Infrared Cameras Holdings (MSAI) Risk Analysis

Any intellectual property and related contractual litigation, if it is initiated in the future by us or a third party, would result in substantial costs and diversion of management resources, either of which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Such claims may also divert management resources and attention away from other business efforts and force us to acquire intellectual property rights and licenses, which may involve substantial royalty or other payments that may not be acceptable to us. Further, a party making such a claim against us, if successful, could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial damages or such a party could obtain an injunction. An adverse determination also could invalidate our intellectual property rights and adversely affect our ability to offer our products to our customers and may require that we procure or develop substitute products that do not infringe, which could require significant effort and expense. Even if we obtain favorable outcomes in any such litigation, we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies, or may have incurred costs that threaten our financial stability. Assertions of our attempts to enforce our rights against third parties could also lead these third parties to assert their own intellectual property or other rights against us or seek invalidation or a narrowed scope of our rights, in whole or in part. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects. Thermal infrared technology is a heavily populated intellectual property field, in which many companies, both within and outside of the industry, hold patents covering such products and other adjacent technologies. In addition to patents, companies in the thermal infrared technology industry typically rely on copyrights and trade secrets to protect their technology. As a result, there has been frequent litigation in the thermal infrared technology industry based on allegations of patent infringement, misappropriation or other violations of intellectual property rights. We have received, and in the future may receive, inquiries from other intellectual property holders and we may become subject to claims that we infringe others' intellectual property rights, particularly as our market presence increases, as our products expand to new use cases and geographies, and as we face increasing competition. In addition, parties may claim that our name and the branding of our products infringe their trademark rights in certain territories. If such a claim were to prevail, we may have to change the names of and branding of our products in the affected territories which would be costly and could cause market confusion.

In certain of our agreements, we indemnify our licensees, manufacturing partners and suppliers. We could incur significant expenses defending these partners if they are sued for patent infringement based on allegations related to our technology. In addition, if a partner were to lose a lawsuit and in turn seek indemnification from us, we could be subject to significant monetary liabilities. While such contracts typically give us multiple remedies for addressing instances of infringements, such remedies, such as product modification or the purchase of licenses, could be expensive and difficult to administer.

Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain patents and other intellectual property rights covering our technology and products, and to maintain adequate legal protection for our technology and products in the United States. We rely primarily on trade secret protections and, to a lesser extent, on patent, trademark and copyright laws, along with confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to establish and protect our proprietary rights, all of which provide only limited protections. We can make no assurances whether any of our pending patent applications will mature into issued patents, or that any of our pending trademark applications will be registered, in a manner that gives us any or adequate defensive protection or competitive advantages. We also do not know whether any patents issued to us or any trademarks registered by us will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. Our portfolio of currently-issued patents and registered trademarks, and any patents that may be issued, any copyrights and trademarks that may be registered in the future, may not provide sufficiently broad protections to us, or may not prove to be enforceable in actions against alleged infringers. We cannot be certain that the actions we have undertaken to protect our technology and products will prevent unauthorized use of our technology or the reverse engineering of our products. Moreover, others may independently develop technologies and products that compete with ours, or infringe our intellectual property. We have filed for patents and trademarks in the United States, but such protections may not be available, and we may not have applied for protections in all jurisdictions in which we operate or sell our products. Though we may have obtained, or may in the future obtain, intellectual property and related proprietary rights in various jurisdictions, it may prove difficult to enforce our intellectual property rights in practice. Discovering and protecting against unauthorized use of our intellectual property, products and other proprietary rights is expensive and difficult. We intend to enforce our intellectual property rights. Competitors and other unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or reverse engineer our technology and other aspects of our solutions that we consider proprietary. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights, to prevent unauthorized parties from copying or reverse engineering our products, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to block the importation of infringing products into the United States or other markets. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could result in our competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage, market share and a decrease in our revenue, which would adversely affect our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

