage is to enable the core use case of the product. For example, the product could be a TV, a coffee machine, a car, a wearable device, a robot, a smart speaker or an appliance, and with your voice you can control the functionality of the device and the product. With a TV, you can ask it to change the channel, increase the volume, rewind by 30 seconds, search for movies and even add personalization by adding a TV show to your favorites. Note that this is different from adding a third-party voice assistant to the product. Our view is that every product needs to have an interface, and voice-AI is a natural and compelling interface that unlocks new use cases and potential. Consider just the simple example of rewinding or fast forwarding by a specific duration. That is a command that can be done with voice in only a few seconds, but it can take many steps to use alternative interfaces such as a remote control or a companion app.
Once the core features of a product are voice-enabled, it can be further enhanced in the second stage of integration: the addition of third-party content and domains. SoundHound has extensive partnerships with content providers and, through these partnerships, can fulfill many needs of our customers. For example, your TV, car or even a coffee machine can answer questions about weather, sports scores, stock prices or flight status, and even search for a local business. The addition of these public domains further enhances the value proposition of the product.
Finally, as the third step, you enter the world of monetization where you can add features that deliver value to the end user, and also generate revenues that we share with the product creators. To summarize with an example, imagine walking up to your coffee machine and asking for a triple shot extra hot latte. While you are waiting for your drink, you can ask for weather and sports scores, and if you desire, you can even order bagels from your favorite nearby bakery.
There are three pillars to our revenue model. The first pillar is Product Royalties, where we voice enable a product and the product creator pays us a royalty based on volume, usage or duration. SoundHound collects royalty revenue when your technology is placed in a car, smart speaker or an appliance, for example.
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The second pillar is Service Subscription. This is when, for example, SoundHound enables customer service or food ordering for restaurants or content management, appointments and voice commerce. And, for that, we generate subscription revenue from the service providers. Pillars one and two can grow independently and they are proven, established business models.
The third pillar seeks to create a monetization ecosystem that brings the services from pillar two to the products in pillar one. When the users of a voice-enabled product in pillar one access the voice-enabled services of pillar two, these services generate new leads and transactions. SoundHound will generate monetization revenue from the services for generating these leads and transactions, and we will share the revenue with the product creators of pillar one.
For example, when the driver of a voice-enabled car places an order to a restaurant that is also voice enabled, we will have unlocked a seamless transaction. Accordingly, the restaurant will pay us for that order, and we will share that revenue with the product creator or the car manufacturer. In this example, each party receives value in the ecosystem. The restaurant is happy because they generated a new lead and booked a sale. The user is happy because they have received value through a natural ordering process, simply by speaking to their car. And the car manufacturer is happy because they delivered value to the end user and generated additional revenue from the usage of their product.
During the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements, we have not generated revenue from leads and transactions on voice-enabled products from voice-enabled services other than from the SoundHound music identification app. Going forward, SoundHound expects monetization revenue to be generated through a combination of advertising revenue from the music identification app and, over time, from leads and transactions on voice-enabled products from voice-enabled services, which we expect will provide much more seamless opportunities for consumers to access goods and services that they covet as we further build out and scale the voice-enabled ecosystem.
We expect this disruptive, three-pillar business model will create a monetization flywheel; as more products integrate into our platform, more users will use it and more services will choose to integrate as well. This creates even more usage, and results in a flow of revenue share to product creators, which further encourages even greater adoption and integration with our platform and the cycle will perpetually continue and expand. This ecosystem increases adoption and increases our addressable market. While all three pillars contribute to our revenues today, the majority of the contribution is currently from our first and second pillar with only a small contribution from pillar three from our music identification app. Over time, we expect our revenues from the monetization pillar to increase meaningfully in the future.
Recent Developments
Amelia Acquisition
On August 6, 2024, we completed the acquisition of Amelia, a privately-held conversational AI software company involved in the development and delivery of AI and automation solutions and related services to improve customer experience and optimize business outcomes. We expect Amelia will bring together decades of experience in conversational AI, and highly complementary product portfolios, to offer best-in-class, scalable customer service support to a vast spectrum of businesses. These include some of the very largest multinational enterprise brands, top 15 global banks, and Fortune 500 organizations, with the combined company spanning nearly 200 marquee customers. We believe the acquisition of Amelia is expected to strengthen SoundHound’s position in voice and conversational AI and allow us to enter new industries such as healthcare, insurance, financial services, energy and retail, expanding our market reach. Refer to the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section for discussion on the purchase price and the Acquisition's impact on SoundHound's liquidity.
We have incurred certain significant costs relating to the SYNQ3 and Amelia Acquisitions, such as legal, accounting, financial advisory and other professional services fees, as well as other customary payments. Refer to "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K for a discussion regarding the risks associated with the acquisitions.
Known Trends, Demands, Commitments, Events or Uncertainties Impacting Our Business
We believe that our performance and future success depend on many factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including the following:
•Investments in Technology. Our business model since inception has been to invest in our technology in the form of dedicated research and development. We will continue to invest in the development of our software platform to
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deliver consumers with continually improving value and delight. Our investments include continuous enhancements to our technology we've developed over the last two decades or acquired from acquisitions, investments in data to help refine and improve our underlying algorithms and other costs to attract and retain a world-class technical workforce.
•Revenue Growth. Our commercial success, including acceptance and use of our applications, will depend on a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as size of the market opportunity, successful integration with original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”), competition and demand from the public and members of the conversational AI community. Our product offerings, including those offerings that we have acquired, have disruptive effects in the ways human interact with computers and we are developing new, innovative economic models and acquiring companies such as SYNQ3 and Amelia which have synergistic businesses to ours that we believe will enhance value to customers, partners and shareholders. For our revenue growth to continue, we will need to invest in sales and marketing to ensure our messaging, capabilities and offerings are well understood and valued by customers. With our primary focus on enterprise customers, we also need to align with enterprise sales cycles, which can be longer than consumer cycles. As we build new customer relationships, we continually focus on maintaining and growing our existing relationships through long-term partnerships through significant upfront investment in customer specific engineering projects. Additionally, in addition to our acquisitions of SYNQ3 and Amelia, we may look to acquire other companies in the industry to develop synergies with our existing business.
•Cost of Revenues. The results of our business will depend in part on our ability to establish and increase our gross margins by scaling our business model and effectively managing our costs to produce our applications. Our revenue will be directly supported by data center investments in technology, both on premise and in the cloud. The associated workloads, along with supporting labor costs, will need to be managed effectively as we scale to improve our margins over time. Our Houndify platform is also powered by a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more.
•Seasonality. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our technology could be negatively affected by many factors, including seasonal demand. We anticipate that we will experience fluctuations in customer and user demand based on seasonality. For example, in the past, we have seen approximately one third of our revenue in the first half of the year with the remaining two thirds in the second half. Additionally, given that we address markets across several different industry verticals, the associated overall seasonality impact to us may not be consistent year-to-year.
•Development of International Markets. We have rapidly expanded our capabilities and global reach. For example, we have globalized our solution to include 25 languages. We view opportunities for conversational Voice AI to be global in reach, and we expect our growth to be fueled across multiple geographies.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenues
SoundHound generates revenues through: (1) “Product Royalties,” meaning royalties from voice-enabled products which are driven by volume, usage or life of applicable products and are affected by number of devices, users and units of usage, (2) “Service Subscriptions,” meaning subscription revenues, derived from fixed monthly fees or fees based on usage-based revenue, revenue per query or revenue per user, and (3) “Monetization,” meaning revenues generated from focused ad targeting to users of products and services that employ our technologies. Currently, our monetization revenue is derived only from our music identification application primarily in the form of ad impression revenue — revenue generated when an ad is shown in our music identification app — and, to a lesser extent, affiliate revenue for referrals to music stores for content sales and downloads of our premium music application.
“Houndified Products,” meaning products of our customers that employ SoundHound technology, and “Houndified Services,” meaning services provided to customers related to SoundHound technology, provide our customers with access to our Houndify platform over a contractual period without taking possession of the software. This generally includes revenues derived from up-front services (“professional services”) that develop and customize the Houndify platform to fit customers’ specific needs. These professional services are included in both our Product Royalties and Service Subscriptions revenues. Non-distinct professional services are recognized over the contractual life of the contract, whereas
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revenues from distinct professional services are recognized as the services are performed or when the services are complete depending on the arrangement.
“Amelia Software Platform” meaning our AI-based digital resource solution that enables AI in our customers’ services, ranging across multiple industries. This generally includes revenue from hosted services if the customer elects our SaaS offering, or from licensing revenue if the customer requires an on-premise solutions. Professional services are also offered and included within professional services revenue. The revenues from Amelia Software Platform are included within Service Subscriptions, and are recognized point in time or over time depending on the arrangement.
We have and may continue to experience volatility for our remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue as a result of the timing for completing our performance obligations. We had remaining performance obligations in the amount of $83.3 million as of December 31, 2024. Given the applicable contract terms, $48.9 million is expected to be recognized as revenue within one year, $32.1 million is expected to be recognized between 2 to 5 years and the remainder of $2.3 million is expected to be recognized after 5 years. Deferred revenue consists of billings or payments received in advance of revenue being recognized and can fluctuate with changes in billing frequency and other factors. As a result of these factors, as well as our mix of revenue streams and billing frequencies, we do not believe that changes in our remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue in a given period are directly correlated with our revenue growth in that period.
We anticipate that we will experience fluctuations in our revenues from quarter-to-quarter due to a variety of factors, including the supply and demand of end user products such as automobiles, the size and success of our sales force and the number of users who are aware of and use our applications. See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Operating Expenses
We classify our operating expenses into the following seven categories, which are cost of revenues, sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative, change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities, amortization of intangible assets and restructuring. With respect to sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative, each expense category includes overhead, including rent and related occupancy costs, which is allocated based on headcount. We plan to continue investing to support our go-to-market strategies and customer engagement, develop our current and future applications and support our operations as a public company. While our gross margin may continue to fluctuate in the near-term due to revenue contributions from varying product mixes, as well as acquisitions, we expect it will stabilize as we continue to scale our business.
Cost of Revenues
SoundHound’s cost of revenues are comprised of direct costs associated directly with SoundHound’s revenue streams as described above. This primarily includes costs and depreciation related to hosting for cloud-based services, such as data centers, electricity charges, content fees and certain personnel-related expenses including personnel costs under call centers that are directly related to these revenue streams. Additionally, our cost of revenues also includes the amortization of developed technology acquired from SYNQ3, Amelia and other acquisition as intangible assets.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist of personnel-related costs of the sales and marketing team, promotional campaigns, advertising fees and other marketing related costs. Advertising costs are expensed to sales and marketing when incurred.
Research and Development
Our research and development expenses are our largest operating expense as we continue to develop our software platforms and produce new technological capabilities.
The costs of these activities consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, third-party consultants and costs associated with technological supplies and materials, along with other direct and allocated expenses such as facility costs, depreciation and other shared expenses. We expense research and development costs associated with the design and development of new products in the periods in which they are incurred.
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General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist of personnel-related costs, accounting and legal expenses, third-party consulting costs, insurance and allocated overhead including rent, depreciation and utilities.
Change in Fair Value of Contingent Acquisition Liabilities
The change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities is related to contingent consideration from the SYNQ3 and Amelia acquisitions. The contingent consideration was determined to be liability classified and is remeasured as of each reporting period with a corresponding change in fair value recorded.
Amortization of Intangible Assets
Amortization of acquired customer relationships, tradename and conversation data is included within operating expenses and arises from the amortization of assets acquired through the acquisitions. We review intangible assets for impairment at least annually, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. If an evaluation of recoverability is required, the estimated undiscounted future cash flows directly associated with the asset are compared with the asset’s carrying amount. If the estimated future cash flows from the use of the asset are less than the carrying value, an impairment charge would be recorded to write down the asset to its estimated fair value.
Restructuring
Restructuring expenses consisted of employee severance payments, employee benefits and share-based compensation related to reduced headcount from our restructuring plan ("Restructuring Plan") announced in January 2023. The Restructuring Plan was complete as of December 31, 2023.
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt
Loss on extinguishment of debt represents the loss associated with the repayment of the Amelia Debt in December 2024, the repayment of the Senior Secured Term Loan Credit Agreement with ACP Post OAK Credit II LLC (the "Term Loan") in June 2024 and the repayment of the 2021 note payable ("SVB March 2021 Note") and 2021 convertible note ("SCI June 2021 Note") in April 2023. See Note 10 of our notes to the consolidated financial statements for more information.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of stated interest incurred on our formerly outstanding convertible notes and term debt during the relevant periods, as well as the amortization of debt discounts and issuance costs over the life of the instruments or a shorter period if a lender can demand payment in the event certain events occur that are outside of our control.
The issuance of debt instruments with direct transaction costs, embedded derivatives and warrant instruments has resulted in debt discounts. Direct transaction costs consist of various transaction fees and third-party costs, such as bank and legal fees, that are incurred upon issuance. We expect the impact of the discounts from debt issuance costs to the interest expense will decrease due to the repayment of Amelia Debt in December 2024 and the repayment of Term Loan in June 2024.
Other Income (Expense), Net
Other income (expense), net consists of the change in fair value related to our derivative liability, interest income and other income (expense).
Provision for Income Taxes
Income tax expense includes federal, state and foreign taxes and is based on reported income before income taxes. We are in a cumulative loss position for tax purposes based on historical earnings. As of December 31, 2024, we had $548.4 million of U.S. federal and $208.1 million of state net operating loss carryforwards available to reduce future taxable income. The federal and state net operating loss carryforwards will start to expire in 2025 and 2028, respectively, with the
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exception of $403.3 million federal net operating loss carryforwards and $11.0 million state net operating loss carryforwards, which can be carried forward indefinitely.
We had federal and state research and development credit carryforwards of $21.4 million and $13.3 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2024. The federal credits will expire starting in 2029 if not utilized. The state credits can be carried forward indefinitely. We also had Canadian SR&ED tax credits of $1.6 million, which expire starting in 2038 if not utilized.
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and similar state tax laws, utilization of net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits may be subject to annual limitations due to certain ownership changes. Our net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits could expire before utilization if subject to annual limitations.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth the significant components of our results of operations ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 84,693 | $ | 45,873 | $ | 38,820 | 85 | % | ||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | 43,309 | 11,307 | 32,002 | 283 | % | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 29,126 | 18,893 | 10,233 | 54 | % | |||||||||
| Research and development | 70,555 | 51,439 | 19,116 | 37 | % | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 53,270 | 28,285 | 24,985 | 88 | % | |||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities* | 222,670 | — | 222,670 | 100 | % | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 7,116 | — | 7,116 | 100 | % | |||||||||
| Restructuring | — | 4,557 | (4,557) | (100) | % | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 426,046 | 114,481 | 311,565 | 272 | % | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | (341,353) | (68,608) | (272,745) | 398 | % | |||||||||
| Other expense, net: | ||||||||||||||
| Loss on early extinguishment of debt | (15,629) | (837) | (14,792) | 1768 | % | |||||||||
| Interest expense | (12,168) | (16,733) | 4,565 | (27) | % | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 9,222 | 1,155 | 8,067 | 698 | % | |||||||||
| Total other expense, net | (18,575) | (16,415) | (2,160) | 13 | % | |||||||||
| Loss before provision (benefit) for income taxes | (359,928) | (85,023) | (274,905) | 323 | % | |||||||||
| Provision (benefit) for income taxes | (9,247) | 3,914 | (13,161) | (336) | % | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (350,681) | $ | (88,937) | $ | (261,744) | 294 | % |
*The change in fair value of acquisition related liabilities is mainly driven by the movements in our stock price during the reporting period and changes in the assessed probability of achieving certain future revenue targets defined as part of the acquisition agreements. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
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The following table summarizes our gross profit and gross margin ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | % | ||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 84,693 | $ | 45,873 | 85 | % | ||||
| Cost of revenues | 43,309 | 11,307 | 283 | % | ||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 41,384 | $ | 34,566 | 20 | % | ||||
| Gross margin | 49 | % | 75 | % | (26) | % |
Revenues
The following tables summarize our revenues by type and geographic regions ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Service Subscriptions | $ | 56,347 | $ | 1,940 | $ | 54,407 | 2804 | % | ||||||
| Product royalties | 27,964 | 43,299 | (15,335) | (35) | % | |||||||||
| Monetization | 382 | 634 | (252) | (40) | % | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 84,693 | $ | 45,873 | $ | 38,820 | 85 | % |
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Americas | $ | 51,094 | $ | 6,769 | $ | 44,325 | 655 | % | ||||||
| Asia | 17,678 | $ | 27,498 | (9,820) | (36) | % | ||||||||
| EMEA | 15,921 | 11,606 | 4,315 | 37 | % | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 84,693 | $ | 45,873 | $ | 38,820 | 85 | % |
Total revenues increased by 85% in 2024 compared to 2023. Service subscription revenue increased to $56.3 million, primarily based in the Americas, and was driven by the contribution of revenue from acquisitions. This was offset by a decrease in product royalties revenue, primarily in the Asia region, due to the minimum guarantee licensing or point in time revenue relating to Houndify Edge recognized in the previous period.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues increased by $32.0 million, or 283%, in 2024 compared to 2023. Gross margin decreased to 49% in 2024 compared to 75% in 2023 primarily due to the acquisitions of Amelia and SYNQ3, which included a mix of lower margin call center agent business from SYNQ3 and amortization of acquired intangible assets. In the past, our gross margin has fluctuated and may continue to fluctuate from quarter to quarter due to revenue contributions from varying product mixes. However, we expect to gradually improve gross margins in the mid-term, especially as it relates the integration of Amelia and SYNQ3.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $10.2 million, or 54%, from $29.1 million in 2024 compared to $18.9 million in 2023, primarily due to an increase in 2024 of $7.8 million in personnel-related cost, $0.9 million in advertising expense, $0.8 million in consulting fees, $0.8 million in legal and professional fees, $0.4 million in travel expense, and $0.3 million in office expense. The increase was partially offset by reduction of $0.9 million in information technology and facility expenses. Included in the sales and marketing expense is an increase of $4.3 million arising from the Amelia acquisition and $0.7 million arising from the SYNQ3 acquisition, stemming from increased personnel-related costs.
Research and Development
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Research and development expenses increased by $19.1 million, or 37%, in 2024 compared to 2023, primarily due to an increase in 2024 of $14.0 million in personnel-related cost, $6.4 million in cloud computing, $0.6 million in consulting fees, and $0.2 million in travel expense. The increase was partially offset by reduction of $1.8 million in information technology and facility expenses, and $0.3 million in legal expense. Included in the research and development expense is an increase of $2.3 million arising from the Amelia acquisition and $3.6 million arising from the SYNQ3 acquisition, stemming from increased personnel-related costs.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses increased by $25.0 million, or 88%, in 2024 compared to 2023, primarily due to an increase in 2024 of $11.9 million in legal and professional fees, $10.1 million in personnel-related cost, $2.7 million in information technology and facility expenses, $0.9 million in office expense, $0.6 million in consulting fees, $0.5 million in cloud computing, $0.2 million in bad debt expense, and $0.1 million in travel expense. The SYNQ3 and Amelia Acquisitions led to increases in personnel-related costs and office expenses. This increase was partially offset by reduction of $0.9 million in property-related expense, $0.7 million in equipment rental expense, and $0.4 million in insurance expense. Included in the general and administrative expense is an increase of $3.0 million arising from the Amelia acquisition and $1.2 million arising from the SYNQ3 acquisition, stemming from increased personnel-related costs.
