As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25, 2021.

Registration No. 333-                

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

UiPath, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		7372		47-4333187
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

90 Park Ave, 20th Floor

New York, New York 10016

(844) 432-0455

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Daniel Dines

Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and Chairman

UiPath, Inc.

90 Park Ave, 20th Floor

New York, New York 10016

(844) 432-0455

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Nicole Brookshire Eric Jensen Matthew Dubofsky Cooley LLP 55 Hudson Yards New York, New York 10001 (212) 479-6000		Brad Brubaker Chief Legal Officer UiPath, Inc. 90 Park Ave, 20th Floor New York, New York 10016 (844) 432-0455		Alan F. Denenberg Byron B. Rooney Yasin Keshvargar Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 450 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10017 (212) 450-4000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after this registration statement is declared effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.  ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer		☐		Accelerated filer		☐
Non-accelerated filer		☒		Smaller reporting company		☐
				Emerging growth company		☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of each Class of Securities to be Registered		Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1)(2)		Amount of Registration Fee
Class A common stock, par value $0.00001 per share		$1,000,000,000		$109,100

 

(1)	Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(2)	Includes the aggregate offering price of additional shares that the underwriters have the option to purchase, if any.

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant will file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement will thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement will become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus

 

		Page
LETTER FROM DANIEL DINES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CO-FOUNDER, AND CHAIRMAN			iii
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY			1
RISK FACTORS			19
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			61
MARKET, INDUSTRY, AND OTHER DATA			63
USE OF PROCEEDS			64
DIVIDEND POLICY			65
CAPITALIZATION			66
DILUTION			69
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS			72
BUSINESS			102
MANAGEMENT			145
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION			153
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS			163
PRINCIPAL AND SELLING STOCKHOLDERS			168
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK			171
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE			178
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS OF OUR CLASS A COMMON STOCK			182
UNDERWRITING			186
LEGAL MATTERS			193
EXPERTS			193
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION			193
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS			F-1

 

 

Through and including                     , 2021 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.

 

 

Neither we, the selling stockholders, nor any of the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing

 

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prospectuses we have prepared. Neither we, the selling stockholders, nor any of the underwriters take responsibility for, or can provide any assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We, the selling stockholders and the underwriters are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of our Class A common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our Class A common stock.

For investors outside the United States: neither we, the selling stockholders, nor any of the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside of the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of our Class A common stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside of the United States.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our Class A common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider and read carefully all of the risks and uncertainties described below, as well as other information included in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, before making an investment decision. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. The occurrence of any of the following risks or additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations. In such case, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline, and you may lose some or all of your original investment.

Risks Related to Our Business, Products, Operations, and Industry

Our recent rapid growth may not be indicative of our future growth. Our limited operating history and recent rapid growth also make it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and may increase the risk that we will not be successful.

Our annualized renewal run-rate, or ARR, was $351.4 million and $580.4 million in the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively, representing a growth rate of 65%. We generated revenue of $336.2 million and $607.6 million for the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively, representing a growth rate of 81%. You should not, however, rely on the ARR or revenue growth of any prior quarterly or annual fiscal period as an indication of our future performance. We were incorporated in June 2015, and as a result of our limited operating history, our ability to accurately forecast our future results of operations is limited and subject to a number of uncertainties, including our ability to plan for and model future growth. Even if our ARR and revenue continue to increase, we expect that our ARR and revenue growth rates will decline in the future as a result of a variety of factors, including the maturation of our business, increased competition, changes to technology, a decrease in the growth of our overall market, or our failure, for any reason, to continue to take advantage of growth opportunities. Overall growth of our business depends on a number of additional factors, including our ability to:

 

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price our products effectively so that we are able to attract new customers and expand sales to our existing customers;

 

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expand the functionality and use cases for the products we offer on our platform;

 

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maintain and expand the rates at which customers purchase and renew licenses to our platform;

 

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provide our customers with support that meets their needs;

 

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continue to introduce and sell our products to new markets;

 

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continue to develop new products and new functionality for our platform and successfully further optimize our existing products and infrastructure;

 

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successfully identify and acquire or invest in businesses, products, or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our platform; and

 

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increase awareness of our brand on a global basis and successfully compete with other companies.