We rely on proprietary information (including, for example, trade secrets, know-how and confidential information) to protect intellectual property that may not be patentable or subject to copyright or trademark protection, or that we believe is best protected by means that do not require public disclosure. We may seek to protect this proprietary information by entering into confidentiality agreements, or consulting, services or employment agreements that contain non-disclosure and non-use provisions with its employees, consultants, contractors and third parties. We may fail, however, to enter into the necessary agreements, and even if properly executed and entered into, these agreements may be breached or may otherwise fail to prevent disclosure, third-party infringement or misappropriation of our proprietary information, may be limited as to their term and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure or use of proprietary information. Additionally, we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our current or future manufacturing partners and suppliers and could lose future trade secret protection if any unauthorized disclosure of such information occurs. In addition, our proprietary information may otherwise become known or be independently developed by our competitors or other third parties. To the extent that our employees, consultants, contractors, advisors and other third parties use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain protection for our proprietary information could adversely affect our competitive business position. Furthermore, laws regarding trade secret rights in certain markets where we operate may afford little or no protection to our trade secrets. We also rely on security measures, both physical and electronic, to protect our proprietary information, but we cannot provide assurance that these security measures will not be breached or provide adequate protection for our property. There is a risk that third parties may obtain and improperly utilize our proprietary information to our competitive disadvantage. Also, we may not be able to detect or prevent the unauthorized use of such information or take appropriate and timely steps to enforce our proprietary information.

Expanding our SaaS capabilities and offerings will require considerable additional investment in our business. Whether this expansion will be successful and will accomplish our business and financial objectives is subject to uncertainties, including, but not limited to, customer demand, attach and renewal rates, channel adoption, our ability to further develop and scale infrastructure, our ability to include functionality and usability in such offerings that address customer requirements, and the related costs. If we are unable to successfully expand our existing offerings or establish new offerings and navigate our business expansion due to these risks and uncertainties, our business and financial results could be adversely impacted.

While we have been in operation since 1995, the company has a limited operating history providing SaaS solutions that we introduced to our industrial customers in 2023. Our limited operating history providing SaaS solutions makes it difficult for us to evaluate our future prospects. Certain factors that could alone or in combination prevent us from successfully commercializing these solutions or our other products include: - our reliance on third parties to supply significant parts of our production process or to manufacture our products;- our ability to establish and maintain successful relationships with our suppliers or manufacturers;- our ability to achieve commercial scale production of our products on a cost-effective basis and in a timely manner;- our ability to successfully expand our product offerings;- our ability to develop and protect intellectual property;- our ability to gain market acceptance of our products with customers and maintain and expand customer relationships, whether through strategic customer agreements or otherwise;- the adaptability of our products and the ability of our customers to integrate our products into their products and processes in a timely and effective manner;- the actions of direct and indirect competitors that may seek to enter the markets in which we expect to compete or that may seek to impose barriers to one or more markets that we intend to target;- the long lead time for development of market opportunities for which we are only at an early stage of development;- our ability to forecast our revenue and budget for, and manage, our expenses;- our ability to comply with existing and new or modified laws and regulations applicable to our business, or laws and regulations applicable to our customers for applications in which they may use our products;- our ability to plan for and manage capital expenditures for our current and future products, and manage our supply chain and supplier relationships related to these current and future products;- our ability to anticipate and respond to macroeconomic changes and changes in the markets in which we operate and expect to operate;- our ability to maintain and enhance the value of our reputation and brand;- our ability to effectively manage our growth and business operations; and - our ability to recruit and retain talented people at all levels of our organization. Our relationships with many of our existing customers are limited as they may not be prepared to select us as a long-term supplier given the relatively recent nature of our business relationship. To establish preliminary relationships with certain customers and to build their confidence, we have entered, and may continue to enter, into pilot agreements, spot buy purchase orders, non-binding letters of intent and strategic customer agreements. These agreements are largely non-binding, generally do not include any minimum obligation to purchase any quantities of any products, and do not require that the parties enter into a subsequent definitive, long-term, binding agreement. If we are unable to build confidence with its existing customers, either through these preliminary agreements (due to any failure to enter into or perform under the agreements) or otherwise, or if we are unable secure opportunity from these non-binding agreements, involving strategic customer agreements, we may be unable to produce accurate forecasts or increase our sales. With respect to new customers, they may be less confident in our business and less likely to purchase our products because of a lack of awareness about our products. They may also not be convinced that our business will succeed because of the absence of an established sales, service, support and operating history. To address this, we must, among other activities, grow and improve our marketing capability and brand awareness, which may be costly. These activities may not be effective or could delay our ability to capitalize on the opportunities that we believe are suitable to our technology and products and may prevent us from successfully commercializing our products. To build and maintain our business, we must maintain confidence in our products, long-term financial viability and business prospects. Failure to establish and maintain customer confidence may also adversely affect our reputation and business among our suppliers, analysts, ratings agencies and other interested parties. If we fail to understand fully or adequately address the challenges that we are currently encountering or that we may encounter in the future, including those challenges described here and elsewhere in this "Risk Factors" section, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely and materially affected. If the risks and uncertainties that we plan for when operating our business is incorrect or change, or if we fail to manage these risks successfully, our results of operations could differ materially from our expectations and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning ("AI/ML") in the development of our deterministic artificial intelligence-driven sensing system for industrial applications. The AI/ML models that we use are trained using various data sets. If the AI/ML models are incorrectly designed, the data used to train them is incomplete, inadequate, or biased in some way, or if we do not have sufficient rights to use the data on which its AI/ML models rely, the performance of our products, services, and business, as well as our reputation, could suffer or we could incur liability through the violation of laws, third-party privacy, or other rights, or contracts to which we are a party.

