Airship AI Holdings, Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Sep 30, 2023

References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to BYTE Acquisition Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated 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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q 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. Such statements include, but are not limited to, possible business combinations and the financing thereof, and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-Q. 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 are a blank check company incorporated on January 8, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (“initial business combination”). Our sponsor is Byte Holdings LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (our “Sponsor”).

Our registration statement for our initial public offering was declared effective on March 17, 2021. On March 23, 2021, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 30,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $17.2 million, inclusive of approximately $10.5 million in deferred underwriting commissions. On April 7, 2021, the underwriter exercised the over-allotment option in part and purchased an additional 2,369,251 Units (the “Over-Allotment Units”), generating additional gross proceeds of $23,692,510 (such offering, including the exercise of the over-allotment, the “Initial Public Offering”).

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 1,030,000 Units (the “Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating total gross proceeds of $10.3 million.

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, sale of the Over-Allotment Units, and the Private Placement, $323.7 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and certain of proceeds of the Private Placement were placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by us, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of an initial business combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account to the shareholders. However, to mitigate the risk of us being deemed to have been operating as an unregistered investment company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act), on February 10, 2023, we instructed Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in an interest-bearing demand deposit account until the earlier of consummation of an initial business combination or liquidation.

If we are unable to complete an initial business combination by the Extended Date (as defined below), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the outstanding Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish holders of the Public Shares (the “Public Shareholders”) rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to its obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

Extension

We initially had until March 23, 2023 to consummate an initial business combination. On March 16, 2023, we held an extraordinary general meeting (the “March EGM”). In this meeting the shareholders approved amendments to our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend the date by which we must complete an initial business combination from March 23, 2023 to September 25, 2023 (the “Extension” and such date, the “Original Extended Date”) and to provide for the right of a holder of our Class A ordinary shares to convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis prior to the closing of an initial business combination. In connection with the March EGM, shareholders holding an aggregate of 30,006,034 of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for approximately $10.20 per share, or an aggregate total of $306,106,987, of the funds held in our Trust Account, leaving approximately $24.1 million in the Trust Account after such redemption. Subsequently, it was determined that the redemption value per share was approximately $10.22 per share, or an aggregate total of $306,691,945, of the funds held in the Trust Account resulting in a secondary distribution to the redeeming shareholders of approximately $0.02 per share, or an aggregate total of $584,958.

On September 22, 2023, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in lieu of annual general meeting (the “September EGM”). At the September EGM, the Company’s shareholders approved amendments to the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to (i) extend the date by which the Company must complete a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination involving the Company and one or more businesses from September 25, 2023 to December 26, 2023 and to allow the Company, without another shareholder vote, by resolution of the Company’s board of directors, to elect to further extend by three months, until March 25, 2024, unless the closing of a business combination should have occurred prior thereto (ii) eliminate (a) the limitation that the Company may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and (b) the limitation that the Company shall not consummate an initial business combination unless the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 immediately prior to, or upon consummation of, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to, such initial business combination and (iii) re-elect Louis Lebedin as a Class I director of the Company’s board of directors until the general meeting of the Company to be held in 2026 or until his successor is appointed and qualified. In connection with the September EGM, shareholders holding an aggregate of 525,624 of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for approximately $10.63 per share of the funds held in the Company’s trust account.

Non-Redemption Agreements

On March 8, 2023, we entered into non-redemption agreements (collectively, the “Extension Non-Redemption Agreements”) with certain of its existing shareholders (the “Non-Redeeming Shareholders”) holding Class A ordinary shares. Pursuant to the Extension Non-Redemption Agreements, each of the Non-Redeeming Shareholders agreed to (a) not redeem 1,000,000 Class A ordinary shares held by them on the date of the Extension Non-Redemption Agreements (the “Shares”) in connection with the vote to amend our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend the date by which we have to consummate an initial business combination from March 23, 2023 to September 25, 2023 and (b) vote their Shares in favor of the Extension presented by us for approval by its shareholders. In connection with the foregoing, we agreed to pay to each Non-Redeeming Shareholder $0.033 per Share in cash per month through the Original Extended Date.