We may not successfully accomplish any of these objectives, and as a result, it is difficult for us to forecast our future results of operations. If the assumptions that we use to plan our business are incorrect or change in reaction to changes in our market, or if we are unable to maintain consistent ARR, revenue, or ARR or revenue

 

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growth, our stock price could be volatile, and it may be difficult to achieve and maintain profitability. You should not rely on our ARR or revenue for any prior quarterly or annual fiscal periods as an indication of our future ARR or revenue or ARR or revenue growth.

In addition, we expect to continue to expend substantial financial and other resources on:

 

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our technology infrastructure, including systems architecture, scalability, availability, performance, and security;

 

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our sales and marketing organization to engage our existing and prospective customers, increase brand awareness, and drive adoption of our products;

 

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product development, including investments in our product development team and the development of new products and new functionality for our platform as well as investments in further optimizing our existing products and infrastructure;

 

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acquisitions or strategic investments;

 

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our international operations and continued international expansion; and

 

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general administration, including increased legal and accounting expenses associated with being a public company.

These investments may not be successful on the timeline we anticipate or at all, and may not result in increased ARR or revenue growth. For instance, we anticipate that our customers will continue to increase adoption of our cloud offerings in future periods. We have offered our cloud-based products for only a short period of time, and we cannot predict how increased adoption of our cloud-based products will change the buying patterns of our customers or impact our future ARR or revenue. If we are unable to maintain or increase our ARR or revenue at a rate sufficient to offset the expected increase in our costs, our business, financial position, and results of operations will be harmed, and we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability over the long term. Additionally, we have encountered, and may in the future encounter, risks and uncertainties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly changing industries, such as unforeseen operating expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other known or unknown factors that may result in losses in future periods. If our ARR or revenue growth does not meet our expectations in future periods, our business, financial position, and results of operations may be harmed, and we may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future.

In addition, we will need to appropriately scale our internal business systems and our services organization, including customer support and professional services, to serve our growing customer base. Any failure of or delay in these efforts could result in impaired system performance and reduced customer satisfaction, resulting in decreased sales to new customers, lower dollar-based net retention rates, the issuance of service credits, or requested refunds, which would hurt our ARR or revenue growth and our reputation. Even if we are successful in our expansion efforts, they will be expensive and complex, and require the dedication of significant management time and attention. We could also face inefficiencies or service disruptions as a result of our efforts to scale our internal infrastructure. We cannot be sure that the expansion of and improvements to our internal infrastructure will be effectively implemented on a timely basis, if at all, and such failures could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may not be able to successfully manage our growth and, if we are not able to grow efficiently, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be harmed.

As usage of our platform capabilities grow, we will need to devote additional resources to improving and maintaining our infrastructure and integrating with third-party applications. In addition, we will need to

 

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appropriately scale our internal business systems and our services organization, including customer support and professional services, to serve our growing customer base. Any failure of or delay in these efforts could result in impaired system performance and reduced customer satisfaction, resulting in decreased sales to new customers, lower dollar-based net retention rates, the issuance of service credits, or requested refunds, which would hurt our revenue growth and our reputation. Even if we are successful in our expansion efforts, they will be expensive and complex, and require the dedication of significant management time and attention. We could also face inefficiencies or service disruptions as a result of our efforts to scale our internal infrastructure. We cannot be sure that the expansion of and improvements to our internal infrastructure will be effectively implemented on a timely basis, if at all, and such failures could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Because we derive substantially all of our revenue from our automation platform, failure of this platform to satisfy customer demands could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and growth prospects.

We derive and expect to continue to derive substantially all of our revenue from our automation platform. As such, market adoption of our automation platform is critical to our continued success. Demand for our automation platform may be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including continued market acceptance and integration of our platform into our customers’ operations, the continued volume, variety, and velocity of automated tasks that are generated through use of our platform, timing of development, and release of new offerings by our competitors, technological change, and the rate of growth in our market. Additionally, the utility of our automation platform and products relies in part on the ability of our customers to use our automation products in connection with other third-party software products that are important to our customer’s business. If these third-party software providers were to modify the terms of their licensing arrangements with our customers in a manner that would reduce the utility of our products, or increase the cost to use our products, in connection with these third-party software products then our customers may no longer choose to adopt our automation platform or continue to use our products. If we are unable to continue to meet the demands of our customers and the developer community, our business operations, financial results, and growth prospects will be materially and adversely affected.