Significant developments in alternative technologies may materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results in ways we do not currently anticipate. Existing and future infrared technologies may emerge as customers' preferred alternative to our solutions. Any failure by us to develop new or enhanced technologies or processes, or to react to changes in existing technologies, could materially delay our development and introduction of new and enhanced products in the industries we serve, which could result in the loss of competitiveness of our solutions, decreased revenue and a loss of market share to competitors (or a failure to increase revenue and/or market share). Our research and development efforts may not be sufficient to adapt to changes in technology. As technologies change, we plan to upgrade or adapt our solutions with the latest technology. However, our solutions may not compete effectively with alternative systems if we are not able to source and integrate the latest technology into our existing products.

We rely on third-party component suppliers to provide certain functionalities needed for the operation and use of our devices. Any errors or defects in such third-party technology could result in errors in our sensors that could harm our business. If these components have a manufacturing, design or other defect, they can cause our sensors to fail and render them permanently inoperable. As a result, we may have to replace these sensors at our sole cost and expense. Should we have a widespread problem of this kind, our reputation in the market could be adversely affected and our replacement of these sensors would harm our business.

Our products are typically integrated into customer workflows, applications and other technology solutions. Required integration efforts can be time-consuming and costly and there is no guarantee that results will be satisfactory to the end customer. While we work with system integrators that lend their experience to these workstreams, there is no guarantee that unforeseen delays or setback would not arise that would impair our ability to launch with key programs across our sectors of focus. In addition to the technical risks of integrating our products into our customers' workflows, applications and other technology solutions, our customers must be comfortable with the cybersecurity and software integrity of our products, including the SmartIR system. Our customers must also be comfortable that the integration of our products will not disrupt our supply chain operations, which are typically continuous in nature.

Our products are highly technical and very complex. They require high standards to manufacture and have in the past, and will likely in the future, experience defects, errors or reliability issues at various stages of development. We may be unable to timely release new products, manufacture existing products, correct problems that have arisen or correct such problems to our customers' satisfaction. Additionally, undetected errors, defects or reliability issues, especially as new products are introduced or as new versions are released, could result in serious injury to the end users of technology incorporating our products, or those in the surrounding area, our customers never being able to commercialize technology incorporating our products, litigation against us, negative publicity and other consequences. Some errors or defects in our products may only be discovered after they have been tested, commercialized and deployed by customers. If that is the case, we may incur significant additional development costs and product recall, repair or replacement costs. These problems may also result in claims, including class actions, against us by its customers or others. Our reputation or brand may be damaged as a result of these problems and customers may be reluctant to buy our products, which could adversely affect our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers and could adversely affect our financial results. In addition, we could face material legal claims for breach of contract, product liability, fraud, tort or breach of warranty as a result of these problems. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, could be costly and may divert management's attention and adversely affect the market's perception of us and our products. In addition, our business liability insurance coverage could prove inadequate with respect to a claim and future coverage may be unavailable on acceptable terms or at all. These product-related issues could result in claims against us and our business could be adversely affected.

Significant increases in the cost of certain components used in our products, to the extent they are not timely reflected in the price we charge our customers, could materially and adversely impact our results. For example, we have experienced significant increases in prices for certain electronic components, as well as significantly increased lead times. We sought to address these increases by carrying safety stock of critical components on deposit with our suppliers, evaluating alternative components, suppliers and processes, reviewing component substitution opportunities, and aggressively negotiating larger quantities with our vendors to ensure adequate supply. Certain of our key component manufacturers and suppliers have the ability, in our contracts, to periodically increase their prices. Accordingly, we cannot assure that it will not face increased prices in the future or, if we do, whether we will be effective in containing margin pressures from any further component price increases.

