Amesite Inc.: Form 10-Q for the period ended Sep 30, 2023

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our unaudited financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our audited financial statements and related notes for the year ended June 30, 2023 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on October 6, 2022. In addition to historical information, this discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors. We discuss factors that we believe could cause or contribute to these differences below and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including those factors set forth in the section entitled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A.

Overview

The following discussion highlights our results of operations and the principal factors that have affected our financial condition as well as our liquidity and capital resources for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and provides information that management believes is relevant for an assessment and understanding of the statements of financial condition and results of operations presented herein. The following discussion and analysis are based on our unaudited financial statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which we have prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and requirements of the SEC. You should read the discussion and analysis together with such financial statements and the related notes thereto.

We are not currently profitable, and we cannot provide any assurance that we will ever be profitable. We incurred a net loss of $890,693 for the three months ended September 30, 2023, and we incurred a net loss of $34.3 million for the period from November 14, 2017 (date of incorporation) to September 30, 2023.

The assessment of the Company’s ability to meet its future obligations is inherently judgmental, subjective, and susceptible to change. Based on their current forecast, management believes that it will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to maintain the Company’s planned operations for the next twelve months following the issuance of these financial statements.

Reverse Split of Stock

On February 15, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”). At the Special Meeting, the stockholders also approved a proposal to amend the Company’s certificate of incorporation to affect a reverse split of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 at a specific ratio within a range of one-for five (1-for-5) to a maximum of one-for-fifty (1-for-50) to be determined by the Company’s board of directors in its sole discretion.

Following the Special Meeting, the board of directors approved a one-for-twelve (1-for-12) reverse split of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of common stock (the “Reverse Stock Split”). On February 21, 2023, the Company filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware a certificate of amendment to its certificate of incorporation (the “Certificate of Amendment”) to affect the Reverse Stock Split. The Reverse Stock Split became effective as of 4:01 p.m. Eastern Time on February 21, 2023, and the Company’s common stock began trading on a split-adjusted basis when the Nasdaq Stock Market opens on February 22, 2023.

On March 8, 2023, the Company received a letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) stating that because the Company’s common stock had a closing bid price at or above $1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days, the Company had regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2).

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

This management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which 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, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reported period. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates if conditions differ from our assumptions. While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 in the “Notes to Condensed Financial Statements,” we believe the following accounting policies are critical to the process of making significant judgments and estimates in preparation of our financial statements.

Cash, Cash Equivalents, including US Treasury Market Fund:

As of September 30, 2023 and June 30, 2023 our cash and cash equivalents totaled $4.6 million and $5.4 million respectively with the majority invested in a short-term US Treasury Fund returning 5%. The Fund is invested in US Treasuries with a 7-day liquidity.

The decision to allocate funds to the short-term US Treasury Fund is based on our investment strategy, which prioritizes liquidity and stability while receiving current rate returns. The returns from the fund for the three months ended September 30 were 5% and in line with our expectations and the broader market trends for similar investment vehicles.

We continuously monitor our investment portfolio, considering market conditions and our liquidity needs, ensuring alignment with our broader financial strategy and risk tolerance.

Internally-Developed Capitalized Software

We capitalize certain costs related to the development of software for our Customers, primarily consisting of direct labor and third-party vendor costs associated with creating the software. Software development projects generally include three stages: the preliminary project stage (all costs are expensed as incurred), the application development stage (certain costs are capitalized and certain costs are expensed as incurred) and the post-implementation/operation stage (all costs are expensed as incurred). Costs capitalized in the application development stage include costs related to the design and implementation of the selected software components, software build and configuration infrastructure, and software interfaces. Capitalization of costs requires judgment in determining when a project has reached the application development stage, the proportion of time spent in the application development stage, and the period over which we expect to benefit from the use of that software. Once the software is placed in service, these costs are amortized on the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the software, which is generally three years.

The Company capitalized software of $65,200 and $109,775 and recognized amortization expense of $146,021 and $180,659 for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Revenue Recognition

We generate substantially all our revenue from contractual arrangements with businesses, colleges and universities and K-12 schools to provide a comprehensive platform of tightly integrated technology and technology enabled services related to product offerings. Revenue related to our licensing arrangements is generally recognized ratably over the contract term commencing upon platform delivery. Revenue related to licensing arrangements recognized in a given time period will consist of contracts that went live in the current period or that went live in previous periods and are currently ongoing.

We have recorded accounts receivable of $18,750 and $15,000 as of September 30, 2023 and June 30, 2023 respectively and have set up deferred revenue liabilities at the end of each period to reflect performance obligations to be performed in future periods for our services delivered over time. Future obligations related to deferred revenue totaled $24,375 and $53,958 as of September 30, 2023 and June 30, 2023 respectively.

The majority of our Customers are private and public learning institutions across various domestic regions. For the three months ended September 30, 2023, five Customers comprised approximately 95% of total revenue.