Change in Fair Value of Contingent Acquisition Liabilities
The change in fair value of acquisition related liabilities, which is driven by the movements in our stock price and changes in the assessed probability of achieving certain future revenue targets, was a loss of $222.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The Company's year-end stock price increase resulted in an increase in its fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities where future Contingent Earnout Consideration and Contingent Holdback Consideration are marked-to-market on a quarterly basis, significantly impacting net loss and EPS during the year ended December 31, 2024. The fluctuation is non-operating and non-cash in nature. We will continue to review our estimates on a quarterly basis over the remaining earnout period until 2026. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
Amortization of Intangibles Assets
Amortization of acquired developed technology is included within cost of revenues, while the amortization of other intangible assets, including acquired customer relationships, tradename and conversation data, are included within cost of revenues and amortization of intangible assets in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. All intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives.
The following table summarizes the amortization of intangible assets by operating expense category ($ in thousands):
| Years Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | $ | 7,696 | $ | — | $ | 7,696 | 100 | % | ||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 7,116 | — | 7,116 | 100 | % | |||||||||
| Total amortization | $ | 14,812 | $ | — | $ | 14,812 | 100 | % |
Restructuring
There were no restructuring expenses resulting from the Restructuring Plan recorded in the year ended December 31, 2024 as the Restructuring Plan was complete as of December 31, 2023, compared to $4.6 million of expenses incurred in the year ended December 31, 2023. Refer to "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for additional information.
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt
The $15.6 million increase in loss on extinguishment of debt during the year ended December 31, 2024 was attributable to a loss on the repayment of Amelia Debt in December 2024 and the repayment of Term Loan in June 2024. See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
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Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased by $4.6 million, or 27%, in 2024 compared to 2023. The decrease in interest expense was primarily attributable to the early repayment of Term Loan in June, 2024 and the interest expense from on our SVB March 2021 Note and SCI June 2021 Note in the year ended December 31, 2023, which were terminated at the time that the Term Loan was obtained in April 2023. The decrease in interest expense was partially offset by the increased interest expense of $2.0 million from Amelia Debt in the year ended December 31, 2024. We expect interest expense will decrease as a result of the extinguishment of Term Loan and Amelia Debt.
Other Income (Expense), Net
The following table summarizes our other income (expense), net by type ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 8,370 | $ | 2,866 | $ | 5,504 | 192 | % | ||||||
| Loss on change in fair value of ELOC program | — | (1,901) | 1,901 | * | ||||||||||
| Gain on bargain purchase | 1,223 | — | 1,223 | * | ||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | (371) | 190 | (561) | (296) | % | |||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | $ | 9,222 | $ | 1,155 | $ | 8,067 | 699 | % |
* Not meaningful
Interest Income
Interest income increased by $5.5 million, or 192%, in 2024 compared to 2023. The increase was primarily attributable to interest earned on greater money market and treasury bond balances during 2024 as we engaged in significant transactions that increased our liquidity. Refer to "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for a discussion of the changes in our business that led to an increase in cash for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Loss on Change in Fair Value of Equity Line of Credit Program
We recorded losses on changes in the fair value of the derivative liability associated with the ELOC (as defined below) of $1.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. There was no change in fair value of the derivative liability associated with the ELOC for the year ended December 31, 2024 as we sold the entirety of the 25,000,000 shares under the ELOC during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Gain on Bargain Purchase
The gain on bargain purchase of $1.2 million was recorded within other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss in the year ended December 31, 2024 as a result of a favorable fair value of identifiable net assets acquired from an immaterial acquisition at the date of acquisition as compared with the purchase price. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information.
Provision (benefit) for Income Taxes
| ($ in thousands) | Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Provision (benefit) for income taxes | $ | (9,247) | $ | 3,914 | $ | (13,161) | (336) | % |
Provision (benefit) for income taxes decreased by $13.2 million, or 336%, in 2024 compared to 2023. This decrease was primarily attributed to increased tax benefit from acquisitions.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Total unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on hand as of December 31, 2024 was $198.2 million. Although we have incurred recurring losses each year since its inception, we expect we will be able to fund our operations for at least the next twelve months. We believe we will meet longer-term expected future cash requirements and obligations through a combination of cash flows from operating activities, available cash balances and expected cash proceeds from the future at-the-market equity program. See Note 23 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information on the cash proceeds from the at-the-market equity program launched subsequent to December 31, 2024. Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates, among other things, the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business.
Sources of Cash and Material Cash Requirements
Our principal sources of liquidity are our cash and cash equivalents, which are sourced primarily from the sale of marketable securities. The primary uses of cash include the funding of operating expenses, as well as acquisition related costs.
The following table presents our material cash requirements for future periods:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Thereafter | Total | ||||||||
| Cloud service provider agreement | 14,000 | 64,000 | 78,000 | |||||||
| Operating leases | 2,152 | 2,669 | 4,821 | |||||||
| Finance leases | 56 | 18 | 74 | |||||||
| Total material cash requirements | $ | 16,208 | $ | 66,687 | $ | 82,895 |
Equity Distribution Agreement
We entered into the Equity Distribution Agreement with Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., Wedbush Securities Inc., Northland Securities, Inc. and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. on April 9, 2024 with regards to an at-the-market equity program. Under this program, we were able to offer and sell up to $150.0 million of shares of our Class A Common Stock from time to time through the managers. Sales of Class A Common Stock under the Equity Distribution Agreement were made at market prices by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The managers were entitled to commission at a fixed rate of 2.5% of the gross sales price per share for their services in acting as agents in the sale of our Class A Common Stock.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold a total of 31,694,198 shares of our Class A common stock under the Equity Distribution Agreement, at a weighted-average price of $4.73 per share and raised $150.0 million of gross proceeds. After deducting approximately $3.7 million, of commissions and offering costs incurred by us, the net proceeds from sales of Class A common stock was $146.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, we had no remaining capacity to sell our Class A common stock under the Equity Distribution Agreement.
Execute Equity Distribution Agreement
On November 12, 2024, the Company entered into an Execute Equity Distribution Agreement (the “Execute Equity Distribution Agreement”) with Barclays Capital Inc., Piper Sandler & Co., D.A. Davidson & Co., H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, and Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC with respect to an at-the-market equity program under which we were able to offer and sell up to $120.0 million of shares of our Class A Common Stock from time to time through the agents. Sales of Class A Common Stock under the Execute Equity Distribution Agreement were made at market prices by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The agents were entitled to commission at a fixed rate of 2.5% of the gross sales price per share for their services in acting as agent in the sale of the Company's Class A Common Stock.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold a total of 16,224,989 shares of our Class A common stock under the Execute Equity Distribution Agreement, at a weighted-average price of $7.40 per share and raised $120.0 million of gross proceeds. After deducting approximately $3.0 million of commissions and offering costs incurred by us, the net
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proceeds from sales of Class A common stock was $117.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had no remaining capacity to sell the Company's Class A common stock under the Execute Equity Distribution Agreement.
SYNQ3 Acquisition
On January 3, 2024 (the "SYNQ3 Acquisition Date"), we acquired all of the issued and outstanding equity of SYNQ3, a leading provider of voice AI and other technology solutions to the restaurant industry, for total purchase consideration of $15.8 million (the “SYNQ3 Acquisition”).
The total purchase consideration includes $3.9 million in cash paid and 5,755,910 in shares of our Class A Common Stock issued as of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date. We also withheld purchase consideration of $0.5 million in cash and 1,179,514 shares of our Class A Common Stock, subject to customary net working capital adjustments, to partially secure the indemnification obligations of SYNQ3's former stockholders under the merger agreement and agreed to pay up to $0.8 million in cash and 1,434,936 in shares of our Class A Common Stock to certain former stockholders of SYNQ3 based upon the achievement of specified future milestones. We also issued 2,033,156 restricted shares of our Class A Common Stock subject to time and performance-based vesting conditions.
We incurred $2.1 million in acquisition related expenses, of which $1.0 million were incurred during the year ended December 31, 2024 and recorded as general and administration expenses in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Holdback
The $0.5 million in cash and 1,179,514 shares of our Class A Common Stock is being withheld for a period of 15 months (the “Holdback Amount”). We determined that there are two components to the Holdback Amount related to deferred consideration and contingent consideration, each comprised of cash and shares.
The deferred cash holdback consideration of $0.1 million and the deferred share holdback consideration of 361,145 shares of our Class A Common Stock (collectively, the “Deferred Consideration”) were not recognized as of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date as such amounts were offset by the indemnification obligations of SYNQ3's former stockholders.
The contingent cash and share holdback consideration to be issued is variable (“Contingent Holdback Consideration”). Final amounts to be issued will be reduced based upon future actions and settlements with third parties to resolve assumed contingent sales tax liabilities and certain other assumed contingent liabilities of SYNQ3 in connection with the SYNQ3 Acquisition. We accounted for the Contingent Holdback Consideration as a liability on the consolidated balance sheet. As of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date, the Contingent Holdback Consideration was estimated to be $0.6 million in aggregate and to be settled in $0.1 million cash and the remainder in shares of our Class A Common Stock. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we issued 38,277 shares of our Class A Common Stock and paid an immaterial amount in cash from the Contingent Holdback Consideration to SYNQ3's former stockholders as a result of the net working capital adjustments settled during the year. The Contingent Holdback Consideration will be subsequently remeasured at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognized as a component of operating expense on our consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized a loss of $3.7 million related to the Contingent Holdback Consideration.
Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration
We also agreed to pay in aggregate up to $0.8 million in cash and 1,434,936 in shares of Class A Common Stock, to certain stockholders of SYNQ3 based on tiered annual revenue targets for each fiscal year 2024, 2025 and 2026 (the “Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration”). We accounted for the Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration as a liability within contingent acquisition liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets and will subsequently remeasure the liability at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognized as a component of operating expense in our consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. As of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date, the Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration was estimated to be $1.7 million in aggregate and to be settled in $0.2 million cash and the remainder in shares of our Class A Common Stock. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized a loss of $7.0 million related to the Contingent SYNQ3 Earnout Consideration, reflected in the change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. As of December 31, 2024, the
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2024 revenue target was not met but we assessed the 2025 and 2026 revenue target were probable of being met, and no earnout consideration was issued during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Restricted stock awards
The 2,033,156 restricted shares of our Class A Common Stock issued at the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date to certain continuing employees of SYNQ3 subject to time and performance-based vesting conditions was determined to be a separate transaction from the SYNQ3 Acquisition and therefore is excluded from purchase consideration.
Restricted stock units
As a condition of the SYNQ3 Acquisition, we additionally granted certain employees awards with future vesting conditions. As a result, we determined that these awards should be accounted for separately from the SYNQ3 Acquisition and therefore are excluded from purchase consideration.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we recorded measurement period adjustments to decrease the deferred revenue by $0.1 million as the revenue recognition criteria had been met at the acquisition date and to increase the accrued liabilities by $1.8 million resulting from a pre-acquisition legal settlement, and to decrease the deferred tax liability assumed by $0.2 million. Refer to Note 8 to these consolidated financial statements for more information on the legal proceedings. These measurement period adjustments resulted in a decrease of $0.1 million in deferred cash consideration, $0.6 million in deferred equity consideration, and $0.4 million in contingent holdback consideration in accordance with the merger agreement. As a result of the adjusted acquisition-date fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, we recorded an increase of $0.2 million to the goodwill recognized. The measurement period adjustments were recorded in the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024 and were made to reflect facts and circumstances that existed as of the SYNQ3 Acquisition Date. The purchase price allocation has been finalized as of December 31, 2024.
Amelia Acquisition
On August 6, 2024 (the “Amelia Acquisition Date”), we completed the acquisition of Amelia Holdings, Inc. (the “Amelia Acquisition”), a privately-held conversational AI software company involved in the development and delivery of AI and automation solutions and related services to improve customer experience and optimize business outcomes.
On the Amelia Acquisition Date, we issued a total of 3,809,520 shares of the SoundHound Class A common stock to the sellers. Pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement, we also issued and deposited 2,149,530 shares of the SoundHound Class A common stock into an escrow account in order to partially secure the indemnification obligations of the selling shareholders under the purchase agreement. We also paid $8.4 million of cash for seller transaction expenses in connection with the closing of the Amelia Acquisition. We agreed to issue up to 16,822,429 shares to the selling shareholders based on achievement of certain revenue targets in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The fair value of the preliminary purchase consideration was $98.6 million.
In connection with the Amelia Acquisition, we assumed the amended senior secured term loan facility from Amelia in an aggregate principal amount of $121.5 million (“Amelia Debt”). See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information on the Amelia Debt.
Escrow Consideration
On the Amelia Acquisition Date, we issued and deposited 2,149,530 shares of our Class A Common Stock into and escrow account in order to partially secure the indemnification obligations of the selling shareholders under the purchase agreement. We accounted for the escrow consideration as equity issued as part of consideration transferred. Upon the settlement of any valid indemnification claims against the sellers, the escrow agent will return a number of shares to us equal to the dollar value of the indemnified loss divided by the reference price of $5.35 as stipulated in the purchase agreement. We concluded that this variability in settlement value is a derivative that is requirement to be remeasured to fair value due to changes in stock price. This derivative did not have a material impact to the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024. Upon the expiration of the escrow period, any remaining shares in the escrow account will be released to the selling shareholders.
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Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration
We agreed to pay up to 16,822,429 in shares of Class A Common Stock to the selling shareholders based on achievement of certain revenue targets in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 (the “Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration”). We accounted for the Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration as a liability within contingent acquisition liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet and will subsequently remeasure the liability at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognized as a component of operating expense in our consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. As of the Amelia Acquisition Date, the Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration had an estimated fair value of $66.3 million and will be settled in shares of our Class A Common Stock. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized a $211.9 million loss related to the Contingent Amelia Earnout Consideration, reflected in the change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included within this report for more information on the fair value measurement of Contingent Amalia Earnout Consideration. As of December 31, 2024, we assessed the 2025 and 2026 revenue target were probable of being met.
The preliminary purchase price allocation has not been finalized as of December 31, 2024 primarily due to the final assessment of the fair values of the intangible assets, contingent tax liability assumed and fair value of the contingent acquisition liabilities. The fair value estimates of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is pending the completion of various items, including obtaining further information regarding the identification and valuation of all assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Any adjustments to the estimates of purchase price allocation will be made in the periods in which the adjustments are determined, and the cumulative effect of such adjustments will be calculated as if the adjustments had been completed as of the acquisition date. We expect to finalize the purchase price allocation within 12 months from the Amelia Acquisition Date.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we recorded measurement period adjustments to increase the cash consideration by $12.8 thousand, to decrease the accounts receivable by $0.2 million, increase the accrued liabilities by $0.9 million due to additional payroll taxes identified, to decrease the non-current income tax liabilities by $1.8 million due to the change of pre-acquisition tax exposures subsequent to the acquisition. As a result of the adjusted acquisition-date fair value of cash consideration, assets acquired and liabilities assumed, we recorded a decrease of $0.7 million to the goodwill recognized. The measurement period adjustments were recorded in the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024 and were made to reflect facts and circumstances that existed as of the Amelia Acquisition Date. In addition to the measurement period adjustments, we also recorded adjustments to correct certain errors in the preliminary purchase price allocation that existed as of the acquisition date during the year ended December 31, 2024, which decreased the contingent earnout consideration by $5.3 million, decreased the accounts payable by $3.7 million, decreased the accrued liabilities by $1.2 million, increased deferred revenue by $0.3 million and increased the deferred tax liabilities by $0.7 million. As a result of the adjusted acquisition-date fair value of contingent earnout consideration recognized, assets acquired and liabilities assumed, we recorded a decrease of $9.3 million to the goodwill recognized. The identified error related to the contingent earnout consideration had an immaterial impact to the change in fair value from the acquisition date through September 30, 2024, which would have been recorded in change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Other Acquisition
On June 14, 2024, we completed an immaterial acquisition for total preliminary purchase consideration of $1.0 million. As part of the acquisition, we acquired net assets of $2.2 million, including intangible assets of $2.6 million, and recognized a preliminary gain on bargain purchase of $1.2 million within other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss during the year ended December 31, 2024, resulting from a favorable fair value of identifiable net assets acquired at the date of acquisition as compared with the purchase price. We were able to negotiate a bargain purchase price as a result of the recurring losses and pre-filing bankruptcy status of the selling entity.
The preliminary purchase price allocation has not been finalized as of December 31, 2024 primarily due to the final assessment of the fair values of the intangible assets. The fair value estimates of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is pending the completion of various items, including obtaining further information regarding the identification and valuation of all assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Any adjustments to the estimates of purchase price allocation will be made in the periods in which the adjustments are determined, and the cumulative effect of such adjustments will be calculated as if
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the adjustments had been completed as of the acquisition date. We expect to finalize the purchase price allocation within 12 months from the acquisition date.
We incurred $0.1 million in acquisition related expenses during the year ended December 31, 2024 and recorded as general and administration expenses in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Sales Agreement
On July 28, 2023, we entered into the Sales Agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, and D.A. Davidson & Co., pursuant to which we were able to offer and sell up to $150.0 million of shares of our Class A Common Stock from time to time through or to the sales agents acting as agent or principal. Sales of our Class A Common Stock under the Sales Agreement were made at market prices by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The sales agents were entitled to aggregate compensation at a fixed commission rate of 2.5% of the gross sales price per share sold under the Sales Agreement. We agreed to reimburse the sales agents for certain specified expenses, including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of its legal counsel in an amount of $75 thousand in the aggregate in connection with the execution of the Sales Agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we sold a total of 37,907,219 shares of our Class A common stock under the Sales Agreement at a weighted-average price of $3.62 per share and raised $137.3 million of gross proceeds, which resulted in complete utilization of the Sales Agreement as of March 31, 2024. After deducting approximately $3.4 million of commissions and offering costs incurred by us, the net proceeds from sales of Class A common stock was $133.8 million.
Debt Financing
On April 14, 2023 (the “Term Loan Closing Date”), we entered into a Senior Secured Term Loan Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with ACP Post Oak Credit II LLC, as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent for the Lenders (the “Agent”), and the lenders from time to time party thereto (the “Lenders”). The Credit Agreement provided for a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $100.0 million, the entirety of which was funded on the Term Loan Closing Date.
As of June 30, 2024, the interest rate was approximately 14.0%. Subject to certain exceptions as set forth in the Credit Agreement, interest on the Term Loan is payable quarterly in arrears on the last business day of each fiscal quarter. The Term Loan was set to mature on April 14, 2027 (the “Maturity Date”). The Credit Agreement provided for no scheduled principal payments prior to the Maturity Date. Refer to Note 10 of the consolidated financial statements for further information regarding the Credit Agreement, and amortization of the debt issuance cost and debt discount.
On June 7, 2024, we entered into a letter agreement (the “Payoff Letter”) to prepay in full all indebtedness and other amounts outstanding and owing under the Credit Agreement. In connection with the Term Loan prepayment, we paid a total of $105.6 million on June 7, 2024, which consisted of (i) the remaining principal amount outstanding of $100.0 million, (ii) a prepayment premium of $5.0 million, (iii) transaction expenses of $0.6 million, resulting in a loss on debt extinguishment of $15.6 million. Accordingly, the accrued and unpaid interest of $2.6 million was waived under the Payoff Letter.