We rely on third parties to supply key components of our products. If any of our major third-party component suppliers experience interruptions, delays or disruptions in supplying their products or services, including by natural disasters, health epidemics and outbreaks, or work stoppages or capacity constraints, our ability to ship products to distributors and customers may be delayed. In addition, unfavorable economic conditions could result in financial distress among third-party suppliers upon which we rely, thereby increasing the risk of disruption of supplies necessary to fulfill our production requirements and meet customer demands. Additionally, if any of these third parties on whom we rely were to experience quality control problems in their operations and our products do not meet customer or regulatory requirements, we could be required to cover the cost of repair or replacement of any defective products. These delays or product quality issues could have an immediate and material adverse effect on our ability to fulfill orders and could have a negative effect on our operating results. In addition, such delays or issues with product quality could adversely affect our reputation and our relationship with our customers and distributors. If these third parties experience financial, operational, manufacturing capacity or other difficulties, or experience shortages in required components, our supply may be disrupted, we may be required to seek alternate suppliers and we may be required to re-design our products. It would be time-consuming, and could be costly and impracticable, to begin to use new suppliers and such changes could cause significant interruptions in supply. Such changes could also have an adverse effect on our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries and may subsequently lead to the loss of sales. While we take measures to protect our trade secrets, the use of third-party suppliers may also risk disclosure of our innovative and proprietary manufacturing methodologies, which could adversely affect our business. We believe there are a limited number of competent, high-quality suppliers in the industry that meet our strict quality and control standards, and as we seek to obtain additional or alternative supplier arrangements in the future, there can be no assurance that we would be able to do so on satisfactory terms, in a timely manner, or at all. Our suppliers could also discontinue or modify components used in our products. In some cases, the lead times associated with certain components are lengthy and preclude rapid changes in quantities and delivery schedules. Developing alternate sources of supply for these components may be time-consuming, difficult, and costly and we may not be able to source these components on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, which may undermine our ability to meet our requirements or to fill customer orders in a timely manner. Any interruption or delay in the supply of any of these parts or components, or the inability to obtain these parts or components from alternate sources at acceptable prices and within a reasonable amount of time, would adversely affect our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries to our customers. This could adversely affect our relationships with customers and distributors and could cause delays in shipment of our products and adversely affect our operating results.

If the cost of manufacturing our products increases, we will be forced to charge our customers a higher price for the products in order to cover our costs and earn a profit. While we expect our products will benefit from continued cost reduction over time from scale and planned redesigns, there is no guarantee that these efforts will be successful, or that these savings would not be offset by additional required content. If the price of our products is too high, customers may be reluctant to purchase its products, especially if lower priced alternative products are available, and we may not be able to sell our products in sufficient volumes to recover our costs of development and manufacture or to earn a profit.

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, the Money Laundering Control Act 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957, and other anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit companies and their employees, agents, contractors and other collaborators from authorizing, promising, offering or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or anything else of value to recipients in the public or private sector and failing to prevent bribery, and require that we keep accurate books and records and maintain internal accounting controls designed to prevent any such actions. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of our employees, agents, contractors and other collaborators, even if we do not explicitly authorize or have actual knowledge of such activities. Any violations of the laws and regulations described above may result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, imprisonment, the loss of export or import privileges, debarment, tax reassessments, breach of contract and fraud litigation, reputational harm and other consequences. As we increase our international cross-border business and expand our operations abroad, we may continue to engage with business partners and third-party intermediaries to market our services and to obtain necessary permits, licenses and other regulatory approvals. In addition, we or our third-party intermediaries may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or state-owned or affiliated entities. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of these third-party intermediaries, our employees, representatives, contractors, partners and agents, even if we do not explicitly authorize such activities. We cannot assure you that all of our employees and agents will not take actions in violation of our policies and applicable law, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. As we increase our international business, the risks under these laws may increase. Detecting, investigating and resolving actual or alleged violations of anti-corruption laws can require a significant diversion of time, resources and attention from management. In addition, noncompliance with anti-corruption or anti-bribery laws could subject us to whistleblower complaints, investigations, sanctions, settlements, prosecution, enforcement actions, fines, damages, other civil or criminal penalties, injunctions, suspension or debarment from contracting with certain persons, reputational harm, adverse media coverage and other collateral consequences. If any subpoenas are received or investigations are launched, or governmental or other sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal proceeding, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially harmed.