Results of Operations

Revenue

We generated revenues of $63,333 for the three months ended September 30, 2023 as compared to $280,282 for the three months ended September 30, 2022. The revenue decrease compared to the prior year for the three months ended September, 2023 reflects the completion of the earning cycle for several large multi-year clients in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.

Stock-Based Compensation

We issue four types of stock-based awards under our stock plans: stock options, restricted stock units, deferred stock units, and stock warrants. All stock-based awards granted to employees, directors and independent contractors are measured at fair value at each grant date. We rely on the Black-Scholes option pricing model for estimating the fair value of stock-based awards granted, and expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s stock prices. Stock options generally vest over two years from the grant date and generally have ten-year contractual terms. Restricted stock units generally have a term of 12 months from the closing date of the agreement. Stock warrants issued have a term of five years. Information about the assumptions used in the calculation of stock-based compensation expense is set forth in Note 3 in the Notes to Financial Statements.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel and personnel-related expenses, including executive management, legal, finance, human resources and other departments that do not provide direct operational services. General and administrative expenses also include professional fees and other corporate expenses.

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2023 were $438,262 as compared to $976,320 for the three months ended September 30, 2022, a savings of 55%. The decrease between the three-month periods is primarily due to savings in the areas of personnel and contractor costs; professional fees; insurance premiums; travel, and general office expenses.

Technology and Content Development

Technology and content development expenses consist primarily of personnel and personnel-related expenses and contracted services associated with the ongoing improvement and maintenance of our platform as well as hosting and licensing costs. Technology and content expenses also include the amortization of capitalized software costs.

Technology and content development expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2023 were $333,434 as compared to $480,775 for the three months ended September 30, 2022, a savings of 31%. The decrease between the three-month periods in technology is principally related to reductions in contractor expenses and a reduction in capitalized software amortizations.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expense consist primarily of activities to attract Customers to our offerings. This includes personnel and personnel-related expenses, various search engine and social media costs as well as the cost of advertising.

Sales and marketing expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2023 were $241,627 as compared to $405,445 for the three months ended September 30, 2022, a savings of 40%. The decrease between the three-month periods in sales and marketing are principally related to savings with outside vendors and more effective lead generation.

Interest Income

For the three months ended September 30, 2023, interest income totaled $59,297 as compared to interest income of $5,451 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 reflecting the implementation of our short-term US Treasury fund investment strategy.

Net Loss

Our net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was $890,693 as compared to a net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2022 of $1,577,338. The loss was substantially lower during the three months ended September 30, 2023 compared to 2022 reflecting the expense savings and investment account earnings discussed above.

Financial Position, Liquidity, and Capital Resources

Overview

We are not currently profitable, and we cannot provide any assurance that we will ever be profitable, as indicated by our losses noted above.

During the period from November 14, 2017 (date of incorporation) to September 30, 2020, we raised net proceeds of approximately $11,760,000 from private placement financing transactions (stock and debt). On September 25, 2020, we completed the Offering of 250,000 shares of our common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, at an offering price of $60.00 per share (total net proceeds of approximately $12.8 million after underwriting discounts, commissions, and other offering costs).

On August 2, 2021, we entered into a purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (“Lincoln Park”), under which, subject to specified terms and conditions, we may sell up to $16.5 million shares of common stock. Our net proceeds under the Purchase Agreement will depend on the frequency of sales and the number of shares sold to Lincoln Park and the prices at which we sell shares to Lincoln Park. On August 2, 2021, we sold 63,260 shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park in an initial purchase under the Purchase Agreement for a total purchase price of $1,500,000. We also issued 12,727 shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park as consideration for its irrevocable commitment to purchase our common stock under the Purchase Agreement.

On February 16, 2022, we closed on a public offering of common stock and received approximately $2.51 million of cash proceeds, net of underwriting discounts, commissions, and other offering costs (Note 6 to the Financial Statements).

On September 1, 2022, we closed on a public offering of common stock and concurrent private placement of warrants and received approximately $1.85 million of cash proceeds, net of underwriting discounts, commissions, and other offering costs (Note 6 to the Financial Statements).

As of September 30, 2023, our cash and cash equivalent balance totaled $4.6 million.

The Company is developing its customer base and has not completed its efforts to establish a stabilized source of revenue sufficient to cover its expenses. The Company has had a history of net losses and negative cash flows from operating activities since inception and expects to continue to incur net losses and use cash in its operations in the foreseeable future.

The assessment of the Company’s ability to meet its future obligations is inherently judgmental, subjective, and susceptible to change. Based on their current forecast, management believes that it will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to maintain the Company’s planned operations for the next twelve months following the issuance of these financial statements.

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision, and with the participation of, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (also our principal executive officer) and our Chief Financial Officer (also our principal financial and accounting officer), of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”). Based on that evaluation, our management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Changes in Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period ended September 30, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows may be impacted by a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including those set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, the occurrence of any one of which could have a material adverse effect on our actual results. There have been no material changes in our risk factors from those previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.