On September 14, 2023, we entered into an amendment to the Non-Redemption Agreement previously entered into on March 8, 2023 with the Non-Redeeming Shareholder holding 1,000,000 Class A ordinary shares. Pursuant to the amendment to the Non-Redemption Agreement, the Non-Redeeming Shareholder agreed to (a) not redeem any Class A ordinary shares held by them on the date of the Non-Redemption Agreement in connection with the vote to amend the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to further extend the date by which the Company has to consummate an initial business combination from September 25, 2023 to December 26, 2023 (the “Extended Date”) and to allow the Company, without another shareholder vote, by resolution of the Company’s board of directors, to elect to further extend such date by three months until March 26, 2024 (the “Extension” and such additional extended date, the “Additional Extended Date”) and (b) vote all of their Shares in favor of the Extension presented by the Company for approval by its shareholders. In connection with the foregoing, the Company agreed to extend its obligation to pay to the Non-Redeeming Shareholder $0.033 per share in cash per month through the Extended Date and Additional Extended Date, if applicable.

On August 1, 2023, we entered into a Non-Redemption Agreement with one of the Non-Redeeming Shareholders holding Public Shares, pursuant to which the Non-Redeeming Shareholder agreed not to redeem $1 million in aggregate value of Public Shares held by it on the date of the Non-Redemption Agreement in connection with the Merger Agreement.

Non-Redemption Agreement – Related Party

On August 1, 2023, we entered into a non-redemption agreement (“Non-Redemption Agreement”) with our Sponsor. Pursuant to the Non-Redemption Agreement, our Sponsor agreed to acquire from our shareholders $6 million in aggregate value of our Public Shares, either in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions, at a price no higher than the redemption price per share payable to Public Shareholders who exercise redemption rights with respect to their Public Shares, prior to the closing date of the Business Combination (as defined below), to waive its redemption rights and hold the Public Shares through the closing date of the Business Combination, and to abstain from voting and not vote the Public Shares in favor of or against the Business Combination. As consideration for the Non-Redemption Agreement, we agreed to pay the Sponsor $0.033 per Public Share per month, which will begin accruing on the date that is three days after the date of the Non-Redemption Agreement and terminate on the earlier of the closing date of the Business Combination, the termination of the Merger Agreement, or the Outside Closing Date (as defined in the Merger Agreement).

Merger Agreement

On June 27, 2023, we entered into a merger agreement, by and among us, BYTE Merger Sub Inc, (“Merger Sub”), and Airship AI Holdings, Inc., a Washington corporation (“Airship AI”), for the purpose to consummate a business combination (the “Business Combination”) (as it may be amended and/or restated from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”).

On September 22, 2023, we entered into an amendment to the Merger Agreement (the “Amendment”), by and among s, Airship AI, and Merger Sub. The Amendment amends the Merger Agreement to extend the last date for the Company to consummate the Business Combination (the “Outside Closing Date”) from December 26, 2023 to the latest of (a) September 25, 2023, (b) if the Extension Proposal (as defined in the Merger Agreement) is approved, March 26, 2024 and (C) if one or more extensions to a date following March 26, 2024 with Airship AI Holdings, Inc.’s approval is obtained at the election of the Company, with the Company’s shareholder vote, in accordance with the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, the last date for the Company to consummate the Business Combination pursuant to such extensions.

Parent Support Agreement

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, we entered into a support agreement (the “Parent Support Agreement”) with the Sponsor and Airship AI, pursuant to which the Sponsor agreed to, among other things, vote all of its shares in favor of the various proposals related to the Business Combination and the Merger Agreement and any other matters necessary or reasonably requested by us for consummation of the Business Combination. The Sponsor has also agreed (a) to forfeit 1,000,000 of our Class A ordinary shares owned by the Sponsor on the Closing Date and (b) to contribute 2,600,000 of our Class A ordinary shares owned by the Sponsor to secure the Non-Redemption Agreements and/or the PIPE financing. The Parent Support Agreement also provides that the Sponsor Shares will be subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days following the Closing.

Company Support Agreement

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, we entered into a support agreement (the “Company Support Agreement”) with Airship AI and certain shareholders of Airship AI (the “Company Supporting Shareholders”), pursuant to which the Company Supporting Shareholders agreed to, among other things, (i) vote to adopt and approve, or to execute a written consent with respect to the approval, within five business days following the date of the effectiveness of the registration statement on Form S-4, the Merger Agreement and all other documents and transactions contemplated thereby, (ii) vote against any alternative proposal or alternative transaction or any proposal relating to an alternative proposal or alternative transaction, (iii) vote against any merger agreement or merger, consolidation, or combination sale of substantial assets, reorganization, recapitalization, dissolution, liquidation or winding up of or by the Company (other than the Merger Agreement and the transactions relating to the Business Combination), (iv) vote against any change in the business (to the extent in violation of the Merger Agreement), management or board of directors of the Company (other than in connection with the Business Combination), and (v) vote against any proposal that would impede the Business Combination or that would result in a breach with respect to any obligation or agreement of the Company or the Company Supporting Shareholders under the Merger Agreement or the Company Support Agreement, in each case, subject to the terms and conditions of the Company Support Agreement.