Amelia Debt
In connection with the Amelia Acquisition, we assumed the amended senior secured term loan facility from Amelia in an aggregate principal amount of $121.5 million (“Amelia Debt”) and on August 7, 2024, we paid $70.0 million in cash to pay down a portion of the outstanding principal balance and issued 2,943,917 shares of Class A common stock to settle certain fees associated with the Amelia Debt. The remaining outstanding balance of $39.7 million had a maturity date of June 30, 2026 (the “Maturity Date”) and provided, at our election, for payment of a portion of interest in cash or in kind ("PIK"), in which case interest would be capitalized and added to the outstanding principal amount, with principal and accrued interest due at the Maturity Date.
On December 3, 2024, we entered into a letter agreement (the “Amelia Debt Payoff Letter”) to prepay in full all indebtedness and other amounts outstanding and owing under the Amelia Debt Credit Agreement. In connection with the Amelia Debt prepayment, we paid a total of $39.8 million on December 4, 2024, which consisted of the remaining principal amount outstanding of $39.8 million and transaction expenses of $42 thousand, resulting in a loss on debt
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extinguishment of $42 thousand. Refer to Note 10 of the consolidated financial statements for further information regarding the Amelia Debt.
Equity Line of Credit (ELOC)
On August 16, 2022, we entered into a common stock purchase agreement (the “Common Stock Purchase Agreement”) and related registration rights agreement (the “CFPI Registration Rights Agreement”) with CF Principal Investments LLC (the “Counterparty”). Pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, we had the right to sell to the Counterparty up to the lesser of (i) 25,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock and (ii) the Exchange Cap (as defined in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement), subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the "ELOC Shares"). On February 14, 2023, our Registration Statement on Form S-1 registering the resale of the ELOC Shares (the "ELOC Registration Statement") was declared effective. On March 31, 2023, a post-effective amendment to the ELOC Registration Statement was declared effective. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we sold the entirety of the 25,000,000 shares under the ELOC program for aggregate proceeds of approximately $71.7 million.
Series A Preferred Stock
On or around January 20, 2023, we entered into Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements with certain investors (the "Investors"), pursuant to which we issued and sold to the Investors an aggregate of 835,011 shares of our newly designated Series A Convertible Preferred Stock for an aggregate issue price of approximately $25.0 million.
Each share of Series A Preferred Stock was convertible, at the option of the holder, into such number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the liquidation preference per share ("Liquidation Preference") at the time of conversion divided by $1.00 (the “Conversion Price”). In addition, each share of Series A Preferred Stock would automatically convert into shares of Class A Common Stock at the Conversion Price on or after January 20, 2024 if and when the daily volume-weighted average closing price per share of Class A Common Stock is at least 2.5 times the Conversion Price for each of any 90 trading days during any 120 consecutive trading day period, which 120-trading day period may commence (but may not end) prior to January 20, 2024. During the year ended December 31, 2024, 475,005 shares of preferred stock were converted into 16,624,215 shares of Class A Common Stock. The conversion was pursuant to the original terms of the agreement and therefore the carrying value of Series A Preferred Stock was converted into Class A Common Stock with no gain or loss upon conversion.
As of December 31, 2024, all the Series A Preferred Stock have been converted to Class A Common Stock.
The holders of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled to cumulative dividends payable for such share at the rate of 14% per annum, compounding semi-annually to Liquidation Preference on January 1 and July 1 of each year. Total cumulative dividends attributable to Series A Preferred Stock for the year ended December 31, 2024 were $0.4 million.
Contractual and Other Obligations
Because we expect to continue investing in software application and development, we enter into various contracts and agreements to increase our availability of capital. Cash that is received through these obligations is used to meet both short- and long-term liquidity requirements as discussed above. These requirements generally include funding for the research and development of software, the development of applications that enable voice interaction, marketing programs and personnel-related costs. The primary types of obligations into which we enter include contractual obligations, operating and finance lease obligations and a diversified spread of debt instruments. See Note 8, Note 10 and Note 16 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
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Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (108,878) | $ | (68,265) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (12,372) | (392) | ||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 210,906 | 168,237 | ||||
| Effects of exchange rate changes on cash | 225 | (20) | ||||
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | 89,881 | $ | 99,560 |
Cash Flows Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $108.9 million during 2024 compared to $68.3 million during 2023.The $40.6 million decrease in cash used in operating activities was primarily due to our increased net loss of $261.7 million, a net decrease in changes in operating assets and liabilities of $15.8 million, an increase in deferred income taxes of $12.2 million resulting from the tax benefit from acquisitions, a decrease in amortization of debt issuance cost of $3.8 million, a decrease in loss on change in fair value of ELOC program of $1.9 million, and a decrease in non-cash lease amortization of $0.7 million, a net increase in other non-cash loss of $0.7 million, and an increase in foreign currency gain from remeasurement of $0.2 million. This was partially offset by an increase of $222.7 million in change in the fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities, $14.8 million in loss on early extinguishment of debt, $13.7 million in depreciation and amortization, and $5.2 million in stock-based compensation. The main driver for the increased operating cash outflow was the acquisitions closed during 2024, which resulted in the higher operating expenses, such as personnel related costs and acquisition related costs, compared to the prior year.
Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $12.4 million during 2024 compared to $0.4 million during 2023. The $12.0 million increase in cash used in investing activities was primarily driven by the payments related to acquisitions of $11.7 million and an increase in purchases of property and equipment of $0.2 million.
Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $210.9 million during 2024 compared to $168.2 million during 2023. The $42.7 million increase in cash provided by financing activities was primarily due to the $384.5 million increase in net proceeds from sales of Class A Common Stock under the Sales Agreement, Equity Distribution Agreement and Execute Equity Distribution Agreement, and an increase of $29.7 million in proceeds from exercise of stock options and employee stock purchase plan. This was partially offset by the $215.4 million of the repayment of Term Loan and Amelia Debt during the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the $35.0 million of the repayment of SVB March 2021 Note and the SCI June 2021 Note during the year ended December 31, 2023, $71.6 million decrease in net proceeds from sales of Class A Common Stock under the ELOC program during the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $85.1 million in net proceeds from the issuance of Term Loan, a decrease of $24.9 million in net proceeds from the one-time issuance of Series A Preferred Stock, and a decrease of $9.4 million in net proceeds from the issuance of common stock during the year ended December 31, 2024.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have during the periods presented, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Indemnification Agreements
We enter into standard indemnification arrangements in the ordinary course of business. Pursuant to these arrangements, we indemnify, hold harmless and agree to reimburse the indemnified parties for losses suffered or incurred
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by the indemnified party, in connection with any trade secret, copyright, patent or other intellectual property infringement claim by any third party with respect to its technology. The term of these indemnification agreements is generally perpetual any time after the execution of the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these arrangements is not determinable. Additionally, we have, and may in the future, indemnify third parties in connection with our issuance of securities (including pursuant to our at-the-market offering program) and in connection with acquisitions of other companies. Our liability is generally limited to the aggregate amount of consideration actually received in these instances. We have never incurred costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification agreements. As a result, we believe the fair value of these agreements is minimal.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Management Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report that have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported income (loss) generated and expenses incurred during the reporting periods. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgement about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions and any such differences may be material. Historically, our assumptions, judgments and estimates relative to our critical accounting policies have not differed materially from actual results.
We believe that the assumptions, judgments and estimates involved in the accounting for revenue recognition, derivative liabilities, warrant liabilities, stock-based compensation, business combinations, contingent consideration, goodwill, and intangible assets with definite lives, have the greatest potential impact on our consolidated financial statements. These areas are key components of our results of operations and are based on complex rules requiring us to make judgments and estimates, and consequently, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue with customers in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. We primarily derive revenue from the following performance obligations: (1) hosted services, (2) professional services, (3) monetization, and (4) licensing. We apply significant judgement in identifying and evaluating any terms and conditions in contracts which may impact revenue recognition.
Hosted Services
Hosted services, along with non-distinct customization, integration, maintenance and support professional services, allow customers to access the Houndify and Amelia software platform over the contract period without taking possession of the software.
We have determined that the hosted services arrangements are a single performance obligation comprised of a series of distinct services, since each day of providing access to hosted services is substantially the same and the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits as access is provided. These services are provided either on a usage basis (i.e., variable consideration) or on a fixed fee subscription basis. We recognize revenue as each distinct service period is performed.
Hosted services generally include up-front services to develop and/or customize the application to each customer’s specification. Judgement is required to determine whether these professional services are distinct from the hosted services. In making this determination, factors such as the degree of integration, the customers’ ability to start using the software prior to customization, and the availability of these services from other independent vendors are considered.
In instances where we concluded that the up-front services are not distinct performance obligations, revenue for these activities is recognized over the period which the hosted services are provided and is included within hosted services revenue.
All revenues derived as a result of the SYNQ3 Acquisition, and substantial revenues derived as a result of the Amelia Acquisition are categorized as hosted services revenue.
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Professional Services
Revenue from distinct professional services, such as non-integrated development services and other professional services, are either recognized over time based upon the progress towards completion of the project, or at a point in time at project completion, depending on the nature of the arrangement. Measuring the stage of completion of a project requires significant judgement and estimates, including actual efforts spent in relation to estimated total costs, and percentage of completion based on input and output measures.
Monetization
Monetization revenues are primarily derived from advertising payments associated with ad impressions placed on the SoundHound music identification application. The amount of revenue is based on actual monetization generated or usage, which represents variable consideration with the constrained estimate. Therefore, we recognize the related revenues when advertisements are placed, when commissions are paid, or when the SoundHound application is downloaded. The determination of whether revenue should be reported on a gross or net basis is based on an assessment of whether we are acting as a principal or an agent in the transaction. We have determined that we do not act as the principal in monetization arrangements because we do not control the transfer of the service and it does not set the price. Based on these factors, we report revenue on a net basis.
Licensing
We license voice and Amelia's software solutions that are embedded in customers' products or services. Licensing revenue is a distinct performance obligation that is recognized when control is transferred to the customer, which is at a point in time for non-customized solutions. For licenses with non-distinct customized solutions, revenues are recognized over time based on the progress towards completion of the customized solution. Revenues generated from licensing are on usage-based arrangements with a per unit pricing or on fixed considerations. The Company records licensing revenue relating to usage-based royalty arrangements in the same period in which the underlying usage occurs. Licensing revenue on fixed considerations including fixed fee and minimum guarantee from usage-based arrangements are recognized when the Company grants the customer the right to use and benefit from the license at the start of the licensing period. Licenses may include post-contract support, which is a distinct performance obligation and revenue from post-contract support is recognized ratably over the licensing period.
When a contract has multiple performance obligations, the transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative estimated standalone selling price (“SSP”). Judgments are required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. SSP is determined by maximizing observable inputs from pricing of standalone sales, when possible. Since prices vary from customer to customer based on customer relationship, volume discount and contract type, in instances where the SSP is not directly observable, we estimate SSP by considering the following factors:
•Costs of developing and supplying each performance obligation;
•Industry standards;
•Major product groupings; and
•Gross margin objectives and pricing practices, such as contractually stated prices, discounts offered and applicable price lists.
These factors may vary over time, depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each deliverable. If the facts and circumstances underlying the factors considered change or should future facts and circumstances lead us to consider additional factors, our best estimate of SSP may also change. When such observable data is not available because there is a limited number of transactions or prices are highly variable, the Company will estimate the standalone selling price using the residual approach.
Common Stock Offerings
We enter into certain agreements to sell common stock with counterparties to further support our growth strategy through initiatives such as accretive acquisitions and internal investments, to bolster working capital and for general corporate purposes. We evaluate our common stock purchase agreements to determine whether they are indexed to our own
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common stock, and therefore whether they should be accounted for as derivatives with changes in fair value as other income (expense), net in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss in the period in which they occur. We subsequently assess the changes in the fair value of the derivative liability and record these changes through profit or loss in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Warrants
We determine whether to classify contracts, such as warrants, that may be settled in our own stock as equity of the entity or as a liability. An equity-linked financial instrument must be considered indexed to the Company's own stock to qualify for equity classification. We classify warrants as liabilities for any contracts that may require a transfer of assets. Warrants classified as liabilities are accounted for at fair value and remeasured at each reporting date until exercise, expiration or modification that results in equity classification. Any change in the fair value of the warrants is recognized as other expense, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure stock options and other stock-based awards granted to employees, directors and other service providers based on their fair value on the date of grant and recognize compensation expense of those awards over the requisite service period. We recognize the impact of forfeitures on stock-based compensation expense as forfeitures occur. We apply the straight-line method of expense recognition. We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options and ESPP shares. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions to determine the fair value of the awards, including the expected term of the award and the price volatility of the underlying stock. We calculate the fair value of the awards by using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:
Expected Volatility — We estimate volatility for the awards by evaluating the average historical volatility of a peer group of companies for the period immediately preceding the award grant for a term that is approximately equal to the awards’ expected term.
Expected Term — The expected term of the awards represents the period that the stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. We have elected to use the midpoint between the stock options’ vesting term and contractual expiration period to compute the expected term, as we do not have sufficient historical information to develop reasonable expectations about future exercise patterns and post-vesting employment termination behavior. For the valuation of ESPP shares, we use the period of time from the valuation date to the purchase date.
Risk-Free Interest Rate — The risk-free interest rate is based on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with a term that is equal to the awards' expected term at the grant date.
Expected Dividend Yield — The Company has not declared or paid dividends to date and does not anticipate declaring dividends. As such, expected dividend yield is zero.
Business Combinations and Contingent Consideration
Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method. We allocate the fair value of the purchase price of an acquisition to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, based on their estimated fair values as of the date of acquisition. The excess of the fair value of the purchase price over the fair values of these net tangible and intangible assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Fair value of the acquired intangible assets was determined using an income approach, specifically the multi-period excess earnings method, relief-from-royalty method, or the with-and-without method, depending on the nature of the respective assets. Management’s estimates of fair value are based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable, but the estimates and assumptions are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. The significant judgments and assumptions used in valuing the developed technology include revenue growth rates, prospective financial information for cost of sales, research and development expenses and, other operating expenses, the discount rate, the technological obsolescence rate, and contributory asset charges. For customer relationships, the significant judgments and assumptions include revenue growth rates, customer attrition rate, prospective financial information for cost of sales and fixed and variable operating expenses and the discount rate. These estimates are inherently uncertain and, therefore, actual results may differ from the estimates made. As a result, during the measurement period of up to one year from the acquisition date, we may make adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the measurement period's conclusion or final determination of the fair value of the purchase price of an
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acquisition, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to our consolidated statements of operations in the period they are identified. Acquisition-related expenses are recognized separately from the business combination and expensed as incurred.
Certain business combinations include contingent consideration arrangements, which are generally based on achievement of future financial performance or future events. If it is determined the contingent consideration arrangement is not compensatory, we estimate fair value of contingent consideration payments as part of the initial purchase price and record the estimated fair value of contingent consideration as a liability in the consolidated balance sheet. We review and assess the estimated fair value of contingent consideration each reporting period, and the updated fair value could differ materially from the initial estimates. Adjustments to estimated fair value related to changes in fair value are reported as change in fair value of contingent acquisition liabilities in our consolidated statements of operations.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price in a business combination over the fair value of net assets acquired. Goodwill is not amortized but tested annually for impairment or when indicators of impairment are present. The test for goodwill impairment involves a qualitative assessment of impairment indicators. If indicators are present, a quantitative test of impairment is performed. Goodwill impairment, if any, is determined by comparing the reporting unit’s fair value to its carrying value. An impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying value over its fair value, up to the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. Our policy is to review goodwill for impairment annually on October 1st unless a triggering event requires an analysis sooner. There was no goodwill impairment for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Intangible Assets with Definite Lives
Our intangible assets consist principally of developed technology, customer relationships, tradename, and conversation data. We assess the appropriate method of amortization of the intangible assets that reflects the pattern in which the economic benefits of the intangible assets are consumed. We determined that a straight-line method of amortization was appropriate for its intangible assets. The remaining useful lives of long-lived assets are re-assessed periodically at the asset group level for any events and circumstances that may change the future cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived asset or asset group.
Intangible assets with definite lives are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of a specific asset or asset group may not be recoverable. We assess the recoverability of intangible assets with definite lives at the asset group level. Asset groups are determined based upon the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. For the purpose of the recoverability test, we compare the total undiscounted future cash flows from the use and disposition of the assets with its net carrying amount. When the carrying value of the asset group exceeds the undiscounted future cash flows, the asset group is deemed to be impaired. The amount of the impairment loss represents the excess of the asset or asset group’s carrying value over its estimated fair value, which is generally determined based upon the present value of estimated future pre-tax cash flows that a market participant would expect from use and disposition of the long-lived asset or asset group. There were no intangible asset impairments in any of the periods presented.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our notes to the consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding recent accounting pronouncements that are of significance, or potential significance to us.
FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001840856-24-000013.
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of SoundHound should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. The fiscal years presented are the periods ended December 31, 2023 (“2023”) and December 31, 2022 (“2022”). Information concerning the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (“2021”) and a comparison of 2022 and 2021 may be found under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10‑K for 2022, filed with the SEC on March 28, 2023.
Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this report, including information with respect to SoundHound’s plans and strategy for its business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements” section of this report, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “SoundHound,” “we,” “us,” “our” and other similar terms refer to SoundHound AI, Inc.
The Company has revised the previously issued condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, condensed consolidated balance sheets, condensed consolidated statements of cash flows and condensed consolidated statements of redeemable convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit tables as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2023 as well as the previously issued consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of cash flows and consolidated statements of redeemable convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit tables and as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 to correct for such errors as described in Note 20 of our notes to the consolidated financial statements. All relevant prior period amounts affected by these revisions have been corrected in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation in this Form 10-K.
Company Overview
We are a global leader in conversational intelligence, offering independent Voice AI solutions that enable businesses to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound’s voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries via groundbreaking AI-driven products like Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, and Dynamic Interaction™, a real-time, multimodal customer service interface. Along with SoundHound Chat AI, a powerful voice assistant with integrated Generative AI, SoundHound powers millions of products and services, and processes billions of interactions each year for world class businesses.
We believe voice-enabled conversational user interface is a more natural interface for nearly all use cases, and product creators should have the ability to design, customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize the interface to their own product, as opposed to outsourcing it to a third-party assistant. For example, using SoundHound, businesses can voice-enable their products so consumers can say things like, “Turn off the air conditioning and lower the windows,” while in their cars, “Find romantic comedies released in the last year,” while streaming on their TV and even place food orders before arriving at a restaurant by talking to their cars, TVs or other IoT devices. Additionally, SoundHound’s technology can address complex user queries such as, “Show me all restaurants within half a mile of the Space Needle that are open past 9pm on Wednesdays and have outdoor seating,” and follow-on qualifications such as “Okay, don’t show me anything with less than 3 stars or fast food.”
The SoundHound developer platform, Houndify, is an open-access platform that allows developers to leverage SoundHound’s Voice AI technology and a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more. SoundHound's Collective AI is an architecture for connecting domain knowledge that encourages collaboration and contribution among developers. The architecture is based on proprietary software engineering technology, CaiLAN (Conversational AI Language), and machine learning technology, CaiNET (Conversational AI Network) to ensure fast, accurate and appropriate responses.