Our business depends on our existing customers renewing their licenses and purchasing additional licenses and products from us and our channel partners. Declines in renewals or the purchase of additional licenses by our customers could harm our future operating results.

Part of our growth strategy relies on our ability to deliver significant value in a short time to our customers, so that our customers will scale the use of our platform throughout their enterprise. Accordingly, our future success depends in part on our ability to exhibit this value and sell additional licenses and products to our existing customers, and our customers renewing their licenses with us and our channel partners when the contract term expires. Our license agreements primarily have annual terms, and some of our license agreements have multi-year terms. We generally do not sell standalone licenses with a term of less than one year. However, during the term of an annual contract or the last year of a multi-year contract, our customers may enter into an additional license agreement with a termination date that is coterminous with the anniversary date of such annual contract. Our customers have no obligation to renew their licenses for our products after the expiration of their license period. We also provide some customers the opportunity to use our automation platform and products for free prior to purchasing a license. We also work with our customers to identify opportunities for follow-on sales to increase our footprint within their businesses.

In order for us to maintain or improve our results of operations, it is important that our customers renew or expand their licenses with us and our channel partners. We cannot accurately predict our renewals and dollar-based net retention rate given the diversity of our customer base, in terms of size, industry, and geography. Our renewals and dollar-based net retention rate may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside our control, including the business strength or weakness of our customers, customer usage, including the ability of our customers to quickly integrate our products into their businesses and continually find

 

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new uses for our products within their businesses, customer satisfaction with our products and platform capabilities and customer support, the utility of our platform to cost-effectively integrate with third-party software products, our prices, the capabilities and prices of competing products, mergers and acquisitions affecting our customer base, consolidation of affiliates’ multiple paid business accounts into a single paid business account or loss of business accounts in their entirety, the effects of global economic conditions, or reductions in our customers’ spending on information technology, or IT, solutions or their spending levels generally, perceived security or data privacy risks from the use of our products, changes in regulatory regimes that effect our customers or our ability to sell our products, or the views of the industry and public with regard to our products and robotic process automation, or RPA, products generally, including as a result of increased automation and displacement of human workforces. These factors may also be exacerbated if, consistent with our growth strategy, our customer base continues to grow to encompass larger enterprises, which may also require more sophisticated and costly sales efforts. If our customers do not purchase additional licenses and products from us or our customers fail to renew their licenses, our revenue may decline and our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be harmed.

If we are unable to attract new customers, our business, financial condition, and results of operations will be adversely affected.

To increase our revenue, we must continue to attract new customers. Our success will depend to a substantial extent on the widespread adoption of our platform and products as an alternative to existing solutions, including as an alternative to traditional systems relying on manual tasks and processes. Many enterprises have invested substantial personnel and financial resources to integrate traditional human-driven processes into their business architecture and, therefore, may be reluctant or unwilling to migrate to an automation solution. Accordingly, the adoption of automation solutions may be slower than we anticipate. A large proportion of our target market still uses traditional systems relying on manual tasks and processes for the major part of their operations. This market may need further education on the value of automation solutions in general and our platform and products in particular, and on how to integrate them into current operations. A lack of education as to how our automation solutions operate may cause potential customers to prefer more traditional methodologies, to be cautious about investing in our platform and products, or to have difficulty integrating our platform and products into their business architecture. If we are unable to educate potential customers and change the market’s readiness to accept our technology, we may experience slower than projected growth.

In addition, as our market matures, our products evolve, and competitors introduce lower cost or differentiated products that are perceived to be alternatives to our platform and products, our ability to sell licenses for our products could be impaired. Similarly, our license sales could be adversely affected if customers or users within these organizations perceive that features incorporated into competitive products reduce the need for our products or if they prefer to purchase other products that are bundled with solutions offered by other companies that operate in adjacent markets and compete with our products. As a result of these and other factors, we may be unable to attract new customers, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The markets in which we participate are competitive and, if we do not compete effectively, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be harmed.