Our customers may use our products for regulated and standardized applications that require our products to comply with regulations and standards that are applicable to both our products and to those industries and applications, including functional safety and product reliability standards. New regulations and industry standards may be adopted that result in delays or cancellations of programs. If we decide not to pursue or fail to achieve these regulatory or industry certifications, we may lose existing or potential commercial opportunities or be exposed to legal liability from regulators.

We manufacture and sell products that contain components, which may contain materials or capabilities that are subject to government regulation in both the locations where we manufacture and assemble our products, as well as the locations where we sell our products. For example, we are subject to U.S. Department of Commerce regulations on our high-resolution cameras, which prevents us from selling certain products to certain potential foreign customers. Additionally, we are subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") regulations on certain biorisk products cleared by the FDA under Section 510(k) biorisk products we have sold in the past. Manufacturers are required to certify in product labeling and in reports to the FDA that their products comply with applicable performance standards as well as maintain manufacturing, testing, and distribution records for their products. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in enforcement action by the FDA, which could require us to cease distribution of such products, recall or remediate products already distributed to customers, or subject us to FDA enforcement. Navigating these various regulatory regimes may be a complex process requiring continual monitoring of regulations and an ongoing compliance process to ensure that we and our suppliers are in compliance with existing regulations in each market where we operate. If there is an unanticipated new regulation that significantly impacts our uses and sourcing of various components or requires more expensive components, that regulation could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. If we are not currently in compliance with existing regulations, or we fail to adhere to new regulations or fail to continually monitor the updates, we may incur costs in remedying its non-compliance and it may disrupt our operations. In addition, current or proposed regulations may adversely impact the availability of supplies needed to manufacture our products. For example, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill to effectively ban all products from China's Xinjiang province due to concerns that the goods were produced with forced labor, which, if enacted, is expected to have adverse impacts on global supply chains. In such circumstances, we may also be subject to litigation, lose customers, suffer negative publicity and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.

We typically offer a limited product warranty that requires our products to conform to the applicable specifications and be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a limited warranty period. As a result of increased competition and changing standards in our target markets, it may be required to increase our warranty period length and the scope of our warranty. To be competitive, we may be required to implement these increases before we are able to determine the economic impact of an increase. Accordingly, we may be at risk that any such warranty increase could result in foreseeable and unforeseeable losses. In particular, the usage of our products by target customers could make us liable for warranty claims and pecuniary and reputational damages. In our target markets, our products may be placed in physical locations and environments that present harsh operating conditions, or that present a risk of product damage due to accidents or vandalism. This may result in more product failures than we anticipate, and may require us to provide warranties for our products beyond our knowledge of their performance. This could increase the rate of customer returns and warranty claims, resulting in higher than expected operating costs for us. Product failures may also affect market acceptance of our products and our ability to win future business. Any negative publicity related to the perceived quality of our products could affect our brand image, partner and customer demand, and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Legislative and regulatory measures currently under consideration or being implemented by government authorities to address climate change could require reductions in our GHG or other emissions, establish a carbon tax or increase fuel or energy taxes. These legal requirements, in addition to emission reduction efforts that we may voluntarily undertake, are expected to result in increased capital expenditures and compliance costs, and could result in higher costs required to operate and maintain our facilities, procure raw materials and energy, and may require us to acquire emission credits or carbon offsets. These costs and restrictions could harm our business and results of operations by increasing our expenses or requiring us to alter our operations and product design activities. The inconsistent international, regional and/or national requirements associated with climate change regulations also create economic and regulatory uncertainty.

While we intend to invest substantial resources to remain on the forefront of technological development, continuing technological changes in sensing technology and the markets for these products could adversely affect adoption of our products, either generally or for particular applications. Our future success will depend upon our ability to develop and introduce a variety of new capabilities and innovations to our existing product offerings, as well as introduce a variety of new product offerings, to address the changing needs of the markets in which we offer our products. Delays in delivering new products that meet customer requirements could damage our relationships with customers and lead them to seek alternative sources of supply. Delays in introducing products and innovations, the failure to choose correctly among technical alternatives or the failure to offer innovative products or configurations at competitive prices may cause existing and potential customers to purchase our competitors' products or turn to alternative sensing technology. If we are unable to devote adequate resources to develop products or cannot otherwise successfully develop products or system configurations that meet customer requirements on a timely basis or that remain competitive with technological alternatives, our products could lose market share, our revenue will decline, we may experience operating losses and our business and prospects will be adversely affected.