Our market position is strengthened by the technical barriers to entry in the Voice AI space, which tend to discourage new market participants. Furthermore, our technology is backed by significant investments in intellectual property, with over 155 patents granted and over 115 patents pending, spanning multiple fields including speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine learning, monetization and more. We have achieved this critical momentum in part
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thanks to a long-tenured leadership team with deep expertise and proven ability to attract and retain talent. We believe that SoundHound has extensive technical expertise and a proven track record of innovation and value creation for us to continue to attract customers in the growing market for Voice AI transactions, which is estimated to grow to $160 billion per year by 2026.
We believe that SoundHound is well-positioned to fill the growing void and demand for an independent Voice AI platform. The Voice AI offerings from big tech companies are primarily an extension of their more core services and offerings. Rather than strengthening a customer’s product, it can take over the entire experience, thus disintermediating the company’s brand, users and data. As a result, brands relying on big tech mostly lose their ability to innovate, differentiate and customize. In some cases, these providers even compete with the products they support, making them increasingly less attractive as a choice for a voice interface.
The alternative options are generally legacy vendors tending to use dated technologies at a high price. Furthermore, many of these technologies still require significant effort by the product creators to turn them into solutions that can compete with the quality of the big tech offering, which in many cases is not practical. Due to the high barrier to entry in Voice AI, there are not many independent players.
This creates a great opportunity for SoundHound: we believe that we provide disruptive technologies that are superior to the alternatives, with better terms, allowing customers to maintain their brand, control the user experience, get access to the data and define their own privacy policies, while being able to customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize.
When it comes to criteria for adoption, our goal is to win on every dimension. The first two criteria customers typically consider are technology and brand control. We strive to provide our customers with the best technology, and we provide a white label solution giving our customers control of their brands. In some industries you may have to choose between technology and brand control. In our case, we offer our customers the best of both, we enable them to offer disruptive technologies to their users while maintaining control of their brand and user experience.
With our disruptive monetization strategy, we also provide an additional path to monetization for our customer base. By choosing our platform, product creators can generate additional revenue while making their product better using Voice AI, providing further incentive to choose our platform.
We believe that we offer a superior ecosystem, benefiting from our Collective AI product architecture along with offering customers definable privacy controls, which are becoming increasingly important in the industry of Voice AI. Additionally, there is no conflict of interest between us and our partners and customers as we do not compete with them (as some other Voice AI vendors do). We also offer edge and hybrid solutions. This means our technology can optionally run without a cloud connection for increased flexibility and privacy. Our focus is on delivering the most advanced Voice AI in the world and thus allowing our partners to differentiate and innovate their overall experiences for their brands.
We strongly believe that product creators know their product and users best. The idea of a single third-party assistant taking over their product is not reflective of our anticipated future. We envision that every product will have its own identity, and they will have Voice AI customized in different ways. They can each tap into a single Collective AI to access the ever-growing set of domains, but the product creators can innovate on top of Collective AI and create value for the end users in their own way. This is the future that we are focusing on enabling.
When a product is voice enabled, we see three stages of integration and value propositions. The first stage is to enable the core use cases of the product. For example, the product could be a TV, a coffee machine, a car, a wearable device, a robot, a smart speaker or an appliance, and with your voice you can control the functionality of the device and the product. On a TV, you can ask it to change the channel, increase the volume, rewind by 30 seconds, search for movies and even add personalization by adding a TV show to your favorites. Note that this is different from adding a third-party voice assistant to the product. Our view is that every product needs to have an interface, and voice-AI is a natural and compelling interface that unlocks new use cases and potential. Consider just the simple example of rewinding or fast forwarding by a specific duration. That is a command that can be done with voice within a few seconds, but it can take many steps to do using alternative interfaces such as a remote control or a companion app.
Once the core features of a product are voice-enabled, it can be further enhanced in the second stage of integration: the addition of third-party content and domains. SoundHound has extensive partnerships with content providers and, through these partnerships, can fulfill many needs of our customers. For example, your TV, car or even a coffee machine can
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answer questions about weather, sports scores, stock prices or flight status, and even search for local businesses. The addition of these public domains further enhances the value proposition of the product.
Finally, as the third step, you enter the world of monetization where you can add features that deliver value to the end user, and also generate revenues that we share with the product creators. To summarize with an example, imagine walking up to your coffee machine and asking for a triple shot extra hot latte. While you are waiting for your drink, you can ask for weather and sports scores, and if you desire, you can even order bagels from your favorite nearby bakery.
There are three pillars to our revenue model. The first pillar is Product Royalties, where we voice enable a product and the product creator pays us a royalty based on volume, usage or duration. SoundHound collects royalties when Houndify is placed in a car, smart speaker or an appliance, for example.
The second pillar is Service Subscription. This is when, for example, SoundHound enables customer service or food ordering for restaurants or content management, appointments and voice commerce. And, for that, we generate subscription revenue from the service providers. Pillars one and two can grow independently and they are proven, established business models.
The third pillar creates a monetization ecosystem that brings the services from pillar two to the products in pillar one. When the users of a voice-enabled product in pillar one access the voice-enabled services of pillar two, these services generate new leads and transactions. SoundHound generates monetization revenue from the services for generating these leads and transactions, and we will share the revenue with the product creators of pillar one. For example, when the driver of a voice-enabled car places an order to a restaurant that is also voice enabled, we will have unlocked a seamless transaction. Accordingly, the restaurant will pay us for that order, and we will share that revenue with the product creator or the car manufacturer. In this example, each party receives value in the ecosystem. The restaurant is happy because they generated a new lead and booked a sale. The user is happy because they have received value through a natural ordering process, simply by speaking to their car. And the car manufacturer is happy because they delivered value to the end user and generated additional revenue from the usage of their product. During the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements, we have not generated revenue from leads and transactions on voice-enabled products from voice-enabled services other than from the SoundHound music identification app. Going forward, SoundHound expects monetization revenue to be generated through a combination of advertising revenue from the music identification app and, over time, from leads and transactions on voice-enabled products from voice-enabled services, which we expect will provide much more seamless opportunities for consumers to access goods and services that they covet as we further build out and scale the voice-enabled ecosystem.
We expect this disruptive, three-pillar business model will create a monetization flywheel; as more products integrate into our platform, more users will use it and more services will choose to integrate as well. This creates even more usage, and results in a flow of revenue share to product creators, which further encourages even greater adoption and integration with our platform and the cycle will perpetually continue and expand. This ecosystem increases adoption and increases our addressable market. While all three pillars contribute to our revenues today in 2023, the majority of the contribution is currently from our first pillar of royalties with only a small contribution from pillar three from our music identification app. Over time, the subscription and monetization portions are expected to grow and make a bigger contribution to our overall revenue.
Recent Developments
Synq3 Acquisition
In December 2023, we entered an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Acquisition") with a closing date of January 3, 2024 with Synq3, Inc. ("Synq3"), a leading provider of voice AI and other technology solutions to the restaurant industry, to acquire its issued and outstanding equity. The Company has incurred and will incur certain significant costs relating to the Acquisition, such as legal, accounting, financial advisory, printing and other professional services fees, as well as other customary payments. SoundHound’s acquisition of Synq3 is expected to expand its AI customer service solutions and create the largest Voice AI provider for restaurants. The combination will significantly extend its market reach to over 10,000 signed locations and accelerate the deployment of leading-edge generative AI capabilities to the industry — strengthening SoundHound’s leadership as the Company moves to rapidly roll out its proprietary AI solutions to restaurants across the U.S. and beyond. Together, with a total of more than 25 national and multinational chains, the highly
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complementary businesses will match nearly two decades of SoundHound AI innovation with decades of Synq3 industry expertise and established relationships.
Refer to the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section for discussion on the purchase price and the Acquisition's impact on SoundHound's liquidity and refer to "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in this Form 10-K for a discussion regarding the risks associated with the Acquisition.
Sales Agreement
On July 28, 2023, we entered into a Controlled Equity Offering Sales Agreement (the "Sales Agreement") pursuant to which we may offer and sell up to $150.0 million of shares of our Class A common stock to raise capital. Refer to the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section for further detail on the Sales Agreement. Between January and February 2024, we raised additional funds from sales of Class A common stock under this agreement, selling 34,578,019 shares of our common stock at a weighted-average price of $3.37 per share and raising $116.4 million of gross proceeds.
Known Trends, Demands, Commitments, Events or Uncertainties Impacting Our Business
SoundHound believes that its performance and future success depend on many factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including the following:
•Investments in Technology. Our business model since inception has been to invest in our technology in the form of dedicated research and development. We will continue to invest in the development of our software platform to deliver consumers with continually improving value and delight. Our investments include continuous enhancements to our technology we've developed over the last two decades, investments in data to help refine and improve our underlying algorithms and other costs to attract and retain a world-class technical workforce.
•Revenue Growth. Our commercial success, including acceptance and use of our applications, will depend on a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as size of the market opportunity, successful integration with original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”), competition and demand from the public and members of the conversational AI community. Our product offerings have disruptive effects in the ways human interact with computers and we are developing new, innovative economic models that we believe will enhance value to customers, partners and shareholders. For our revenue growth to continue, we will need to invest in sales and marketing to ensure our messaging, capabilities and offerings are well understood and valued by customers. With our primary focus on enterprise customers, we also need to align with enterprise sales cycles, which can be longer than consumer cycles. Additionally, as we build new customer relationships, we continually focus on maintaining and growing our existing relationships through long-term partnerships through significant upfront investment in customer specific engineering projects.
•Cost of Revenues. The results of our business will depend in part on our ability to establish and increase our gross margins by scaling our business model and effectively managing our costs to produce our applications. Our revenue will be directly supported by data center investments in technology, both on premise and in the cloud. The associated workloads, along with supporting labor costs, will need to be managed effectively as we scale to improve our margins over time. Our Houndify platform is also powered by a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more.
•Seasonality. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our technology could be negatively affected by many factors, including seasonal demand. We anticipate that we will experience fluctuations in customer and user demand based on seasonality. For example, in the past, we have seen approximately one third of our revenue in the first half of the year with the remaining two thirds in the second half. Additionally, given that we address markets across several different industry verticals, the associated overall seasonality impact to us may not be consistent year-to-year.
•Development of International Markets. We have rapidly expanded our capabilities and global reach. For example, we have globalized our solution to include 25 languages. We view opportunities for conversational Voice AI to be global in reach, and we expect our growth to be fueled across multiple geographies.
•Industry Risks. The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war have had an adverse impact on the global economy and financial markets. Although our business has not been materially impacted by
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the Russia-Ukraine conflict or the Israel-Hamas war, it is impossible to predict the extent to which our operations, or those of our customers’ suppliers and manufacturers, will be impacted in the short and long term, or the ways in which the conflicts may impact our business. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict but could be substantial. Further, inflation has risen significantly worldwide and the United States has recently experienced historically high levels of inflation. This inflation and government efforts to combat inflation, such as recent and future significant increases to benchmark interest rates and other related monetary policies, have and could continue to increase market volatility and have an adverse effect on the domestic and international financial markets and general economic conditions.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenues
SoundHound generates revenues through: (1) “Product Royalties,” meaning royalties from voice-enabled products which are driven by volume, usage or life of applicable products and are affected by number of devices, users and units of usage, (2) “Service Subscriptions,” meaning subscription revenues, derived from monthly fees based on usage-based revenue, revenue per query or revenue per user, and (3) “Monetization,” meaning revenues generated from focused ad targeting to users of products and services that employ our technologies. Currently, our monetization revenue is derived only from our music identification application primarily in the form of ad impression revenue — revenue generated when an ad is shown in our music identification app — and, to a lesser extent, affiliate revenue for referrals to music stores for content sales and downloads of our premium music application.
“Houndified Products,” meaning products of our customers that employ SoundHound technology, and “Houndified Services,” meaning services provided to customers related to SoundHound technology, provide our customers with access to our Houndify platform over a contractual period without taking possession of the software. This generally includes revenues derived from up-front services (“professional services”) that develop and customize the Houndify platform to fit customers’ specific needs. These professional services are included in both our Product Royalties and Service Subscriptions revenues. Non-distinct professional services are recognized over the contractual life of the contract, whereas revenues from distinct professional services are recognized as the services are performed or when the services are complete depending on the arrangement.
We have and may continue to experience volatility for our remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue as a result of the timing for completing our performance obligations. We had remaining performance obligations in the amount of $12.7 million as of December 31, 2023. Given the applicable contract terms, $6.4 million is expected to be recognized as revenue within one year, $3.3 million is expected to be recognized between 2 to 5 years and the remainder of $3.0 million is expected to be recognized after 5 years. Deferred revenue consists of billings or payments received in advance of revenue being recognized and can fluctuate with changes in billing frequency and other factors. As a result of these factors, as well as our mix of revenue streams and billing frequencies, we do not believe that changes in our remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue in a given period are directly correlated with our revenue growth in that period.
We anticipate that we will experience fluctuations in our revenues from quarter-to-quarter due to a variety of factors, including the supply and demand of end user products such as automobiles, the size and success of our sales force and the number of users who are aware of and use our applications. See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Operating Expenses
We classify our operating expenses into the following five categories, which are cost of revenues, sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative and restructuring. Excluding cost of revenues, each expense category includes overhead, including rent and related occupancy costs, which is allocated based on headcount. We plan to continue investing to support our go-to-market strategies and customer engagement, develop our current and future applications and support our operations as a public company. While our gross margin may continue to fluctuate in the near-term due to revenue contributions from varying product mixes, we expect it will stabilize as we continue to scale our business.
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Cost of Revenues
SoundHound’s cost of revenues are comprised of direct costs associated directly with SoundHound’s revenue streams as described above. This primarily includes costs and depreciation related to hosting for cloud-based services, such as data centers, electricity charges, content fees and certain personnel-related expenses that are directly related to these revenue streams.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist of personnel-related costs of the sales and marketing team, promotional campaigns, advertising fees and other marketing related costs. Advertising costs are expensed to sales and marketing when incurred.
Research and Development
Our research and development expenses are our largest operating expense as we continue to develop our software platforms and produce new technological capabilities.
The costs of these activities consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, third-party consultants and costs associated with technological supplies and materials, along with other direct and allocated expenses such as facility costs, depreciation and other shared expenses. We expense research and development costs associated with the design and development of new products prior to the establishment of their technological feasibility in the periods in which they are incurred.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist of personnel-related costs, accounting and legal expenses, third-party consulting costs, insurance and allocated overhead including rent, depreciation and utilities.
Restructuring
Restructuring expenses consist of employee severance payments, employee benefits and share-based compensation related to reduced headcount from the Company's restructuring plan ("Restructuring Plan") announced in January 2023. Refer to the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section and Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of stated interest incurred on our outstanding convertible notes and term debt during the relevant periods, as well as the amortization of debt discounts and issuance costs over the life of the instruments or a shorter period if a lender can demand payment in the event certain events occur that are outside of the control of the Company.
The issuance of debt instruments with direct transaction costs, embedded derivatives and warrant instruments has resulted in debt discounts. Direct transaction costs consist of various transaction fees and third-party costs, such as bank and legal fees, that are incurred upon issuance. Overall, the discounts from debt issuance costs result in an increased amount of interest expense over the amortization period.
Other Income (Expense), Net
Other income (expense), net consists of the change in fair value related to our derivative liability, interest income and other income (expense).
Provision for Income Taxes
Income tax expense includes federal, state and foreign taxes and is based on reported income before income taxes. We are in a cumulative loss position for tax purposes based on historical earnings. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $395.5 million of U.S. federal and $109.4 million of state net operating loss carryforwards available to reduce future
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taxable income. The federal and state net operating loss carryforwards will start to expire in 2025 and 2028, respectively, with the exception of $306.8 million federal net operating loss carryforwards and $5.6 million state net operating loss carryforwards, which can be carried forward indefinitely.
The Company had federal and state research and development credit carryforwards of $14.4 million and $10.9 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2023. The federal credits will expire starting in 2029 if not utilized. The state credits can be carried forward indefinitely. The Company also had Canadian SR&ED tax credits of $1.7 million, which expire starting in 2038 if not utilized.
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and similar state tax laws, utilization of net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits may be subject to annual limitations due to certain ownership changes. Our net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits could expire before utilization if subject to annual limitations.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth the significant components of our results of operations ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 45,873 | $ | 31,129 | $ | 14,744 | 47 | % | ||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | 11,307 | 9,599 | 1,708 | 18 | % | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 18,893 | 20,367 | (1,474) | (7) | % | |||||||||
| Research and development | 51,439 | 76,392 | (24,953) | (33) | % | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 28,285 | 30,443 | (2,158) | (7) | % | |||||||||
| Restructuring | 4,557 | — | 4,557 | 100 | % | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 114,481 | 136,801 | (22,320) | (16) | % | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | (68,608) | (105,672) | 37,064 | (35) | % | |||||||||
| Other expense, net: | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (17,570) | (6,893) | (10,677) | 155 | % | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 1,155 | (1,259) | 2,414 | (192) | % | |||||||||
| Total other expense, net | (16,415) | (8,152) | (8,263) | 101 | % | |||||||||
| Loss before provision for income taxes | (85,023) | (113,824) | 28,801 | (25) | % | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 3,914 | 2,889 | 1,025 | 35 | % | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (88,937) | $ | (116,713) | $ | 27,776 | (24) | % |
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The following table summarizes our gross profit and gross margin ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | % | ||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 45,873 | $ | 31,129 | 47 | % | ||||
| Cost of revenues | 11,307 | 9,599 | 18 | % | ||||||
| Gross profit | $ | 34,566 | $ | 21,530 | 61 | % | ||||
| Gross margin | 75 | % | 69 | % | 6 | % |
Revenues
The following tables summarize our revenues by type and geographic regions ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Product Royalties | $ | 43,299 | $ | 28,447 | $ | 14,852 | 52 | % | ||||||
| Service Subscriptions | 1,940 | 1,838 | 102 | 6 | % | |||||||||
| Monetization | 634 | 844 | (210) | (25) | % | |||||||||
| $ | 45,873 | $ | 31,129 | $ | 14,744 | 47 | % |
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Korea | $ | 22,962 | $ | 14,530 | $ | 8,432 | 58 | % | ||||||
| United States | 6,769 | 3,344 | 3,425 | 102 | % | |||||||||
| Germany | 5,950 | 4,134 | 1,816 | 44 | % | |||||||||
| France | 4,090 | 4,023 | 67 | 2 | % | |||||||||
| Japan | 3,707 | 3,866 | (159) | (4) | % | |||||||||
| Other | 2,395 | 1,232 | 1,163 | 94 | % | |||||||||
| $ | 45,873 | $ | 31,129 | $ | 14,744 | 47 | % |
Total revenues increased by $14.7 million, or 47%, in 2023 compared to 2022 which is principally due to an increase in Product Royalties revenue by $14.9 million, or 52%, during 2023 compared to 2022. The increase in Product Royalties during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to during the year ended December 31, 2022 was the result of several factors. First, we recognized an increase of $2.8 million in edge solution ("Houndify Edge") minimum guarantee licensing revenue with a Korean automotive customer which is recognized upfront by the Company for units to be utilized over the life of the contract. Second, we recognized an increase in unit-based Product Royalties of $5.4 million with various customers in Korea. Third, we recognized $3.6 million in licensing revenues related to a non-recurring voice data licensing agreement with a semiconductor customer from the United States during the fourth quarter of 2023. The fourth increase in Product Royalties was principally due to a contract modification with a German automotive customer that resulted in additional professional services and reduced our estimated customer life, which led to a $1.9 million increase compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. Additionally, we recognized an increase of $1.0 million in unit-based Product Royalties for the same customer during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.