Our platform and products provide automation solutions that our customers can integrate throughout their businesses. Accordingly, we compete with companies that provide RPA and other automation solutions, including Appian Corporation, Automation Anywhere, Inc., Blue Prism Group PLC, Celonis Inc., EdgeVerve Systems Limited, Kofax Inc., Kyron Systems Inc., Microsoft Corporation, NICE LTD., NTT Ltd., Pegasystems Inc., and WorkFusion, Inc. In addition to RPA software providers, we compete with automation lifecycle technology providers, such as low-code, iBPMS, iPaaS, process mining, and test automation vendors, which develop and market automation capabilities as extensions of their core platforms, and enterprise platform vendors, which provide horizontal applications and productivity tools and are acquiring, building, or investing in

 

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RPA functionality or partnering with RPA providers. We also compete with companies that provide and support the traditional systems relying on manual tasks and processes that our platform and products are designed to replace, including companies that facilitate outsourcing of such tasks and processes to lower cost workers. Our customers may also internally develop their own automated solutions to address tasks particular to their business. Our market may need further education on the value of automation solutions and our platform and products, and on how to integrate them into current operations. A lack of education as to how our automation platform and products operate may cause potential customers to prefer more traditional methodologies or their limited, internally-developed automated processes, to be cautious about investing in our platform and products, or to have difficulty integrating our platform and products into their business architecture. If we are unable to educate potential customers and change the market’s readiness to accept our technology, then our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be harmed.

The RPA market is one of the fastest growing enterprise software markets and is increasingly competitive. With the introduction of new technologies and market entrants, we expect that the competitive environment will remain intense going forward. For instance, as our market becomes increasingly driven by cloud-based solutions, native cloud providers may enter this market and provide competitive offerings at lower prices. Additionally, open source alternatives for automation that are offered freely may impact our ability to sell our products to certain customers who may prefer to rely on these tools at no cost. Some of our actual and potential competitors have been acquired by other larger enterprises, have made or may make acquisitions, may enter into partnerships or other strategic relationships that may provide more comprehensive products than they individually had offered or may achieve greater economies of scale than us. In addition, new entrants not currently considered to be competitors may enter the market through acquisitions, partnerships, or strategic relationships. As we look to market and sell our products and platform capabilities to potential customers with existing internal solutions, we must convince their internal stakeholders that our products and platform capabilities are superior to their current solutions.

If we fail to continue to differentiate our platform and products from those offered by our competitors, then our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be harmed.

Our competitors vary in size and in the breadth and scope of the products offered. Many of our competitors and potential competitors have greater name recognition, longer operating histories, more established customer relationships and installed customer bases, larger marketing budgets, and greater resources than we do. Further, other potential competitors not currently offering competitive solutions may expand their product or service offerings to compete with our products and platform capabilities. For instance, a number of our potential competitors already have close, integrated relationships with our customers and potential customers for other service offerings. If any of these potential competitors were to provide an automation solution within their current service offerings as a single, integrated solution, our customers and potential customers may choose to adopt the integrated solution due to administrative ease or other factors that are outside our control. Our current and potential competitors may also establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources and product offerings in our addressable market. Our competitors may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than we can to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards, and customer requirements. An existing competitor or new entrant could introduce new technology that reduces demand for our products and platform capabilities. In addition to product and technology competition, we face pricing competition. Some of our competitors offer their on-premises or cloud solutions at a lower price, which has resulted in, and may continue to result in, pricing pressures.

For all of these reasons, we may not be able to compete successfully against our current or future competitors, and this competition could result in the failure of our platform to continue to achieve or maintain market acceptance, which would harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

 

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If we fail to retain and motivate members of our management team or other key employees, or fail to attract additional qualified personnel to support our operations, our business and future growth prospects would be harmed.

Our success and future growth depend largely upon the continued services of our executive officers, particularly Daniel Dines, our Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and Chairman, as well as our other key employees in the areas of research and development and sales and marketing. Additionally, many members of our management team have been with us for a short period of time or have served in their current roles for a short period of time, including Ashim Gupta, our Chief Financial Officer, who joined us in February 2018 and was promoted to the position of Chief Financial Officer in November 2019, Brad Brubaker, our General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, who joined us in April 2019, Ted Kummert, our Executive Vice President of Product and Engineering, who joined us in March 2020, and Thomas Hansen, our Chief Revenue Officer, who joined us in April 2020. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team or other key employees resulting from hiring or the departure of these personnel. Our executive officers and other key employees are employed on an at-will basis, which means that these personnel could terminate their employment with us at any time. The loss of one or more of our executive officers, or the failure by our executive team to effectively work with our employees and lead our company, could harm our business. We also are dependent on the continued service of our existing software engineers because of the complexity of our products and platform capabilities.