Class B Conversion

Effective as of March 27, 2023, pursuant to the terms of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association after the March EGM, the Sponsor elected to convert each outstanding Class B ordinary share held by it on a one-for-one basis into Class A ordinary shares of the Company, with immediate effect.

Class B Issuance

On June 26, 2023, the Company issued one Class B ordinary share for no consideration to assist with administrative function.

Results of Operations

Our entire activity since inception through September 30, 2023 related to our formation, the preparation for the Initial Public Offering, and since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial business combination. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.

For the three months ended September 30, 2023, we had net loss of approximately $1.5 million, which primarily consisted of approximately $800,000 of losses from operations and a noncash loss of approximately $1.0 million resulting from changes in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities, offset by interest earned from investments held in the Trust Account of approximately $307,000 and interest income from the bank account of approximately $2,000.

For the three months ended September 30, 2022, we had net income of approximately $1.5 million, which primarily consisted of a noncash gain of approximately $0.3 million resulting from changes in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities and income from investments held in the Trust Account of approximately $1.4 million, partially offset by approximately $268,000 of general and administrative expenses, including $30,000 of general and administrative expenses to related parties.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2023, we had net loss of approximately $2.1 million, which primarily consisted of approximately $3.4 million of losses from operations and a noncash loss of approximately $2.5 million resulting from changes in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities, offset by of interest earned from investments held in the Trust Account of approximately $3.7 million and interest income from the bank account of approximately $17,000.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, we had net income of approximately $8.7 million, which primarily consisted of a noncash gain of approximately $7.7 million resulting from changes in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities and income from investments held in the Trust Account of approximately $1.9 million, partially offset by approximately $905,000 of general and administrative expenses, including $90,000 of general and administrative expenses to related parties.

Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern Consideration

As of September 30, 2023, we had cash of $18,752.

Our liquidity needs prior to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering were satisfied through a payment of $25,000 from the Sponsor to cover certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for the issuance of the Founder Shares (as defined below), a loan under a note agreement from our Sponsor of approximately $149,000 (the “Note”), and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. We fully repaid the Note on March 25, 2021. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an initial business combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide us working capital loans. To date, there were no amounts outstanding under any working capital loans.

In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 205-40, “Presentation of Financial Statements – Going Concern,” management has determined that the liquidity condition and mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management continues to seek to complete an initial business combination within the Combination Period. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after the Extended Date. The financial statements do not include any adjustment that might be necessary if the Company is unable to continue as a going concern.

Contractual Obligations

We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than, an agreement to pay Sagara Group, LLC, which is a company controlled by Mr. Gloor, a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial, and administrative and support services. We began incurring these fees on March 23, 2021 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of an initial business combination and our liquidation.

The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $11,329,238 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete an initial business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. On May 30, 2023, the underwriters waived their entitlement to receive payment of the deferred underwriting commissions of $11,329,238, that was to be paid under the terms of the underwriting agreement, only in the event of closing of a business combination with Airship AI.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policy:

Derivative Warrant Liabilities

We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants and forward purchase agreements, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”) and FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period.

The warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement Warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815. Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the Company’s statements of operations. The initial estimated fair value of the warrants was measured using a Monte Carlo simulation. The subsequent estimated fair value of the Public Warrants is based on the listed price in an active market for such warrants while the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants continues to be measured using a Monte Carlo simulation.

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption

We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class ordinary shares 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) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Public Shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, 1,837,593 and 32,369,251 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.

Effective with the closing of the Public Offering (including sale of the Over-Allotment Units), we recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit.

Net (Loss) Income per ordinary share

We have two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption and non-redeemable Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net (loss) income per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net (loss) income by the weighted average of ordinary shares outstanding for the respective period.

The calculation of diluted net (loss) income per ordinary shares does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the Public Offering (including sale of the Over-Allotment Units) and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 16,699,626 ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted (loss) income per share, because their exercise is contingent upon future events and their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted net (loss) income per share is the same as basic net (loss) income per share for the period ended September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022. Accretion associated with the redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from net (loss) income per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.