Service Subscriptions revenue increased by $0.1 million, or 6%. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company performed non-recurring engineering projects of $0.3 million related to a proof-of-concept project on the viability of the Company's voice-enabled solutions for the restaurant industry. We shifted our strategy towards the end of 2023 to directly grow our subscription-based offerings. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company increased its Service Subscriptions revenue with restaurants by $0.4 million which was a result of the growing demand for the Company's voice-enabled solutions and greater efficiency in shortening the lead time for our voice-solution to go live.
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Monetization revenue decreased by $0.2 million, or 25% primarily due to the temporary shift of our marketing efforts towards other revenue streams.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues increased by $1.7 million, or 18%, in 2023 compared to 2022. $2.3 million of the increase is related to increasing our sales of Houndify Edge solutions where certain premium versions carry fixed per unit costs. Additionally, personnel-related costs such as salaries and benefits increased by $0.3 million. The increase in cost of revenues was offset by cloud migration costs as we migrated our data hosting to a new cloud service provider, resulting in a decrease of $0.9 million in data center costs during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Gross margin increased to 75% during 2023 from 69% during 2022. Gross margin in 2023 benefited from a favorable product mix, as a number of our significant Product Royalties contracts for 2023 compared to 2022 provided higher margin products to customers as well. This was primarily driven by the contract modification with a German automotive customer that resulted in a reduction in our estimate of customer life during the year ended December 31, 2023, the voice data licensing agreement with a United States-based semiconductor customer, and a significant increase in royalties revenue related to a Korean automotive customer, all of which contributed positively to our margins due to insignificant direct costs. In addition, we experienced decreased data center costs, as described above, in 2023 compared to 2022 due to our cloud migration. Lastly, gross margin benefited from the overall scaling of our business. Gross margin in 2022 benefited from increased margins on the Houndify Edge solution delivered to a customer during the second half of 2022. Our gross margin may fluctuate in the near-term due to revenue contributions from varying product mixes.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $1.5 million, or 7%, from $18.9 million in 2023 compared to $20.4 million in 2022. In 2022, we began growing these expenses to capture new market opportunities, particularly in the restaurant industry. We recalibrated our expenses in early 2023 and focused our demand generation, lead generation and customer conversion efforts with greater emphasis on high returns on investment. Part of this recalibration led to reductions in sales and marketing headcount as part of the Restructuring Plan. Employee compensation and other benefits expense, consisting primarily of salaries and stock-based compensation expense, were reduced by $1.1 million. We also reduced our external sales and marketing activities, leading to decreases of $0.6 million in consulting fees, $0.2 million in legal fees, $0.1 million in dues and subscriptions and $0.1 million in advertising costs. The decrease was partially offset by increased information technology and facility allocations of $0.7 million due to higher proportion of sales and marketing personnel as a percentage of total headcount.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses decreased by $25.0 million, or 33%, in 2023 compared to 2022. The decrease is primarily due to a reduction in employee headcount and other cost reduction measures applied as part of the Restructuring Plan. Employee compensation and other benefits expense, consisting primarily of salaries and stock-based compensation expense, reduced by $20.3 million. We also reduced spending on consulting fees by $4.0 million in 2023. Further, we reduced our spending on information technology and facility allocations, depreciation and amortization expense and travel costs by $0.9 million, $0.7 million and $0.2 million, respectively. The decrease was partially offset by increased legal fees and rent and lease expense of $0.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses decreased by $2.2 million, or 7%, in 2023 compared to 2022. Employee compensation and other benefits expense, consisting primarily of salaries and stock-based compensation expense, were reduced by $4.6 million. The decrease is primarily due a reduction in employee headcount and other cost reduction measures applied as part of the Restructuring Plan. Further contributors to the reduction in general and administrative expenses include reductions of $0.4 million in consulting fees, $0.4 million in insurance, and $0.9 million in other business taxes. The decrease was partially offset by increases of $2.6 million and $1.4 million in legal and professional fees and offices expenses, respectively, as we continue to operate as a public entity. We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in the short term as we invest in our control environment. However, in the long term, we expect general and administrative expenses to grow at a rate below that of our revenue, aligning with our strategic emphasis on cost effectiveness and sustainable financial performance.
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Restructuring
Restructuring expense was $4.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as a result of the Restructuring Plan. This consisted of $0.8 million of sales and marketing costs, $3.5 million of research and development costs and $0.3 million of general and administrative costs. Refer to "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for additional information.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased by $10.7 million, or 155%, in 2023 compared to 2022. The increase in interest expense is primarily attributable to the Senior Secured Term Loan Credit Agreement with ACP Post OAK Credit II LLC (the "Term Loan") executed in April 2023, which resulted in $9.9 million of interest expense in 2023. Further, $5.4 million was incurred from the amortization of the debt discount, Lender Fees and issuance cost in 2023. The Term Loan resulted in higher interest expense in 2023 compared to the Company's 2021 note payable ("SVB March 2021 Note") and 2021 convertible note ("SCI June 2021 Note") in 2022, which were terminated at the time that the Term Loan was obtained. Comparatively, in 2022, we incurred approximately $4.3 million of interest expense and approximately $1.9 million of amortization of debt discount and issuance costs.
Other Income (Expense), Net
The following table summarizes our other income (expense), net by type ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 2,866 | $ | 390 | $ | 2,476 | 635 | % | ||||||
| Change in fair value of derivative and warrant liability | — | (606) | 606 | * | ||||||||||
| Loss on change in fair value of ELOC program | (1,901) | (1,075) | (826) | 77 | % | |||||||||
| Other income, net | 190 | 32 | 158 | 493 | % | |||||||||
| Total other income (expense), net | $ | 1,155 | $ | (1,259) | $ | 2,414 | (192) | % |
* Not meaningful
Interest Income
Interest income increased by $2.5 million, or 635%, in 2023 compared to 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to interest earned on greater money market and treasury bond balances during 2023 as we engaged in significant transactions that increased our liquidity. Refer to "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for a discussion of the changes in our business that led to an increase in cash for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Loss on Change in Fair Value of Equity Line of Credit Program
The Company recorded changes in the fair value of the derivative liability associated with the ELOC (as defined below) of $1.9 million and $1.1 million respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 as other income (expense), net on its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. This decrease in fair value is driven by the sale in 2023 of the remaining number of shares available for sale under the ELOC Program, as shares were sold at a purchase price equal to 97% of the volume weighted average stock price for a given purchase date.
Provision for Income Taxes
| ($ in thousands) | Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 3,914 | $ | 2,889 | $ | 1,025 | 35 | % |
Provision for income taxes increased by $1.0 million, or 35%, in 2023 compared to 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to increased withholding tax from foreign customers and foreign taxes as we experienced increased sales outside of the United States in 2023 compared to 2022.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Total unrestricted cash and cash equivalents on hand as of December 31, 2023 was $95.3 million. Although the Company has incurred recurring losses each year since its inception, the Company expects it will be able to fund its operations for at least the next twelve months. We believe we will meet longer-term expected future cash requirements and obligations through a combination of cash flows from operating activities, available cash balances, sales of common stock under our Sales Agreement (as defined below) and available credit through our Term Loan (as defined below). However, our projections of future cash needs and cash flows may differ from historical results. If current cash on hand, cash equivalents, short-term investments and cash that may be generated from our business operations are insufficient to continue to operate our business, or if we elect to invest in or acquire a company or companies or new technology or technologies that are synergistic with or complementary to our technologies, we may be required to obtain more working capital. We may seek to obtain working capital during our fiscal year 2024 or thereafter through sales of our equity securities (including through our currently active Sales Agreement) or through bank credit facilities or public or private debt from various financial institutions where possible, though the availability of such funding, and applicable terms, will be dependent on prevailing market conditions.
If we do identify sources for additional funding, the sale of additional equity securities or convertible debt will result in dilution to our stockholders. We can give no assurance that we will generate sufficient cash flows in the future to satisfy our liquidity requirements or sustain future operations, or that other sources of funding, such as sales of equity or debt, would be available or would be approved by our security holders, if needed, on favorable terms or at all. If we fail to obtain additional working capital as and when needed, such failure could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, such lack of funds may inhibit our ability to respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated capital needs, or may force us to reduce operating expenses, which would significantly harm the business and development of operations.
The Company's consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates, among other things, the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business.
Sources and Material Cash Requirements
Our principal sources of liquidity are our cash and cash equivalents, which are sourced primarily from the Term Loan, and marketable securities. The primary uses of cash include the funding of operating expenses, as well as debt service obligations.
The following table presents our material cash requirements for future periods:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Thereafter | Total | ||||||||
| Term Loan | $ | — | $ | 100,000 | $ | 100,000 | ||||
| Cash interest payable on the Term Loan | 13,874 | 31,576 | 45,450 | |||||||
| Lender Fees payable on the Term Loan | 7,280 | 10,400 | 17,680 | |||||||
| Cloud service provider agreement | 11,000 | 78,000 | 89,000 | |||||||
| Operating leases | 3,250 | 3,126 | 6,376 | |||||||
| Finance leases | 122 | 12 | 134 | |||||||
| Total material cash requirements | $ | 35,526 | $ | 223,114 | $ | 258,640 |
Synq3 Acquisition
On January 3, 2024, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding equity of Synq3 for total consideration of approximately $5.0 million in cash, subject to customary net working capital adjustments, and 8,968,610 shares of the Company's Class A common stock. The Company has agreed to pay up to $4.0 million of additional consideration in cash and shares of the Company’s Class A common stock to certain stockholders of Synq3 based on tiered annual revenue targets for each fiscal year 2024, 2025 and 2026, of which 20% is to be paid in cash and the remaining in the Company's Class A common stock. The stock consideration was based on a reference value of $2.23 per share upon the execution of the merger agreement dated December 6, 2023. In connection with the closing, approximately $0.5 million of additional
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consideration in cash and 1,179,524 shares of our Class A common stock are being withheld for a period of 15 months to partially secure the indemnification obligations of Synq3 stockholders under the merger agreement.
Sales Agreement
On July 28, 2023, we entered into the Sales Agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, and D.A. Davidson & Co. (each a “Sales Agent” and collectively, the “Sales Agents”), pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell up to $150.0 million of shares of our Class A common stock from time to time through or to the Sales Agents acting as agent or principal. Sales of our Class A common stock, if any, under the Sales Agreement will be made at market prices by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will pay the Sales Agents commission for their services in acting as agent in the sale of our Class A common stock. The Sales Agents are entitled to aggregate compensation at a fixed commission rate of 2.5% of the gross sales price per share sold under the Sales Agreement. We have also agreed to reimburse the Sales Agents for certain specified expenses, including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of its legal counsel in an amount not to exceed $75 thousand in the aggregate in connection with the execution of the Sales Agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company sold 5,805,995 shares of our Class A common stock under the Sales Agreement at a weighted-average price of $2.19 per share and raised $12.7 million of gross proceeds. In January and February 2024, we raised additional funds from sales of Class A common stock under this agreement, selling 34,578,019 shares of our common stock at a weighted-average price of $3.37 per share and raising $116.4 million of gross proceeds.
Equity Line of Credit (ELOC)
On August 16, 2022, we entered into a common stock purchase agreement (the “Common Stock Purchase Agreement”) and related registration rights agreement (the “CFPI Registration Rights Agreement”) with CF Principal Investments LLC (“CFPI”). Pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company, had the right to sell to CFPI up to the lesser of (i) 25,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and (ii) the Exchange Cap (as defined in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement), subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement at a purchase price equal to 97% of the volume weighted average stock price for a given purchase date (the "ELOC Program" or "ELOC"). On February 14, 2023, the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 registering the resale of the ELOC shares was declared effective. In connection with the execution of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement and the side letter on February 14, 2023, the Company issued 250,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Initial Commitment Shares”) and an additional cash commitment fee of $0.3 million.
As of December 31, 2023, we have sold the entirety of the 25,000,000 shares under the ELOC Program for aggregate proceeds of approximately $71.7 million, with the volume weighted average stock price of shares purchased by the Counterparty ranging from $1.75 to $4.26 per share. We utilized proceeds from the ELOC for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Series A Preferred Stock
On January 20, 2023, we entered into Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (the “Purchase Agreements”) with certain investors (the “Investors”) pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to the Investors an aggregate of 835,011 shares of its newly designated Series A convertible preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock”), raising approximately $25.0 million in cash proceeds. The Series A Preferred Stock is not mandatorily redeemable. Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, at the option of the holder, into such number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the liquidation preference per share ("Liquidation Preference") at the time of conversion divided by $1.00 (the “Conversion Price”). In addition, each share of Series A Preferred Stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A Common Stock at the Conversion Price on or after January 20, 2024 if and when the daily volume-weighted average closing price per share of Class A Common Stock is at least 2.5 times the Conversion Price for each of any 90 trading days during any 120 consecutive trading day period, which 120-trading day period may commence (but may not end) prior to January 20, 2024.
The holders of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to cumulative dividends payable for such share at the rate of 14% per annum, compounding semi-annually to Liquidation Preference on January 1 and July 1 of each year. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded $2.8 million of cumulative dividends attributable to Series A Preferred Stock holders, all of which were paid in shares. The Company may also elect to pay any dividend in cash in lieu of
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accretion to Liquidation Preference if permitted under the agreements and instruments governing its outstanding indebtedness at such time.
The Purchase Agreements contain customary representations, warranties and covenants. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock were issued and sold in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register the shares of Series A Preferred Stock or the underlying Series A common stock for resale under the Securities Act.
Restructuring
On January 5, 2023, SoundHound announced the Restructuring Plan, which intended to reduce operating costs, improve operating margins, improve cash flows and accelerate the Company’s path to profitability. The Restructuring Plan included a reduction of the Company’s then-current workforce by approximately 40% or 180 positions globally.
Costs associated with the Restructuring Plan consist of employee severance payments, employee benefits and share-based compensation. The costs associated with the Restructuring Plan were recorded to the restructuring expense line item within our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as incurred. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded $4.6 million of restructuring expenses in connection with the Restructuring Plan, of which $1.4 million were cash payments. The Restructuring Plan was complete as of December 31, 2023.
Business Combination
On November 15, 2021, Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. (“ATSP”), SoundHound, Inc. (“Legacy SoundHound”) and ATSPC Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”) entered into a merger agreement (“Merger Agreement”) pursuant to which Merger Sub merged with and into Legacy SoundHound, with Legacy SoundHound continuing as the surviving corporation resulting in the reverse recapitalization of SoundHound (the “Business Combination”). The Business Combination was completed on April 26, 2022 (the “Closing”). In connection with the Closing of the Business Combination, the Company issued $113.0 million of securities in a private placement (the "PIPE") investment. Upon the Closing of the Business Combination, ATSP changed its name to SoundHound AI, Inc.
Cash proceeds of the Business Combination were funded through a combination of $5.4 million in cash held in trust by ATSP (following satisfaction of redemptions by public stockholders) with 532,050 shares of SoundHound AI Class A common stock remaining outstanding, and $113.0 million in aggregate gross proceeds from PIPE investors in exchange for 11,300,000 shares of SoundHound Class A Common Stock that closed substantially contemporaneously with the Closing of the Business Combination. The combined company incurred $27.7 million of expenses related to the transaction. After giving effect to these transactions, SoundHound received $90.7 million in net proceeds, which were intended to be used for general corporate purposes, including investments in sales, marketing and advancement of product development, but which may also be used to acquire other companies in the Voice AI industry.
Accounting Impact of the Business Combination
The Business Combination was accounted for as a “reverse recapitalization,” with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, in accordance with GAAP. A reverse recapitalization did not result in a new basis of accounting, and the financial statements of the combined entity represent the continuation of the financial statements of Legacy SoundHound in many respects.
Under this method of accounting, ATSP was treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. For accounting purposes, SoundHound was deemed to be the accounting acquirer in the transaction and, consequently, the transaction was treated as a recapitalization of SoundHound (i.e., a capital transaction involving the issuance of stock by ATSP for the stock of SoundHound). Accordingly, the consolidated assets, liabilities and results of operations of SoundHound became the historical financial statements of the combined company, and ATSP’s assets, liabilities and results of operations were consolidated with SoundHound’s beginning on the acquisition date. Operations prior to the Business Combination were presented as those of SoundHound in future reports. The net assets of SoundHound were recognized at carrying value, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded.
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Contractual and Other Obligations
Because we expect to continue investing in software application and development, we enter into various contracts and agreements to increase our availability of capital. Cash that is received through these obligations is used to meet both short- and long-term liquidity requirements as discussed above. These requirements generally include funding for the research and development of software, the development of applications that enable voice interaction, marketing programs and personnel-related costs. The primary types of obligations into which we enter include contractual obligations, operating and finance lease obligations and a diversified spread of debt instruments. See Note 7, Note 9 and Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Debt Financing
On April 14, 2023 ("Term Loan Closing Date"), the Company entered into a Senior Secured Term Loan Credit Agreement ("Credit Agreement") with ACP Post Oak Credit II LLC, as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent for the Lenders (the “Agent”), and the lenders from time to time party thereto (the “Lenders”). The Credit Agreement provides for a term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $100.0 million, the entirety of which was funded on the closing date of the arrangement. The Credit Agreement also permits the Company to request additional commitments of up to $25.0 million in the aggregate. In addition, the Company is obligated to pay incremental lender fees, beginning on the Term Loan Closing Date, equal to initially 3.5% of the principal amount of the Term Loans, decreasing to 2.5% after the 18-month anniversary, semi-annually (the “Lender Fees”) to provide a collateral protection insurance policy on behalf of the Lenders. The Lender Fees are effectively additional fees payable to the Lenders as the Lenders are the sole beneficiary of the insurance policy and is therefore being recognized as interest expense over the term of the Term Loan based on the effective interest method. The Company used the proceeds from the Term Loan to (i) repay outstanding amounts equal to approximately $30.0 million under the Company’s existing loan facilities, (ii) fund an escrow account on the Term Loan Closing Date in the name of the Agent for an amount equal to the first four interest payments, (iii) pay certain fees and expenses incurred in connection with entering into the Credit Agreement, and (iv) fund the Lender Fee, together with related taxes, with the remaining proceeds to be used to fund growth investments and for general corporate purposes as permitted under the Credit Agreement.
The outstanding principal balance of the Term Loan bears interest at the applicable margin plus, at the Company’s election, either (i) the secured overnight financing rate (“SOFR”) plus 0.15% or (ii) the alternate base rate (“ABR”), which is a per annum rate equal to the greatest of (a) the Prime Rate (as defined in the Credit Agreement), (b) the NYFRB Rate (as defined in the Credit Agreement) plus 0.50% and (c) the Adjustable Rate (as defined in the Credit Agreement) plus 1.00%. The applicable margin under the Credit Agreement is 8.50% per annum with respect to SOFR loans, and 7.50% per annum with respect to ABR loans. As of December 31, 2023, the interest rate was approximately 14.0%. Subject to certain exceptions as set forth in the Credit Agreement, interest on the Term Loan is payable quarterly in arrears on the last business day of each fiscal quarter. The Term Loan is set to mature on April 14, 2027 (the “Maturity Date”). The Credit Agreement provides for no scheduled principal payments prior to the Maturity Date.