In addition, to execute our growth plan, we must attract and retain highly-qualified personnel. Competition for these personnel is intense, especially for engineers experienced in designing and developing RPA, artificial intelligence, or AI, and machine learning, or ML, applications, and experienced sales professionals. If we are unable to attract such personnel in cities where we are located, we may need to hire in other locations, which may add to the complexity and costs of our business operations. From time to time, we have experienced, and we expect to continue to experience, difficulty in hiring and retaining employees with appropriate qualifications. Many of the companies with which we compete for experienced personnel have greater resources than we have. If we hire employees from competitors or other companies, their former employers may attempt to assert that these employees or we have breached their legal obligations, resulting in a diversion of our time and resources. In addition, prospective and existing employees often consider the value of the equity awards they receive in connection with their employment. If the perceived value of our equity awards declines, experiences significant volatility, or increases such that prospective employees believe there is limited upside to the value of our equity awards, it may adversely affect our ability to recruit and retain key employees. If we fail to attract new personnel or fail to retain and motivate our current personnel, our business and future growth prospects would be harmed.

We have a history of operating losses and have not been profitable in the past. We may not be able to reach and maintain profitability in the future.

We have experienced net losses in each fiscal year since inception. We generated net loss of $519.9 million and $92.4 million for the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively. As of January 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $970.4 million. While we have experienced significant revenue growth in recent periods, and have not been profitable in prior periods, we are not certain whether we will obtain a high enough volume of sales to sustain or increase our growth or reach and maintain profitability in the future. We also expect our costs and expenses to increase in future periods, which could negatively affect our future results of operations if our revenue does not increase. In particular, we intend to continue to expend significant funds to further develop our platform, including by introducing new products and functionality, and to expand our inside sales team and enterprise sales force to drive new customer adoption, expand use cases and integrations, and support international expansion. We will also face increased compliance costs associated with growth, the expansion of our customer base, and being a public company. Our efforts to grow our business may be costlier than we expect, or the rate of our growth in revenue may be slower than we expect, and we may not be able to increase our revenue enough to offset our increased operating expenses. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including the other risks described herein, and unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, or delays, and other unknown events. If we are unable to sustain profitability, the value of our business and Class A common stock may significantly decrease.

 

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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and any related economic downturn could negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may prevent us or our employees, customers, partners, suppliers, or vendors or other parties with whom we do business from conducting certain marketing and other business activities for an indefinite period of time, which could adversely impact our business, financial position, and results of operations. Further, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many state, local, and foreign governments have put in place, and others in the future may put in place or reinstate, quarantines, executive orders, shelter-in-place orders, and similar government orders and restrictions in order to control the spread of the disease. The reaction to COVID-19, including as a result of such orders or restrictions (or the perception that such orders or restrictions could occur or reoccur), have resulted in business closures, work stoppages, slowdowns, and delays, work-from-home policies, travel restrictions, and cancellation of events, among other effects that could negatively impact productivity and disrupt our operations or those of our customers, partners, suppliers, or vendors or other parties with whom we do business.

In light of the uncertain and rapidly evolving situation relating to the spread of COVID-19 and in compliance with shelter-in-place orders and other government executive orders directing that all non-essential businesses close their physical operations, we have taken measures intended to help minimize the risk of the virus to our employees and the communities in which we participate. These measures include temporarily suspending all non-essential travel worldwide for our employees, canceling, postponing, or holding virtually any UiPath events and discouraging employee attendance at any industry events or in-person work-related meetings. In addition, although we have recently and may continue to selectively reopen certain of our offices in compliance with applicable government orders and public health guidelines, the vast majority of our employees continue to work remotely. We have a distributed workforce and our employees are accustomed to working remotely and working with others who are working remotely. However, the temporary suspension of travel and in-person meetings could negatively impact our marketing efforts, the length or variability of our sales cycles, our international operations and continued international operations, or the length of our average recruiting cycle for employees across the organization. Further, operational or other challenges could arise as we and our customers, partners, suppliers, and vendors and other parties with whom we do business continue to operate remotely. In addition, our management team has spent, and will likely continue to spend, significant time, attention, and resources monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and seeking to manage its effects on our business and workforce. COVID-19 could also adversely affect workforces, economies, and financial markets globally, potentially leading to an economic downturn and a reduction in customer spending on our products or an inability for our customers, partners, suppliers, or vendors or other parties with whom we do business to meet their contractual obligations.