Recent Accounting Standards

In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13 – Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”). This update requires financial assets measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The measurement of expected credit losses is based on relevant information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. Since June 2016, the FASB issued clarifying updates to the new standard including changing the effective date for smaller reporting companies. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2023. The adoption of ASU 2016-13 did not have an impact on its financial statements.

Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Contractual Obligations

As of September 30, 2023, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations.

JOBS Act

The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our Initial Public Offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer has concluded that during the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of September 30, 2023, because of a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Specifically, the Company’s management has concluded that our control around the interpretation and accounting for certain complex financial instruments and accruals was not effectively designed or maintained. This material weakness resulted in the restatement of the Company’s balance sheet as of March 23, 2021 and its interim financial statements for the quarters ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and March 31, 2023. Additionally, this material weakness could result in a misstatement of the warrant liability, Class A ordinary shares, accruals, and related accounts and disclosures that would result in a material misstatement of the financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2023 covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting except for the below:

Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures including consulting with subject matter experts related to the accounting for certain complex financial instruments. The Company’s management has expended, and will continue to expend, a substantial amount of effort and resources for the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we have expanded and will continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards.

As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2023 other than the risk factors listed below. Any of these factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risk factors not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business or results of operations. We may disclose changes to such risk factors or disclose additional risk factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

• restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
• restrictions on the issuance of securities,

each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

• registration as an investment company;
• adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
• reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.

With respect to the regulation of special purpose acquisition companies like the Company (“SPACs”), on March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to, among other items, disclosures in business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; the condensed financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; the use of projections by SPACs in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, including a proposed rule that would provide SPACs a safe harbor from treatment as an investment company if they satisfy certain conditions that limit a SPAC’s duration, asset composition, business purpose and activities.

There is currently uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to a SPAC, including a company like ours, that does not complete its initial business combination within the proposed time frame set forth in the proposed safe harbor rule. As indicated above, we completed our initial public offering in March 23, 2021 and have operated as a blank check company searching for a target business with which to consummate an initial business combination since such time (or approximately 29 months after the effective date of our initial public offering, as of the date of this Quarterly Report). If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we might be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. If we are required to liquidate the Company, our investors would not be able to realize the benefits of owning shares in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our shares and warrants following such a transaction, and our warrants would expire worthless.

The funds in the Trust Account were, since the Company’s initial public offering, held only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. However, to mitigate the risk of the Company being deemed to have been operating as an unregistered investment company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act), on February 10, 2023, the Company instructed Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in an interest-bearing demand deposit account until the earlier of consummation of the Company’s initial business combination or liquidation.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2023. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting relating to our accounting for complex financial instruments and accruals. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. Measures to remediate material weaknesses may be time-consuming and costly and there is no assurance that such initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results. If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and adversely affect our business and operating results. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses.

The Company’s ability to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company may be impacted if such initial business combination is subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations and review by a U.S. government entity, such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), and ultimately prohibited.

The Sponsor, BYTE Holdings LP, is a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership, and is likely to be considered a “foreign person” under the regulations administered by CFIUS. As such, an initial business combination with a U.S. business may be subject to CFIUS jurisdiction, the scope of which includes controlling investments (within the meaning of “control” under the CFIUS regulations) as well as certain non-passive, non-controlling investments in sensitive U.S. businesses meeting certain criteria. If the Company’s potential initial business combination with a U.S. business falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, the parties may determine that they are required to make a mandatory filing or that they will submit a voluntary filing to CFIUS, or to proceed with the initial business combination without notifying CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the initial business combination. CFIUS may decide to delay the initial business combination, impose conditions to mitigate national security concerns with respect to such initial business combination or recommend that the U.S. president block the initial business combination or order the Company to divest all or a portion of a U.S. business of the combined company, which may limit the attractiveness of or prevent the Company from pursuing certain initial business combination opportunities that it believes would otherwise be beneficial to the Company and its shareholders. As a result, the pool of potential targets with which the Company could complete an initial business combination may be impacted, and it may be adversely affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have similar foreign ownership issues.

Moreover, the process of government review, whether by the CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy and the Company has limited time to complete its initial business combination. If the Company cannot complete its initial business combination by December 26, 2023, or March 25, 2024, if the Company, without shareholder approval, elects to further extend such deadline, or such later date that may be approved by the Company’s shareholders, because the review process extends beyond such timeframe or because the initial business combination is ultimately prohibited by CFIUS or another U.S. government entity, the Company may be required to liquidate.