Note Repayment
Concurrently with the Company’s entry into the Credit Agreement, the Company used a portion of the proceeds to prepay in full all outstanding obligations under, and terminated, the SCI June 2021 Note and the SVB March 2021 Note. In connection with the SCI June 2021 Note prepayment, the Company paid a total of approximately $11.7 million, which consisted of (i) the remaining principal amount outstanding of approximately $11.5 million, (ii) a prepayment premium of approximately $0.2 million and (iii) a nominal amount for transaction expenses. The Company recorded a loss on debt extinguishment of $0.4 million related to the early repayment in interest expense in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. In connection with the SVB March 2021 Note prepayment, the Company paid a total of $18.5 million, which consisted of (i) the remaining principal amount outstanding of $18.1 million, (ii) a prepayment premium of $0.3 million, (iii) accrued and unpaid interest of $0.1 million and (iv) a nominal amount for transaction expenses. The Company recorded a loss on debt extinguishment of $0.4 million related to the early repayment in interest expense in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
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Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (68,265) | $ | (94,019) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (392) | (1,329) | ||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 168,237 | 82,001 | ||||
| Effects of exchange rate changes on cash | (20) | — | ||||
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | 99,560 | $ | (13,347) |
Cash Flows Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $68.3 million during 2023 compared to $94.0 million during 2022. The $25.7 million decrease in cash used in operating activities was primarily due to our decreased net loss (refer to the "Results of Operations"), adjusted for non-cash expenses, including stock-based compensation and depreciation and amortization. We experienced a significant increase in our contract assets balance of $19.6 million due to significant licensing revenue transactions where we recognize revenue upfront upon delivery of intellectual property with cash payments occurring in future periods. This difference in timing between revenue recognition and cash collection decreased the amount of cash available for operations.
Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $0.4 million during 2023 compared to $1.3 million during 2022. The $0.9 million decrease in cash used in investing activities was driven by reduced purchases of property and equipment during 2023.
Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $168.2 million during 2023 compared to $82.0 million during 2022. The $86.2 million increase in cash provided by financing activities was primarily due to the $85.1 million in net proceeds from the issuance of the Term Loan, $71.6 million in net proceeds from sales of Class A common stock under the ELOC program, and $25.0 million in proceeds from the issuance of Series A Preferred Stock in 2023. These multiple capital fundraising activities in 2023 led to increased cash flows when compared to the net proceeds of $90.7 million received from the Business Combination in 2022. Increases to cash flows provided by financing activities in both 2023 and 2022 were offset by the repayment of outstanding notes payable in both years.
Indemnification Agreements
We enter into standard indemnification arrangements in the ordinary course of business. Pursuant to these arrangements, we indemnify, hold harmless and agree to reimburse the indemnified parties for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party, in connection with any trade secret, copyright, patent or other intellectual property infringement claim by any third party with respect to its technology. The term of these indemnification agreements is generally perpetual any time after the execution of the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these arrangements is not determinable. We have never incurred costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification agreements. As a result, we believe the fair value of these agreements is minimal.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
In preparing our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC, we make assumptions, judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our assumptions, judgments and estimates on historical experience and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We evaluate our
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assumptions, judgments and estimates on a regular basis. We also discuss our critical accounting policies and estimates with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
We believe that the assumptions, judgments and estimates involved in the accounting for revenue recognition, convertible notes and derivative liabilities, warrant liabilities and stock-based compensation have the greatest potential impact on our consolidated financial statements. These areas are key components of our results of operations and are based on complex rules requiring us to make judgments and estimates, and consequently, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies. Historically, our assumptions, judgments and estimates relative to our critical accounting policies have not differed materially from actual results.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue with customers in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. We primarily derive revenue from the following performance obligations: (1) hosted services, (2) professional services, (3) monetization, and (4) licensing. We apply significant judgement in identifying and evaluating any terms and conditions in contracts which may impact revenue recognition.
Hosted Services
Hosted services, along with non-distinct customization, integration, maintenance and support professional services, allow customers to access the Houndify platform over the contract period without taking possession of the software. The contract terms of hosted services range from one to twenty years.
The Company has determined that the hosted services arrangements are a single performance obligation comprised of a series of distinct services, since each day of providing access to hosted services is substantially the same and the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits as access is provided. These services are provided either on a usage basis (i.e., variable consideration) or on a fixed fee subscription basis. The Company recognizes revenue as each distinct service period is performed.
Hosted services generally include up-front services to develop and/or customize the Houndify application to each customer’s specification. Judgement is required to determine whether these professional services are distinct from the hosted services. In making this determination, factors such as the degree of integration, the customers’ ability to start using the software prior to customization, and the availability of these services from other independent vendors are considered.
In instances where the Company concluded that the up-front services are not distinct performance obligations, revenue for these activities is recognized over the period which the hosted services are provided and is included within hosted services revenue.
Professional Services
Revenue from distinct professional services, such as non-integrated development services, is either recognized over time based upon the progress towards completion of the project, or at a point in time at project completion, depending on the nature of the arrangement. Measuring the stage of completion of a project requires significant judgement and estimates, including actual efforts spent in relation to estimated total costs, and percentage of completion based on input and output measures.
Monetization
Monetization revenues are primarily derived from advertising payments associated with ad impressions placed on the SoundHound music identification application. The Company derives an immaterial amount of revenue from sales commissions earned from song purchases facilitated by the SoundHound app and App store fees paid for ads-free downloads of the SoundHound music identification app. The amount of revenue is based on actual monetization generated or usage, which represents variable consideration with the constrained estimate. Therefore, the Company recognizes the related revenues when ads are placed, when commissions are paid, or when the SoundHound app is downloaded. The determination of whether revenue should be reported on a gross or net basis is based on an assessment of whether the Company is acting as a principal or an agent in the transaction. The Company has determined that it does not act as the principal in monetization arrangements because it does not control the transfer of the service and it does not set the price. Based on these factors, the Company reports revenue on a net basis.
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Licensing
The Company licenses voice solutions that are embedded in customer products. Licensing revenue is a distinct performance obligation that is recognized when control is transferred to the customer, which is at a point in time for non-customized solutions. Revenues generated from licensing is based on royalty models with a combination of minimum guarantees and per unit pricing. Royalty periods are generally subsequent to when control of the license passes to the customer. The Company records licensing revenue as a usage-based royalty from customers’ usage of intellectual property in the same period in which the underlying sale occurs. The Company provides assurance-type warranty services and to date, post-contract support has been an immaterial performance obligation within the context of the contract.
When a contract has multiple performance obligations, the transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative estimated standalone selling price (“SSP”). Judgments are required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. SSP is determined by maximizing observable inputs from pricing of standalone sales, when possible. Since prices vary from customer to customer based on customer relationship, volume discount and contract type, in instances where the SSP is not directly observable, the Company estimates SSP by considering the following factors:
•Costs of developing and supplying each performance obligation;
•Industry standards;
•Major product groupings; and
•Gross margin objectives and pricing practices, such as contractually stated prices, discounts offered and applicable price lists.
These factors may vary over time, depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each deliverable. If the facts and circumstances underlying the factors considered change or should future facts and circumstances lead the Company to consider additional factors, the Company’s best estimate of SSP may also change.
Common Stock Offerings
We enter into certain agreements to sell common stock with counterparties to further support our growth strategy through initiatives such as accretive acquisitions and internal investments, to bolster working capital and for general corporate purposes. We evaluate our common stock purchase agreements to determine whether they are indexed to our own common stock, and therefore whether they should be accounted for as derivatives with changes in fair value as other income (expense), net in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss in the period in which they occur. We subsequently assess the changes in the fair value of the derivative liability and record these changes through profit or loss in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Warrants
We determine whether to classify contracts, such as warrants, that may be settled in our own stock as equity of the entity or as a liability. An equity-linked financial instrument must be considered indexed to the Company’s own stock to qualify for equity classification. The Company classifies warrants as liabilities for any contracts that may require a transfer of assets. Warrants classified as liabilities are accounted for at fair value and remeasured at each reporting date until exercise, expiration or modification that results in equity classification. Any change in the fair value of the warrants is recognized as other expense, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure stock options and other stock-based awards granted to employees, directors and other service providers based on their fair value on the date of grant and recognize compensation expense of those awards over the requisite service period. We recognize the impact of forfeitures on stock-based compensation expense as forfeitures occur. We apply the straight-line method of expense recognition. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options and ESPP shares. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions to determine the fair value of the awards, including the expected term of the award
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and the price volatility of the underlying stock. The Company calculates the fair value of the awards by using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:
Expected Volatility — The Company estimates volatility for the awards by evaluating the average historical volatility of a peer group of companies for the period immediately preceding the award grant for a term that is approximately equal to the awards’s expected term.
Expected Term — The expected term of the Company’s awards represents the period that the stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. The Company has elected to use the midpoint between the stock options’ vesting term and contractual expiration period to compute the expected term, as the Company does not have sufficient historical information to develop reasonable expectations about future exercise patterns and post-vesting employment termination behavior. For the valuation of ESPP shares, the Company uses the period of time from the valuation date to the purchase date.
Risk-Free Interest Rate — The risk-free interest rate is based on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with a term that is equal to the awards' expected term at the grant date.
Expected Dividend Yield — The Company has not declared or paid dividends to date and does not anticipate declaring dividends. As such, expected dividend yield is zero.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our notes to the consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding recent accounting pronouncements that are of significance, or potential significance to us.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001840856-23-000019.
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto. Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this section to “SoundHound,” “we,” “us,” “our” and other similar terms refer to SoundHound AI, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Company Overview
We are a leading innovator of conversational intelligence, offering an independent Voice AI platform that enables businesses across industries to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary Speech-to-Meaning, Deep Meaning Understanding and Collective AI breakthrough technologies developed over the past 17 years, our advanced Voice AI platform provides exceptional speed and accuracy and enables humans to interact with products and services like they interact with each other — by speaking naturally.
We believe voice-enabled conversational user interface is a more natural interface for nearly all use cases, and product creators should have the ability to design, customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize the interface to their own product, as opposed to outsourcing it to a third-party assistant. For example, using SoundHound, businesses can voice-enable their products so consumers can say things like, “Turn off the air conditioning and lower the windows,” while in their cars, “Find romantic comedies released in the last year,” while streaming on their TV and even place food orders before arriving at a restaurant by talking to their cars, TVs or other IoT devices. Additionally, SoundHound’s technology can address complex user queries such as, “Show me all restaurants within half a mile of the Space Needle that are open past 9pm on Wednesdays and have outdoor seating,” and follow-on qualifications such as “Okay, don’t show me anything with less than 3 stars or fast food.”
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The SoundHound developer platform, Houndify, is an open-access platform that allows developers to leverage SoundHound’s Voice AI technology and a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more. Houndify’s Collective AI is an architecture for connecting domain knowledge that encourages collaboration and contribution among developers, is always learning, and is greater than the sum of its parts — ensuring the platform continues to become smarter at a faster rate.
SoundHound’s technology is live in production and at scale with companies around the globe, including Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Pandora, Snap, VIZIO, KIA and Stellantis. As a testament to its capabilities, the Houndify platform surpassed 1 billion annual queries in 2021 and experienced over 85% growth during 2022.
Our current partners span multiple industries and geographies, and together have a combined reach of over 2 billion end users. By growing these strategic relationships, our year-over-year revenues have grown by more than 45% over the past four years.
Our market position is strengthened by the technical barriers to entry in the Voice AI space, which tend to discourage new market participants. Furthermore, our technology is backed by significant investments in intellectual property, with over 120 patents granted and over 140 patents pending, spanning multiple fields including speech recognition, natural language understanding, machine learning, monetization and more. We have achieved this critical momentum in part thanks to a long-tenured leadership team with deep expertise and proven ability to attract and retain talent. We believe that SoundHound has extensive technical expertise and a proven track record of innovation and value creation for us to continue to attract customers in the growing market for Voice AI transactions, which is estimated to grow to $160.0 billion by 2026.
We believe that SoundHound is well-positioned to fill the growing void and demand for an independent Voice AI platform. The Voice AI offerings from big tech companies are primarily an extension of their more core services and offerings. Rather than strengthening a customer’s product, it can take over the entire experience, thus disintermediating the company’s brand, users and data. As a result, brands relying on big tech mostly lose their ability to innovate, differentiate and customize. In some cases, these providers even compete with the products they support, making them increasingly less attractive as a choice for a voice interface.
The alternative options are generally legacy vendors tending to use dated technologies at a high price. Furthermore, many of these technologies still require significant effort by the product creators to turn them into solutions that can compete with the quality of the big tech offering, which in many cases is not practical. Due to the high barrier to entry in Voice AI, there are not many independent players.
This creates a great opportunity for SoundHound: we provide disruptive technologies that are superior to the alternatives, with better terms, allowing customers to maintain their brand, control the user experience, get access to the data and define their own privacy policies, while being able to customize, differentiate, innovate and monetize.
When it comes to criteria for adoption, our goal is to win on every dimension. The first two criteria customers typically consider are technology and brand control. We strive to provide our customers with the best technology, and we provide a white label solution giving our customers control of their brands. In some industries you may have to choose between technology and brand control. In our case, we offer our customers the best of both, we enable them to offer disruptive technologies to their users while maintaining control of their brand and user experience.
With our disruptive monetization strategy, we also provide an additional path to monetization for our customer base. By choosing our platform, product creators can generate additional revenue while making their product better using Voice AI, providing further incentive to choose our platform.
We believe that we offer a superior ecosystem, benefiting from our Collective AI product architecture along with offering customers definable privacy controls, which are becoming increasingly important in the industry of Voice AI. Additionally, there is no conflict of interest between us and our partners and customers as we do not compete with them (as some other Voice AI vendors do). We also offer edge and hybrid solutions. This means our technology can optionally run without a cloud connection for increased flexibility and privacy. Our focus is on delivering the most advanced Voice AI in the world and thus allowing our partners to differentiate and innovate their overall experiences for their brands.
We strongly believe that product creators know their product and users best. The idea of a single third-party assistant taking over their product is not reflective of our anticipated future. We envision that every product will have its own
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identity, and they will have Voice AI customized in different ways. They can each tap into a single Collective AI to access the ever-growing set of domains, but the product creators can innovate on top of Collective AI and create value for the end users in their own way. This is the future that we are focusing on enabling.
When a product is voice enabled, we see three stages of integration and value propositions. The first stage is to enable the core use cases of the product. For example, the product could be a TV, a coffee machine, a car, a wearable device, a robot, a smart speaker or an appliance, and with your voice you can control the functionality of the device and the product. On a TV, you can ask it to change the channel, increase the volume, rewind by 30 seconds, search for movies and even add personalization by adding a TV show to your favorites. Note that this is different from adding a third-party voice assistant to the product. Our view is that every product needs to have an interface, and voice-AI is a natural and compelling interface that unlocks new use cases and potential. Consider just the simple example of rewinding or fast forwarding by a specific duration. That is a command that can be done with voice within a few seconds, but it can take many steps to do using alternative interfaces such as a remote control or a companion app.
Once the core features of a product are voice-enabled, it can be further enhanced in the second stage of integration: the addition of third-party content and domains. SoundHound has extensive partnerships with content providers and, through these partnerships, can fulfill many needs of our customers. For example, your TV, car or even a coffee machine can answer questions about weather, sports scores, stock prices or flight status, and even search for local businesses. The addition of these public domains further enhances the value proposition of the product.
Finally, as the third step, you enter the world of monetization where you can add features that deliver value to the end user, and also generate revenues that we share with the product creators. To summarize with an example, imagine walking up to your coffee machine and asking for a triple shot extra hot latte. While you are waiting for your drink, you can ask for weather and sports scores, and if you desire, you can even order bagels from your favorite nearby bakery.
There are three pillars to our revenue model. The first pillar is Product Royalties, where we voice enable a product and the product creator pays us a royalty based on volume, usage or duration. SoundHound collects royalties when Houndify is placed in a car, smart speaker or an appliance, for example.
The second pillar is Service Subscription. This is when, for example, SoundHound enables customer service or food ordering for restaurants or content management, appointments and voice commerce. And, for that, we generate subscription revenue from the service providers. Pillars one and two can grow independently and they are proven, established business models.
The third pillar creates a monetization ecosystem that brings the services from pillar two to the products in pillar one. When the users of a voice-enabled product in pillar one access the voice-enabled services of pillar two, these services generate new leads and transactions. SoundHound generates monetization revenue from the services for generating these leads and transactions, and we will share the revenue with the product creators of pillar one. For example, when the driver of a voice-enabled car places an order to a restaurant that’s also voice enabled, we will have unlocked a seamless transaction. Accordingly, the restaurant will pay us for that order, and we will share that revenue with the product creator or the car manufacturer. In this example, each party receives value in the ecosystem. The restaurant is happy because they generated a new lead and booked a sale. The user is happy because they have received value through a natural ordering process, simply by speaking to their car. And the car manufacturer is happy because they delivered value to the end user and generated additional revenue from the usage of their product. During the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements, we have not generated revenue from leads and transactions on voice-enabled products from voice-enabled services other than from the SoundHound music identification app. Going forward, SoundHound expects monetization revenue to be generated through a combination of advertising revenue from the music identification app and from leads and transactions on voice-enabled products from voice-enabled services.
We expect this disruptive, three-pillar business model will create a monetization flywheel; as more products integrate into our platform, more users will use it and more services will choose to integrate as well. This creates even more usage, and results in a flow of revenue share to product creators, which further encourages even greater adoption and integration with our platform and the cycle will perpetually continue and expand. This ecosystem increases adoption and increases our addressable market. All three pillars contributed to our revenues during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. While the majority of the contribution is currently from our first pillar of royalties, over time, the subscription and monetization portions are expected to grow and make a bigger contribution to our overall revenue
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Recent Developments
Equity Line of Credit
On August 16, 2022, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement (the “Common Stock Purchase Agreement”) and related registration rights agreement (the “CFPI Registration Rights Agreement”) with CF Principal Investments LLC (“CFPI”). Pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company, has the right to sell to CFPI up to the lesser of (i) 25,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and (ii) the Exchange Cap (as defined in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement), subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. On February 14, 2023, the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 registering the resale of the ELOC Shares was declared effective. The Company expects to utilize proceeds from the ELOC for working capital and other general corporate purposes. Through March 17, 2023, the Company has sold approximately 8.8 million shares under the ELOC program for aggregate proceeds of approximately $24.9 million.
The purchase price of the shares that the Company elects to sell to CFPI pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement will be the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock during the applicable purchase date on which the Company has timely delivered written notice to CFPI directing it to purchase the shares under the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. The Company will receive 97% of the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock so sold.
In connection with the execution of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company issued CFPI 250,000 shares as consideration for its irrevocable commitment to purchase the shares upon the terms and subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. The Company has also agreed to make a cash payment of $250,000 within 120 days after the commencement date of the offering and to reimburse CFPI of up to $75,000 of expenses.