While it is not possible at this time to predict the duration and extent of the impact that COVID-19 could have on worldwide economic activity and our business in particular, the continued spread of COVID-19, the timeline associated with the roll-out of vaccines, and the measures taken by governments, businesses, and other organizations in response to COVID-19 could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, as a public company we may provide guidance about our business and future operating results, which we expect will be based on assumptions, estimates, and expectations as of the date such guidance is given. Guidance is necessarily speculative in nature and is inherently subject to significant business, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are expected to be beyond our control, such as the global economic uncertainty and financial market conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. If we were to revise or fail to meet our announced guidance or expectations of analysts as a result of these factors, the price of our Class A common stock could be negatively affected. Moreover, to the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business, financial condition, and results of operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, including, but not limited to, those related to our ability to expand within our existing customer base, acquire new customers, develop and expand our sales and marketing capabilities, and expand internationally.

 

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Unfavorable conditions in our industry or the global economy, or reductions in IT spending, could limit our ability to grow our business and negatively affect our results of operations.

Our results of operations may vary based on the impact of changes in our industry or the global economy on us or our customers and potential customers. Unfavorable conditions in the economy both in the United States and abroad, including conditions resulting from changes in gross domestic product growth in the United States or abroad, financial and credit market fluctuations, international trade relations, political turmoil, natural catastrophes, outbreaks of contagious diseases (such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), warfare, and terrorist attacks on the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific region, or elsewhere, could cause a decrease in business investments, including spending on IT, disrupt the timing and cadence of key industry events, and negatively affect the growth of our business and our results of operations. For example, these types of unfavorable conditions have in the past and could in the future disrupt the timing of and attendance at key industry events, which we rely upon in part to generate sales of our products. If those events are disrupted in the future, our marketing investments, sales pipeline, and ability to generate new customers and sales of our products could be negatively and adversely affected. In addition, our competitors, many of whom are larger and have greater financial resources than we do, may respond to challenging market conditions by lowering prices in an attempt to attract our customers and may be less dependent on key industry events to generate sales for their products. In addition, the increased pace of consolidation in certain industries may result in reduced overall spending on our products. Further, to the extent there is a general economic downturn and our platform is perceived by customers and potential customers as costly, or too difficult to deploy or migrate to, our revenue may be disproportionately affected by delays or reductions in general IT spending. We cannot predict the timing, strength, or duration of any economic slowdown, instability, or recovery, generally or within any particular industry. If the economic conditions of the general economy or markets in which we operate worsen from present levels, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected.

A limited number of customers represent a substantial portion of our revenue and ARR. If we fail to retain these customers, our revenue and ARR could decline significantly.

We derive a substantial portion of our revenue and ARR from sales to our top 10% of customers. As a result, our revenue and ARR could fluctuate materially and could be materially and disproportionately impacted by purchasing decisions of these customers or any other significant future customer. Any of our significant customers may decide to purchase less than they have in the past, may alter their purchasing patterns at any time with limited notice, or may decide not to continue to license our platform and products at all, any of which could cause our revenue and ARR to decline and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. If we do not further diversify our customer base, we will continue to be susceptible to risks associated with customer concentration.

We rely on our channel partners to generate a substantial amount of our revenue, and if we fail to expand and manage our distribution channels, our revenue could decline and our growth prospects could suffer.

Our success significantly depends upon maintaining and growing our relationships with a variety of channel partners and we anticipate that we will continue to depend on these partners in order to grow our business. Our channel partners enable us to extend our local and global reach, in particular with smaller customers and in geographies where we have less direct sales presence. For the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, we derived a substantial amount of our revenue from sales through channel partners, and we expect to continue to derive a substantial amount of our revenue from channel partners in future periods. Our agreements with our channel partners are generally non-exclusive and do not prohibit them from working with our competitors or offering competing products, and many of our channel partners may have more established relationships with our competitors. If our channel partners choose to place greater emphasis on products of their own or those offered by our competitors, do not effectively market and sell our products, or fail to meet the needs of our customers, then our ability to grow our business and sell our products may be adversely affected. In addition, the loss of one or more of our larger channel partners, who may cease marketing our products with limited or no notice, and our