Many of our current and potential customers are large corporations that often possess significant leverage over their suppliers, and can successfully demand contract terms favorable to themselves, such as reserving the right to terminate their supply contracts for convenience. This disparate power has required, and may require in the future, that we accept less favorable contract terms. These large corporations also have exacting technical specifications and requirements that we may be unable to meet, thereby precluding its ability to secure sales. Meeting the technical requirements to secure and maintain significant contracts with any of these companies will require a substantial investment of our time and resources, and if we fail to comply with our customers' technical specifications and standards, we may lose existing and future business. Even when we succeed in securing contracts, these large companies have been and may continue to be uncertain about their technical specifications for our products and terminate its agreement or make a later determination that our products are not satisfactory. We therefore have no assurance that we can establish relationships with these companies, that our products will meet the needs of these or other companies, or that a contract with these companies will culminate in significant, or any, product sales. Even when we secure agreements with these companies, we may not be effective in negotiating contract terms or managing such relationships, which could adversely affect our future results of operations. Furthermore, in some instances, these large companies may have internally developed products and solutions that are competitive to our products. These companies may have substantial research and development resources, which may allow them to acquire or develop independently, or in partnership with others, competitive technologies. Such activities may foreclose significant sales opportunities for our products.

We sell a portion of our products through third parties such as distributors and manufacturers representatives. Using third parties for distribution exposes us to many risks, including concentration risk, credit risk and legal risk because, under certain circumstances, we may be held responsible for the actions of those third-party sales channels. We may rely on one or more key distributors for selling a product, and the loss of these distributors could reduce its revenue. Our distributors may face financial difficulties, including bankruptcy, which could harm our collection of accounts receivables and financial results. Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") or similar anti-bribery laws by distributors or other third-party intermediaries could have a material impact on our business. Competitors could also block our access to such parties. Failing to manage risks related to our use of third-party sales channels may reduce sales, increase expenses, and weaken our competitive position, and could result in sanctions against us.

Prospective customers generally must make significant commitments of resources to test and validate products like those produced by us and confirm that they can integrate these products with other technologies before including them in any particular system, product, or process. The selling cycle for our products with new customers varies widely depending on the application, market, customer, and the complexity of the product. In the warehouse and logistics market, for example, this selling cycle can be a year (or more). These selling cycles result in us investing our resources prior to realizing any revenue from commercialization. Further, we are subject to the risk that customers cancel or postpone implementation of its technology solution or our customers are unable to integrate its technology solution successfully into a larger system. If our customers face financial difficulties, they may also cancel current or future product programs that could materially and adversely impact our financial results. Further, our revenue could be less than forecasted if the system, product, or process that includes our products is unsuccessful, including for reasons unrelated to our technology. Long selling cycles and product cancellations or postponements may adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Climate change may have an increasingly adverse impact on our business and those of our customers, partners and suppliers. While we seek to mitigate the risks associated with climate change on our operations, there are inherent climate-related risks globally. Some of our manufacturing facilities are located in regions that may be impacted by severe weather events, like hurricanes or unexpected cold snaps, the frequency and severity of which may increase as a result of climate change. These events could result in potential damage to our physical assets as well as disruptions in manufacturing activities. Moreover, some of our manufacturing facilities are in areas that could experience decreased access to water and reliable energy due to climate issues. Severe weather events may impair the ability of our employees to work effectively. Climate change, including the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, its impact on our supply chain and critical infrastructure worldwide and its potential to increase political instability in regions where we, our customers, partners and suppliers do business, may disrupt our business and may cause us to experience higher employee attrition and higher costs to maintain or resume operations. The effects of climate change also may impact our decisions to construct new facilities or maintain existing facilities in the areas most prone to physical risks, which could similarly increase its operating and material costs. We could also face indirect financial risks passed through the supply chain that could result in higher prices for our products and the resources needed to produce them. We sell products to customers directly engaged in oil and gas exploration and production. Changes to regulations, social practices and preferences, energy generation and transportation technologies that may occur or be implemented to mitigate climate change could result in reduced demand for hydrocarbon products, which could result in a reduction in sales to these customers.