Issuance of Preferred Stock
On or around January 20, 2023, the Company entered into Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (the “Purchase Agreements”) with certain investors (the “Investors”) pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to the Investors an aggregate of 835,011 shares of its newly designated Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock”) for an aggregate issue price of approximately $25.0 million.
The Purchase Agreements contain customary representations, warranties and covenants. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock were issued and sold in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register the shares of Series A Preferred Stock or the underlying Common Stock for resale under the Securities Act.
Restructuring Plan
On January 5, 2023, we announced a restructuring plan (the “Restructuring Plan”) intended to reduce operating costs, improve operating margins, improve cash flows and accelerate the Company’s path to profitability. The Restructuring Plan included a reduction of the Company’s then-current workforce by approximately 40%.
The Company estimates that it will incur approximately $4.5 million to $5.5 million in charges in connection with the Restructuring Plan, of which the majority is expected to be incurred in the first quarter of 2023 and consists of severance payments, employee benefits and share-based compensation. Of the aggregate amount of charges that the Company estimates it will incur in connection with the Restructuring Plan, the Company expects that approximately $2.0 million to $3.0 million will be in cash expenditures.
ATSP Merger
On November 15, 2021, Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. (“ATSP”), SoundHound, Inc. (“Legacy SoundHound”) and ATSPC Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”) entered into a merger agreement (“Merger Agreement”) pursuant to which Merger Sub merged with and into Legacy SoundHound, with Legacy SoundHound continuing as the surviving corporation resulting in the reverse recapitalization of SoundHound (the “Business Combination”). The Business Combination was completed on April 26, 2022 (the “Closing”). In connection with the Closing of the Business Combination, the Company issued $113.0 million of securities in a private placement (the "PIPE") investment. Upon the Closing of the Business Combination, ATSP changed its name to SoundHound AI, Inc.
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Cash proceeds of the Business Combination were funded through a combination of $5.4 million in cash held in trust by ATSP (following satisfaction of redemptions by public stockholders) with 532,050 shares of SoundHound AI Class A common stock remaining outstanding, and $113.0 million in aggregate gross proceeds from PIPE investors in exchange for 11,300,000 shares of SoundHound Class A common stock that closed substantially contemporaneously with the Closing of the Business Combination. The combined company incurred $27.7 million of expenses related to the transaction. After giving effect to these transactions, SoundHound received $90.7 million in net proceeds, which are intended to be used for general corporate purposes, including investments in sales, marketing and advancement of product development, but which may also be used to acquire other companies in the Voice AI industry. SoundHound has not entered into any agreements to acquire companies in the Voice AI industry, nor does it require consummation of mergers or acquisitions of other businesses to achieve its stated goals. That said, if there are candidates that makes strategic, operational and financial sense, the combined company may consider such opportunities from time to time as they become available.
Accounting Impact of the Business Combination
The Business Combination was accounted for as a “reverse recapitalization,” with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, in accordance with GAAP. A reverse recapitalization did not result in a new basis of accounting, and the financial statements of the combined entity represent the continuation of the financial statements of Legacy SoundHound in many respects.
Under this method of accounting, ATSP was treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. For accounting purposes, SoundHound was deemed to be the accounting acquirer in the transaction and, consequently, the transaction was treated as a recapitalization of SoundHound (i.e., a capital transaction involving the issuance of stock by ATSP for the stock of SoundHound). Accordingly, the consolidated assets, liabilities and results of operations of SoundHound became the historical financial statements of the combined company, and ATSP’s assets, liabilities and results of operations were consolidated with SoundHound’s beginning on the acquisition date. Operations prior to the Business Combination were presented as those of SoundHound in future reports. The net assets of SoundHound were recognized at carrying value, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded.
Known Trends, Demands, Commitments, Events or Uncertainties Impacting Our Business
SoundHound believes that its performance and future success depend on many factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose risks and challenges, including the following:
•Investments in Technology. Our business model since inception has been to invest significantly in our Houndify platform technology in the form of dedicated research and development. We will continue to invest in the development of our software platform to deliver consumers with continually improving value and delight. Our investments include continuous enhancements to our ASR and NLU models, investments in data to help refine and improve our underlying algorithms, and other costs to attract and retain a world-class technical workforce.
•Revenue Growth. Our commercial success, including acceptance and use of our applications, will depend on a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as size of the market opportunity, successful integration with original equipment manufacturers (“OEM”), competition and demand from the public and members of the conversational AI community. Our product offerings have disruptive effects in the ways human interact with computers and we are developing new, innovative economic models that we believe will enhance value to customers, partners and shareholders. For our revenue growth to continue, we will need to invest in sales and marketing to ensure our messaging, capabilities and offerings are well understood and valued by customers. With our primary focus on enterprise customers, we also need to align with enterprise sales cycles, which can be longer than consumer cycles. Additionally, as we build new customer relationships, we continually focus on maintaining and growing our existing relationships through long-term partnerships through significant upfront investment in customer specific engineering projects. Our revenue consists of subscription revenue, royalties, and monetization revenues, which we consider recurring if our customer contract does not terminate the relationship and we continue to provide the customer with same or other services in the subsequent year. For example, if we perform a one-time non-recurring engineering project for a customer and that same customer engages with us afterwards for a Product Royalty contract, the revenue in both years, regardless of the specific service, would contribute towards our overall customer retention rate. By contrast, if SoundHound provides an annual subscription contract to a customer and that customer does not execute an agreement for services for the subsequent annual period, SoundHound would not consider that customer as retained. As determined on the
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foregoing basis, based on the number of customers to whom we provide services during one year compared to the prior year period, our customer retention rate as of December 31, 2022 was at least 80%
•Cost of Revenues. The results of our business will depend in part on our ability to establish and increase our gross margins by scaling our business model and effectively managing our costs to produce our applications. Our revenue will be directly supported by data center investments in technology, both on premise and in the cloud. The associated workloads, along with supporting labor costs, will need to be managed effectively as we scale to improve our margins over time. Our Houndify platform is also powered by a library of over 100 content domains, including commonly used domains for points of interest, weather, flight status, sports and more.
•Seasonality. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our technology could be negatively affected by many factors, including seasonal demand. We anticipate that we will experience fluctuations in customer and user demand based on seasonality. Given that we address markets across several different industry verticals, the associated overall seasonality impact to us may not be consistent year-to-year.
•Development of International Markets. We have rapidly expanded our capabilities and global reach. We have globalized our solution from 1 to 25 languages. We view opportunities for conversational Voice AI to be global in reach, and we expect our growth to be fueled across multiple geographies.
•Industry Risks. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic as addressed herein, the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, has had an adverse impact on the global economy and financial markets. Although our business has not been materially impacted by this ongoing military conflict, it is impossible to predict the extent to which our operations, or those of our customers’ suppliers and manufacturers, will be impacted in the short and long term, or the ways in which the conflict may impact our business. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial. Further, inflation has risen significantly worldwide and the United States has recently experienced historically high levels of inflation. This inflation and government efforts to combat inflation, such as recent and future significant increases to benchmark interest rates and other related monetary policies, have and could continue to increase market volatility and have an adverse effect on the domestic and international financial markets and general economic conditions.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenues
SoundHound generates revenues through: (1) “Product Royalties,” meaning royalties from voice-enabled products which are driven by volume, usage or life of applicable products and are affected by number of devices, users and units of usage time, (2) “Service Subscriptions,” meaning subscription revenues, derived from monthly fees based on usage-based revenue, revenue per query or revenue per user, and (3) “Monetization,” meaning revenues generated from focused ad targeting to users of products and services that employ our technologies. Currently, our monetization revenue is derived from our music identification application primarily in the form of ad impression revenue — revenue generated when an ad is shown in our music identification app — and, to a lesser extent, affiliate revenue for referrals to music stores for content sales and downloads of our premium music application.
“Houndified Products,” meaning products of our customers that employ SoundHound technology, and “Houndified Services,” meaning services provided to customers related to SoundHound technology, provide our customers with access to our Houndify platform over a contractual period without taking possession of the software. This generally includes revenues derived from up-front services (“professional services”) that develop and customize the Houndify platform to fit customers’ specific needs. These professional services are included in both our Product Royalties and Service Subscriptions revenues. Non-distinct professional services are recognized over the contractual life of the contract, whereas revenues from distinct professional services are recognized as the services are performed or when the services are complete depending on the arrangement.
We have and may continue to experience volatility for our remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue as a result of the timing for completing our performance obligations. We had remaining performance obligations in the amount of $20.7 million as of December 31, 2022, consisting of both billed and unbilled consideration. Deferred revenue consists of billings or payments received in advance of revenue being recognized and can fluctuate with changes in billing frequency and other factors. As a result of these factors, as well as our mix of revenue streams and billing frequencies, we
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do not believe that changes in our remaining performance obligations and deferred revenue in a given period are directly correlated with our revenue growth in that period.
We anticipate that we will experience fluctuations in our revenues from quarter-to-quarter due to a variety of factors, including the supply and demand of end user products such as automobiles, the size and success of our sales force and the number of users who are aware of and use our applications. See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Operating Expenses
We classify our operating expenses into the following four categories, which are cost of revenues, sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative. Excluding cost of revenues, each expense category includes overhead, including rent and related occupancy costs, which is allocated based on headcount. Although we expect our operating expenses in these categories to moderate significantly as a result of the Restructuring Plan, we plan to continue investing to support our go-to-market strategies and customer engagement, develop our current and future applications and support our operations as a public company.
Cost of Revenues
SoundHound’s cost of revenues are comprised of direct costs associated directly with SoundHound’s revenue streams as described above. This primarily includes costs and depreciation related to hosting for cloud-based services, such as data centers, electricity charges, content fees and certain personnel-related expenses that are directly related to these revenue streams.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist of personnel-related expenses related costs of the sales and marketing team, promotional campaigns, advertising fees and other marketing related costs. Advertising costs are expensed to sales and marketing when incurred.
Research and Development
Our research and development expenses are our largest operating expense as we continue to develop our software platforms and produce new technological capabilities.
The costs of these activities consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, third-party consultants and costs associated with technological supplies and materials, along with other direct and allocated expenses such as facility costs, depreciation and other shared expenses. We expense research and development costs in the periods in which they are incurred.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist of personnel-related costs, accounting and legal expenses, third-party consulting costs, insurance and allocated overhead including rent, depreciation and utilities. Our general and administrative expenses may fluctuate from period-to-period due to seasonality.
Interest Expense
Interest expense consists of stated interest incurred on our outstanding convertible notes and debt during the relevant periods, as well as the amortization of debt discounts and issuance costs over the life of the instruments or a shorter period if a lender can demand payment in the event certain events occur that are outside of the control of the Company.
The issuance of debt instruments with direct transaction costs and the bifurcation of embedded derivatives and warrant instruments has resulted in debt discounts. Direct transaction costs consist of various transaction fees, such as bank and legal fees, that are incurred upon issuance. Overall, the discounts from debt issuance costs result in an increased amount of interest expense over the amortization period.
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Other Expense, Net
Change in Fair Value of Derivative and Warrant Liability
We've historically accounted for certain warrants and conversion features as liabilities at fair value and adjusted the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. We determined that the conversion feature associated with one of our debt instruments is a freestanding derivative instrument. The derivative and warrant liabilities’ changes in fair value that result from remeasurement at each balance sheet date, as applicable, is recognized in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss as other expense, net.
Other Expense, Net
Other expense, net consists of realized and unrealized gains and losses related to foreign currency revaluation. As the functional currency of the Company and its subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar, transactions denominated in foreign currency are converted into U.S. dollars at the average rates of exchange prevailing during the period. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency are remeasured into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates at the balance sheet date for monetary assets and liabilities and at historical exchange rates for non-monetary assets and liabilities.
Provision for Income Taxes
Income tax expense includes federal, state and foreign taxes and is based on reported income before income taxes. We are in a cumulative loss position for tax purposes based on historical earnings. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $344.6 million and $106.9 million available to reduce future taxable income, if any, for both federal and state income tax purposes, respectively. The federal and state net operating loss carry forwards will start to expire in 2025 and 2028, respectively, with the exception of $256.0 million in federal net operating loss carryforwards, which can be carried forward indefinitely.
The Company also had federal and state research and development credit carry forwards of approximately $11.4 million and $9.1 million, respectively, at December 31, 2022. The federal credits will expire starting in 2029 if not utilized. State research and development tax credits can be carried forward indefinitely.
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and similar state tax laws, utilization of net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits may be subject to annual limitations due to certain ownership changes. The Company’s net operating loss carryforwards and tax credits could expire before utilization if subject to annual limitations.
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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth the significant components of our results of operations ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 31,129 | $ | 21,197 | $ | 9,932 | 47 | % | ||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues | 9,599 | 6,585 | 3,014 | 46 | % | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 20,367 | 4,240 | 16,127 | 380 | % | |||||||||
| Research and development | 76,392 | 59,178 | 17,214 | 29 | % | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 30,178 | 16,521 | 13,657 | 83 | % | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 136,536 | 86,524 | 50,012 | 58 | % | |||||||||
| Loss from operations | (105,407) | (65,327) | (40,080) | 61 | % | |||||||||
| Other expense, net | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (6,893) | (8,342) | 1,449 | (17) | % | |||||||||
| Other expense, net | (184) | (5,415) | 5,231 | (97) | % | |||||||||
| Total other expense, net | (7,077) | (13,757) | 6,680 | (49) | % | |||||||||
| Loss before provision for income taxes | (112,484) | (79,084) | (33,400) | 42 | % | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 2,889 | 456 | 2,433 | 534 | % | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (115,373) | $ | (79,540) | $ | (35,833) | 45 | % |
Revenues
The following tables summarize our revenues by type and geographic regions ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Product Royalties | $ | 28,447 | $ | 18,356 | $ | 10,091 | 55 | % | ||||||
| Service Subscriptions | 1,838 | 1,550 | 288 | 19 | % | |||||||||
| Monetization | 844 | 1,291 | (447) | (35) | % | |||||||||
| $ | 31,129 | $ | 21,197 | $ | 9,932 | 47 | % |
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Korea | $ | 14,530 | $ | 2,460 | $ | 12,070 | 491 | % | ||||||
| Germany | 4,134 | 7,526 | (3,392) | (45) | % | |||||||||
| United States | 3,344 | 4,030 | (686) | (17) | % | |||||||||
| Japan | 3,866 | 3,797 | 69 | 2 | % | |||||||||
| France | 4,023 | 2,616 | 1,407 | 54 | % | |||||||||
| Other | 1,232 | 768 | 464 | 60 | % | |||||||||
| $ | 31,129 | $ | 21,197 | $ | 9,932 | 47 | % |
Total revenues increased by $9.9 million, or 47%, in 2022 compared to 2021. Product Royalties revenue increased by $10.1 million, or 55%, during 2022 compared to 2021. The increase is primarily attributable to $7.6 million of licensing revenue from our Houndify Edge solution, which we delivered to a customer during the second half of 2022, related to minimum guarantee units to be utilized over the life of the contract and resulted in a corresponding increase in our contract assets balance. The increase is also due to the scaling of our Houndify Products with large automotive partners in Korea, Germany and France. The increases are partially offset by the recognition of $4.3 million in nonrecurring royalties revenue
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as a result of a contract modification to end a distinct professional service contract prior to completion with a customer in Germany during the second quarter of 2021. Service Subscriptions revenue increased by $0.3 million, or 19%, during 2022 compared to 2021 primarily due to the completion of a non-recurring engineering service for a specific customer during 2022. Monetization revenue decreased by $0.4 million, or 35%, during 2022 compared to 2021 primarily due to a decrease in advertising revenue through decreased user impressions on the SoundHound music application.
In addition to the revenue growth experienced in Korea due to the $7.6 million Houndify Edge licensing agreement, we benefited from revenue growth in Korea and France from scaling our Houndify Products with large automotive and device makers of $4.0 million and $1.0 million, respectively, during 2022 compared to 2021. We experienced a $3.4 million decrease in revenue from Germany during 2022 compared to 2021. The decrease is primarily due to a one-time contract modification from a customer in Germany to end a distinct professional service contract prior to completion during the second quarter of 2021 and was partially offset by an increase in revenue of $2.1 million from scaling our Houndify Products with large automotive and device makers in Germany during 2022. Revenue in both periods came principally from customers across the automotive and IoT sectors, with less significant amounts derived from other industry verticals.
Cost of Revenues
Cost of revenues increased by $3.0 million, or 46%, in 2022 compared to 2021. The increase is primarily related to incurring additional data center and hosting costs due to system migrations in order to support our revenue growth. Gross margin was consistent at 69% during 2022 and 2021. Gross margin in 2022 benefited from increased margins on the Houndify Edge solution delivered to a customer during the second half of 2022. Gross margin in 2021 benefited from increased margins due to the one-time contract modification to end the distinct professional service contract prior to completion with a customer in Germany during the second quarter of 2021. While our gross margin may fluctuate in the near-term due to revenue contributions from varying product mixes, we expect it will stabilize as we look to expand our revenue from subscriptions and monetization.
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses increased by $16.1 million, or 380%, in 2022 compared to 2021. The increase is primarily due to increased program spend to support a greater investment in go-to-market strategies and customer engagement and drive growth in our revenue from subscriptions and monetization. Sales and marketing headcount increased by approximately 142% on average during 2022 compared to 2021 and was accompanied by an additional $11.4 million in compensation and other benefits expense, including an additional $2.3 million of stock-based compensation expense. Additionally, marketing and advertising expense increased by $1.5 million during 2022 compared to 2021.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses increased by $17.2 million, or 29%, in 2022 compared to 2021. The increase is primarily due to our investment in technology and engineering and increasing our full-time engineer headcount to ensure we remain at the forefront of innovation, while also helping to develop and scale new products and services. Research and development headcount increased by approximately 14% on average during 2022 compared to 2021 and was accompanied by an additional $12.0 million in compensation and other benefits expense, including an additional $9.6 million of stock-based compensation expense.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses increased by $13.7 million, or 83%, in 2022 compared to 2021. The increase represents investments in our human resources, finance and legal functions, including increased personnel-related expenses in 2022 as we prepared and began to function as a public entity. General and administrative headcount increased by approximately 70% on average during 2022 compared to 2021 and was accompanied by higher salaries and compensation packages and an additional $10.5 million of stock-based compensation expense. Our expansion efforts, focused both on geographical reach and service compatibility, led to an increase in operational costs. Expenses related to the Business Combination also contributed to an increase in costs related to third-party specialists in 2022. In addition, an increase in other public readiness costs includes directors’ and officers’ insurance, capital markets advisory, accounting and legal support for SEC filings following the Business Combination. We also continued our efforts in reviewing and realigning our cost structure based on teams' evolving responsibilities. As a result, we shifted resources from research and development to general and administrative activities to better align with the investments being made to fuel growth as we scale as a new public company.
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Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased by $1.4 million, or 17%, in 2022 compared to 2021. The decrease in interest expense is primarily attributable to the conversion of the SNAP June 2020 Note into shares of our Class A Common Stock during the second quarter of 2022 and largely offset by the issuances of the SVB March 2021 Note and SCI June 2021 Note, resulting in $30.0 million and $15.0 million draws, respectively. These debt instruments were accompanied by the issuances of related common stock warrants, resulting in debt discounts to be amortized over the life of the instrument. The increase in our debt balance related to these draws in 2021 has led to increases in interest expense and amortization of debt issuance costs during 2022 compared to 2021.