 

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possible inability to replace them, could adversely affect our sales. Moreover, our ability to expand our distribution channels depends in part on our ability to educate our channel partners about our platform and products, which can be complex. Our failure to recruit additional channel partners, or any reduction or delay in their sales of our products or conflicts between channel sales and our direct sales and marketing activities may harm our results of operations. Even if we are successful, these relationships may not result in greater customer usage of our products or increased revenue. We also bear the risk that our channel partners will fail to comply with U.S. or international anti-corruption or anti-competition laws, in which case we might be fined or otherwise penalized as a result of the agency relationship with such partners.

In addition, the financial health of our channel partners and our continuing relationships with them are important to our success. Some of these channel partners may be unable to withstand adverse changes in economic conditions, which could result in insolvency and/or the inability of such distributors to obtain credit to finance purchases of our products and services. In addition, weakness in the end-user market could negatively affect the cash flows of our channel partners who could, in turn, delay paying their obligations to us, which would increase our credit risk exposure. Our business could be harmed if the financial condition of some of these channel partners substantially weakened and we were unable to timely secure replacement channel partners.

If we and our channel partners fail to provide sufficient high-quality consulting, training, support, and maintenance resources to enable our customers to realize significant business value from our platform, we may see a decrease in customer adoption of our platform.

Our customers sometimes request consulting and training to assist them in integrating our platform into their business, and rely on our customer support personnel to resolve issues and realize the full benefits that our platform provides. As a result, an increase in the number of customers is likely to increase demand for consulting, training, support, and maintenance related to our products. Given that our customer base and products continue to grow, we will need to provide our customers with more consulting, training, support, and maintenance to enable them to realize significant business value from our platform. We rely on our ecosystem of partners that build, train, and certify skills on our technology, as well as deploy our technology on behalf of their customers. We have been increasing our channel partner and customer enablement through our UiPath Academy and other training initiatives designed to create an ecosystem of people that are skilled in the use and integration of our platform in business operations. However, if we and our channel partners are unable to provide sufficient high-quality consulting, training, integration, and maintenance resources, our customers may not effectively integrate our automation platform into their business or realize sufficient business value from our products to justify follow-on sales, which could impact our future financial performance. Additionally, if our channel partners fail to perform or if the brand for any of our channel partners is harmed, our customers may not choose to rely on our channel partners for consulting, training, integration, and maintenance resources as well. Further, some of our customers are industry leaders, and our contracts with them receive significant public attention. If we or our channel partners encounter problems in helping these customers implement our platform or if there is negative publicity regarding these engagements (even if unrelated to our services or products) our reputation could be harmed and our future financial performance could be negatively impacted. Finally, the investments required to meet the increased demand for our consulting services could strain our ability to deliver our consulting engagements at desired levels of profitability, thereby impacting our overall profitability and financial results.

If we are not able to introduce new features or services successfully and to make enhancements to our platform or products, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our ability to attract new customers and increase revenue from existing customers depends in part on our ability to enhance and improve our platform and to introduce new features and services. To grow our business and remain competitive, we must continue to enhance our platform with features that reflect the constantly evolving nature of automation and AI technology and our customers’ evolving needs. The success of new products, enhancements, and developments depends on several factors including, but not limited to: our

 

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anticipation of market changes and demands for product features, including successful product design and timely product introduction and conclusion, sufficient customer demand, cost effectiveness in our product development efforts, and the proliferation of new technologies that are able to deliver competitive products and services at lower prices, more efficiently, more conveniently, or more securely. In addition, because our platform is designed to operate with a variety of systems, applications, data, and devices, we will need to continuously modify and enhance our platform to keep pace with changes in such systems. We may not be successful in developing these modifications and enhancements. Furthermore, the addition of features and solutions to our platform will increase our research and development expenses. Any new features that we develop may not be introduced in a timely or cost-effective manner or may not achieve the market acceptance necessary to generate sufficient revenue to justify the related expenses. It is difficult to predict customer adoption of new features. Such uncertainty limits our ability to forecast our future results of operations and subjects us to a number of challenges, including our ability to plan for and model future growth. If we cannot address such uncertainties and successfully develop new features, enhance our software, or otherwise overcome technological challenges and competing technologies, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We also offer professional services including consulting and training and must continually adapt to assist our customers in deploying our platform in accordance with their specific automation strategies. If we cannot introduce new services or enhance our existing services to keep pace with changes in our customers’ deployment strategies, we may not be able to attract new customers, retain existing customers, and expand their use of our software or secure renewal contracts, which are important for the future of our business.