Other Expense, Net
The following table summarizes our other expense, net, by type ($ in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | Change | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 390 | $ | 7 | $ | 383 | 5471 | % | ||||||
| Change in fair value of derivative and warrant liability | (606) | (4,920) | 4,314 | (88) | % | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 32 | (502) | 534 | (106) | % | |||||||||
| Total other expense, net | $ | (184) | $ | (5,415) | $ | 5,231 | (97) | % |
Change in Fair Value of Derivative and Warrant Liability
The losses attributable to the change in fair value of derivative and warrant liability decreased by $4.3 million, or 88%, in 2022 compared to 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to $3.8 million in losses, from the change in fair value of the warrant liability during 2021, as compared to no change in the fair value of the warrant liability during 2022, due to the exercise of Series C Warrants in December 2021, which extinguished the Company’s corresponding warrant liability.
The 2022 balance solely reflects the change in fair value of the embedded derivative from the SNAP June 2020 Note. The fair value of the derivative liability decreased by $0.6 million during 2022, compared to a decrease of $1.1 million during 2021. The changes in fair value of the derivative liability represent corresponding gains or losses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss due to changes in probability assumptions of a change in control or SPAC transaction.
Provision for Income Taxes
| ($ in thousands) | Year Ended December 31, | Change | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | |||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 2,889 | $ | 456 | $ | 2,433 | 534 | % |
The Company’s effective tax rate for 2022 and 2021 differs from the U.S. statutory rate primarily due to an increase in the domestic valuation allowance caused by tax losses, foreign withholding taxes and foreign tax rate differentials from the U.S. domestic statutory tax rate.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We had $9.2 million in cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022. Although the Company has incurred recurring losses each year since its inception, with consideration to the Restructuring Plan, the Company expects it will be able to fund its operations for at least the next twelve months through a combination of cash on hand (including as a result of the net proceeds from the recently closed Series A Preferred Stock Transaction (See Issuance of Preferred Stock below)), proceeds from sales of Class A common stock under the ELOC program (see Equity Line of Credit below), securing additional funding through debt or equity financings, implementing incremental expense reduction measures or a combination thereof. Additionally, in the future, the Company may seek additional funding through debt or equity financing arrangements, implement incremental expense reduction measures or a combination thereof to continue financing its operations. Although management continues to pursue these plans, there is no assurance that the Company will be
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successful in obtaining sufficient funding on terms acceptable to the Company to fund continuing operations, if at all. The Company's consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates, among other things, the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The consolidated financial statements do not include adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of recorded assets or the amounts of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
Equity Line of Credit
On August 16, 2022, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement (the “Common Stock Purchase Agreement”) and related registration rights agreement (the “CFPI Registration Rights Agreement”) with CF Principal Investments LLC (“CFPI”). Pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company, has the right to sell to CFPI up to the lesser of (i) 25,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and (ii) the Exchange Cap (as defined in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement), subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. On February 14, 2023, the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 registering the resale of the ELOC Shares was declared effective. The Company expects to utilize proceeds from the ELOC for working capital and other general corporate purposes. Through March 17, 2023, the Company has sold approximately 8.8 million shares under the ELOC program for aggregate proceeds of approximately $24.9 million.
The purchase price of the shares that the Company elects to sell to CFPI pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement will be the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock during the applicable purchase date on which the Company has timely delivered written notice to CFPI directing it to purchase the shares under the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. The Company will receive 97% of the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock so sold.
In connection with the execution of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company issued CFPI 250,000 shares as consideration for its irrevocable commitment to purchase the shares upon the terms and subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. The Company has also agreed to make a cash payment of $250,000 within 120 days after the commencement date of the offering and to reimburse CFPI of up to $75,000 of expenses.
Issuance of Preferred Stock
On or around January 20, 2023, the Company entered into Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (the “Purchase Agreements”) with certain investors (the “Investors”) pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to the Investors an aggregate of 835,011 shares of its newly designated Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock”) for an aggregate issue price of approximately $25.0 million.
The Purchase Agreements contain customary representations, warranties and covenants. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock were issued and sold in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register the shares of Series A Preferred Stock or the underlying Common Stock for resale under the Securities Act.
Restructuring
On January 5, 2023, SoundHound announced the Restructuring Plan intended to reduce operating costs, improve operating margins, improve cash flows and accelerate the Company’s path to profitability. The Restructuring Plan included a reduction of the Company’s then-current workforce by approximately 40%.
The Company estimates that it will incur approximately $4.5 million to $5.5 million in charges in connection with the Restructuring Plan, of which the majority is expected to be incurred in the first quarter of 2023 and consists of severance payments, employee benefits and share-based compensation. Of the aggregate amount of charges that the Company estimates it will incur in connection with the Restructuring Plan, the Company expects that approximately $2.0 million to $3.0 million will be in cash expenditures.
Business Combination
As a result of the Business Combination in April 2022, we raised gross proceeds of $118.4 million including a combination of $5.4 million in cash held in trust by ATSP (following satisfaction of redemptions by public stockholders),
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and $113.0 million in aggregate gross proceeds from PIPE investors. The combined company incurred $27.7 million of expenses related to the transaction.
Contractual and Other Obligations
Because we expect to continue investing in software application and development, we enter into various contracts and agreements to increase our availability of capital. Cash that is received through these obligations is used to meet both short and long-term liquidity requirements as discussed above. These requirements generally include funding for the research and development of software, the development of applications that enable voice interaction, marketing programs and personnel-related costs. The primary types of obligations into which we enter include contractual obligations, operating and finance lease obligations and a diversified spread of debt instruments. See Note 7, Note 9 and Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.
Debt Financing
Below are our material debt agreements as of December 31, 2022:
•SVB March 2021 Note— In March 2021, we entered into a loan and security agreement with a commercial bank to borrow $30.0 million (“SVB March 2021 Note”). In April 2022, the Company entered into a loan modification agreement, which extended the SVB March 2021 Note’s early maturity date from April 26, 2022 to May 26, 2022. As the SNAP June 2020 Note converted on April 26, 2022 the performance milestone was met and the SVB March 2021 Note’s maturity date was extended to September 1, 2024.
•SCI June 2021 Note — In June 2021, we issued a note pursuant to a loan and security agreement with a lender to borrow up to a commitment amount of $15.0 million in $5.0 million increments (“SCI June 2021 Note”). Through December 31, 2021, we had borrowed $15.0 million. The maturity date of the loan is May 31, 2025.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows (in thousands):
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (94,019) | $ | (66,177) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (1,329) | (636) | ||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 82,001 | 44,653 | ||||
| Net change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash equivalents | $ | (13,347) | $ | (22,160) |
Cash Flows Used in Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $94.0 million during 2022 compared to $66.2 million during 2021. The $27.8 million increase in cash used in operating activities was primarily due to our increased net loss, adjusted for non-cash expenses, including stock-based compensation and depreciation and amortization, as well as an increase in our contract assets balance of $8.7 million.
Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $1.3 million during 2022 compared to $0.6 million during 2021. The $0.7 million increase in cash used in investing activities was driven by purchases of property and equipment.
Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $82.0 million during 2022 compared to $44.7 million during 2021. The $37.3 million increase in cash provided by financing activities was primarily due to the $90.7 million in net proceeds from the Business Combination. This was partially offset by net proceeds of $44.7 million from the issuance of the SVB March 2021 Note and the SCI June 2021 Note during 2021 and payments on our notes payable of $11.5 million during 2022.
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Indemnification Agreements
We enter into standard indemnification arrangements in the ordinary course of business. Pursuant to these arrangements, we indemnify, hold harmless and agree to reimburse the indemnified parties for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party, in connection with any trade secret, copyright, patent or other intellectual property infringement claim by any third party with respect to its technology. The term of these indemnification agreements is generally perpetual any time after the execution of the agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these arrangements is not determinable. We have never incurred costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification agreements. As a result, we believe the fair value of these agreements is minimal.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
In preparing our Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with GAAP and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC, we make assumptions, judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our assumptions, judgments and estimates on historical experience and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We evaluate our assumptions, judgments and estimates on a regular basis. We also discuss our critical accounting policies and estimates with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.
We believe that the assumptions, judgments and estimates involved in the accounting for revenue recognition, convertible notes and derivative liabilities, warrant liabilities and stock-based compensation have the greatest potential impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements. These areas are key components of our results of operations and are based on complex rules requiring us to make judgments and estimates, and consequently, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies. Historically, our assumptions, judgments and estimates relative to our critical accounting policies have not differed materially from actual results.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue with customers in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. We primarily derive revenue from the following performance obligations: (1) hosted services, (2) professional services, (3) monetization, and (4) licensing.
Hosted Services
Hosted services, along with non-distinct customization, integration, maintenance and support professional services, allow customers to access the Houndify platform over the contract period without taking possession of the software. The contract terms of hosted services range from one year to twenty years.
The Company has determined that the hosted services arrangements are a single performance obligation comprised of a series of distinct services, since each day of providing access to hosted services is substantially the same and the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits as access is provided. These services are provided either on a usage basis (i.e., variable consideration) or on a fixed fee subscription basis. The Company recognizes revenue as each distinct service period is performed (i.e., recognized as incurred).
Hosted services generally include up-front services to develop and/or customize the Houndify application to each customer’s specification. Judgement is required to determine whether these professional services are distinct from the hosted services. In making this determination, factors such as the degree of integration, the customers’ ability to start using the software prior to customization, and the availability of these services from other independent vendors are considered.
In instances where the Company concluded that the up-front services are not distinct performance obligations, revenue for these activities is recognized over the period which the hosted services are provided and is included within hosted services revenue.
Professional Services
Revenue from distinct professional services, such as non-integrated development services, is either recognized over time based upon the progress towards completion of the project, or at a point in time at project completion, depending on
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the nature of the arrangement. Measuring the stage of completion of a project requires significant judgement and estimates, including actual efforts spent in relation to estimated total costs, and percentage of completion based on input and output measures.
Monetization
Monetization revenues are primarily derived from advertising payments associated with ad impressions placed on the SoundHound music identification application. The Company derives an immaterial amount of revenue from sales commissions earned from song purchases facilitated by the SoundHound app and App store fees paid for ads-free downloads of the SoundHound music identification app. The amount of revenue is based on actual monetization generated or usage, which represents variable consideration with the constrained estimate. Therefore, the Company recognizes the related revenues when ads are placed, when commissions are paid, or when the SoundHound app is downloaded. The determination of whether revenue should be reported on a gross or net basis is based on an assessment of whether the Company is acting as a principal or an agent in the transaction. The Company has determined that it does not act as the principal in monetization arrangements because it does not control the transfer of the service and it does not set the price. Based on these factors, the Company reports revenue on a net basis.
Licensing
The Company licenses voice solutions that are embedded in customer products. Licensing revenue is a distinct performance obligation that is recognized when control is transferred to the customer, which is at a point in time for non-customized solutions. Revenues generated from licensing is based on royalty models with a combination of minimum guarantees and per unit pricing. Royalty periods are generally subsequent to when control of the license passes to the customer. The Company records licensing revenue as a usage-based royalty from customers’ usage of intellectual property in the same period in which the underlying sale occurs. The Company provides assurance-type warranty services and to date, post-contract support has been an immaterial performance obligation within the context of the contract.
When a contract has multiple performance obligations, the transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative estimated standalone selling price (“SSP”). Judgments are required to determine the SSP for each distinct performance obligation. SSP is determined by maximizing observable inputs from pricing of standalone sales, when possible. Since prices vary from customer to customer based on customer relationship, volume discount and contract type, in instances where the SSP is not directly observable, the Company estimates SSP by considering the following factors:
•Costs of developing and supplying each performance obligation;
•Industry standards;
•Major product groupings; and
•Gross margin objectives and pricing practices, such as contractually stated prices, discounts offered, and applicable price lists.
These factors may vary over time, depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each deliverable. If the facts and circumstances underlying the factors considered change or should future facts and circumstances lead the Company to consider additional factors, the Company’s best estimate of SSP may also change.
Convertible Notes and Derivative Liabilities
We evaluate our convertible notes and other contracts, if any, to determine if those contracts or embedded components of those contracts qualify as derivatives requiring bifurcation. We account for conversion features that meet criteria for bifurcation as liabilities at fair value and adjust the derivative instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The conversion features qualify as derivatives, as they continuously reset as the underlying stock price increases or decreases to provide a fixed value of equity to the holders at any conversion date. The conversion features are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized as a component of other expense, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. The fair value of the conversion features was estimated using a probability-weighted discount model with and without the conversion feature until extinguished on April 26, 2022 in connection with the Business Combination. See Note 10 for additional information.
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The Company held its convertible notes at amortized cost and amortized the associated debt discount created from bifurcated derivatives and issuance costs under the effective interest or straight-line method until maturity or early conversion pursuant to the contractual terms of the arrangement.
Warrants
We determine whether to classify contracts, such as warrants, that may be settled in our own stock as equity of the entity or as a liability. An equity-linked financial instrument must be considered indexed to the Company’s own stock to qualify for equity classification. The Company classifies warrants as liabilities for any contracts that may require a transfer of assets. Warrants classified as liabilities are accounted for at fair value and remeasured at each reporting date until exercise, expiration or modification that results in equity classification. Any change in the fair value of the warrants is recognized as other expense, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure stock options and other stock-based awards granted to employees, directors and other service providers based on their fair value on the date of grant and recognize compensation expense of those awards over the requisite service period. We recognize the impact of forfeitures on stock-based compensation expense as forfeitures occur. We apply the straight-line method of expense recognition. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options and ESPP shares. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions to determine the fair value of the awards, including the expected term of the award and the price volatility of the underlying stock. The Company calculates the fair value of the awards by using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:
Expected Volatility — The Company estimates volatility for the awards by evaluating the average historical volatility of a peer group of companies for the period immediately preceding the award grant for a term that is approximately equal to the awards’s expected term.
Expected Term — The expected term of the Company’s awards represents the period that the stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. The Company has elected to use the midpoint between the stock options’ vesting term and contractual expiration period to compute the expected term, as the Company does not have sufficient historical information to develop reasonable expectations about future exercise patterns and post-vesting employment termination behavior. For the valuation of ESPP shares, the Company uses the period of time from the valuation date to the purchase date.
Risk-Free Interest Rate — The risk-free interest rate is based on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with a term that is equal to the awards' expected term at the grant date.
Expected Dividend Yield — The Company has not declared or paid dividends to date and does not anticipate declaring dividends. As such, expected dividend yield is zero.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding recent accounting pronouncements that are of significance, or potential significance to us.
Emerging Growth Company Status
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 ("JOBS Act"). As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. We currently intend to take advantage of several of these reduced reporting requirements such as an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies. We have elected to use this extended transition period under the JOBS Act until the earlier of the date we (1) are no longer an emerging growth company or (2) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies who have adopted new or revised accounting pronouncements.
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We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001213900-22-011342.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
References to the “Company,” “Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co.” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K/A includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings.
Overview
We were formed on September 15, 2020 for
the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar
business combination with one or more target businesses (the “Business Combination”). Our efforts to identify a prospective
target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, though we intend to focus our search on a business
operating in the technology industry. We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of this offering, our securities, debt or a
combination of cash, securities and debt, in effecting a Business Combination.
All activity through December 31, 2021 relates
to our formation, IPO, which was consummated on March 15, 2021, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination target, and
efforts toward consummating the initial Business Combination.
On November 15, 2021, we entered into a definitive merger agreement with SoundHound Inc., a voice artificial intelligence company, pursuant to which the two companies agreed to consummate a Business Combination (the “Merger Agreement”). The total consideration to be paid to SoundHound Inc. is $2 billion in equity of the Company, with outstanding SoundHound Inc. stock options and warrants included on a net exercise basis. In connection with the Business Combination, certain accredited investors committed to purchase 11.1 million shares of Class A common stock of the combined company at a price of $10.00 per share, for total gross proceeds of $111 million, in a private placement that is scheduled to close concurrently with the Business Combination.
Additional information about the Merger Agreement and related transactions can be found in the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 16, 2021 and in the Amendment No. 1 to Form S-4 filed on February 14, 2022.
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Results of Operations
As of December 31, 2021, we have not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from September 15, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to our formation, IPO and, after our IPO, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our initial Business Combination, at the earliest. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the IPO and placed in the Trust Account.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had a net loss of $981,884, which was comprised of operating costs of $1,015,260, interest income of $10,583 from marketable securities held in our Trust Account, and unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrants of $22,793.
For the period from September 15, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $716, which was comprised of operating costs of $716.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On March 15, 2021, we consummated the IPO of 12,000,000 Public Units at a price of $10.00 per Public Unit, generating gross proceeds of $120,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we consummated the sale of 390,000 Private Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit in a private placement to the Sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital, generating gross proceeds of $3,900,000.
On March 19, 2021, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option to purchase 1,300,000 Public Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Public Unit, generating gross proceeds of $13,000,000. In connection with the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, we also consummated the sale of an additional 26,000 Private Units at $10.00 per Private Unit to the Sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital, generating gross proceeds of $260,000.
Following the closing of the IPO on March 15, 2021 and the underwriters’ partial exercise of over-allotment option on March 19, 2021, $133,000,000 from the net proceeds of the sale of the Public Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Units was placed in the Trust Account and the remaining net proceeds was deposited in our operating bank account.
As of December 31, 2021, we had $235,295 of cash held outside of the Trust Account for our working capital needs.
Prior to the completion of the IPO, our liquidity needs had been satisfied through a payment from the Sponsor of $25,000 for the founder shares, and the loan under an unsecured promissory note from the Sponsor of $125,000. We fully paid the note to the Sponsor on March 15, 2021. Subsequent to the consummation of the IPO and Private Placement, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through the proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, our Sponsor, initial stockholders, officers, directors and their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, provide us Working Capital Loans. To date, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.
We anticipate that the $235,295 outside of the Trust account as of December 31, 2021 will not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 12 months, assuming that a Business Combination is not consummated during that time. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to consummate our Initial Business Combination but there is no assurance that new financing will be available to us on commercially acceptable terms. Furthermore, if we are not able to consummate a Business Combination by September 15, 2022, it will trigger our automatic winding up, liquidation and dissolution. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of the financial statements in
conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities
and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses
during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. We have identified the following as our critical accounting
policies:
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s common stock feature certain redemption rights that is considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC 260, Earnings Per Share. The statements of operations include a presentation of income (loss) per redeemable Public Share and income (loss) per founder non-redeemable share following the two-class method of income (loss) per share. In order to determine the net income (loss) attributable to both the public redeemable shares and founder non-redeemable shares, the Company first considered the total income (loss) allocable to both sets of shares. This is calculated using the total net income (loss) less any dividends paid. For purposes of calculating net income (loss) per share, any remeasurement of the accretion to redemption value of the common stock subject to possible redemption was considered to be dividends paid to the public stockholders. Subsequent to calculating the total income (loss) allocable to both sets of shares, the Company split the amount to be allocated using a ratio of 72.8% for the Public Shares and 27.2% for the founder non-redeemable shares for the year ended December 31, 2021, reflective of the respective participation rights.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
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