We offer free trials and a free tier of our platform to drive awareness of our products, and encourage use and adoption. If these marketing strategies fail to lead to customers purchasing paid licenses, our ability to grow our revenue will be adversely affected.

To encourage awareness, use, familiarity, and adoption of our platform and products, we offer a community edition and enterprise trial version of our software, each of which provides free, online access to certain of our products. This “try-before-you-buy” strategy may not be successful in driving developer education regarding or leading customers to purchase our products. Many users of our free tier may not lead to others within their organization purchasing and deploying our platform and products. To the extent that users do not become, or we are unable to successfully attract paying customers, we will not realize the intended benefits of these marketing strategies and our ability to grow our revenue will be adversely affected.

We target enterprise customers, and sales to these customers involve risks that may not be present or that are present to a lesser extent with sales to smaller entities.

Our enterprise sales force focuses on sales to large enterprise, organizational, and government agency customers. As of January 31, 2019, we had 305 customers with ARR of $100,000 or more and 21 customers with ARR of $1.0 million or more, which accounted for 69% and 27% of our revenue, respectively, for the fiscal year then ended. As of January 31, 2020, we had 597 customers with ARR of $100,000 or more and 43 customers with ARR of $1.0 million or more, which accounted for 69% and 25% of our revenue, respectively, for the fiscal year then ended. As of January 31, 2021, we had 1,002 customers with ARR of $100,000 or more and 89 customers with ARR of $1.0 million or more, which accounted for 75% and 35% of our revenue, respectively, for the fiscal year then ended. See the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metric—Annualized Renewal Run-Rate” for a description of ARR. Sales to large customers involve risks that may not be present or that are present to a lesser extent with sales to smaller entities, such as longer sales cycles, more complex customer requirements (and higher contractual risk as a result), substantial upfront sales costs, less favorable terms, and less predictability in completing some of our sales. For example, enterprise customers may require considerable time to evaluate and test our solution and those of our competitors prior to making a purchase decision and placing an order. A number of factors influence the length and variability of our sales cycle, including the need to educate potential customers about the uses and benefits of our automation platform and products, the discretionary nature of purchasing and budget cycles and, the competitive nature of

 

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evaluation and purchasing approval processes. As a result, the length of our sales cycle, from identification of the opportunity to deal closure, may vary significantly from customer to customer, with sales to large enterprises typically taking longer to complete and requiring greater organizational resources. Moreover, large enterprise customers often begin to deploy our products on a limited basis, but nevertheless demand configuration, integration services, and pricing negotiations, which increase our upfront investment in the sales effort with no guarantee that these customers will deploy our products widely enough across their organization to justify our substantial upfront investment.

Real or perceived errors, failures, or bugs in our platform and products could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and growth prospects.

Our platform and products are complex and use novel technology. Undetected errors, failures, or bugs have occurred in our platform and products in the past and may occur in the future. Our platform and products are used throughout our customers’ business environments and with different operating systems, system management software, applications, devices, databases, servers, storage, middleware, custom and third-party applications and equipment, and networking configurations, which may cause errors or failures in the business environment into which our platform and products are deployed. This diversity of applications increases the likelihood of errors or failures in those business environments. Despite testing by us, real or perceived errors, failures, or bugs may not be found until our customers use our platform and products. Such failures or bugs can cause reputational damage, and in some cases can affect our revenue due to the impact of service level commitments that we offer to our customers, as described below.

Our platform and products also empower our customers to develop their own use cases for our automation platform and products. We cannot guarantee that these user-developed automations will be effective or that they do not include errors, failures, or bugs that then may be attributed, correctly or not, to our underlying technologies. For instance, our customers may use our products in a manner in which they were not intended and that could cause our platform or products to be implicated in any resulting errors or failures. Real or perceived errors, failures, or bugs in our platform and products could result in negative publicity, loss of or delay in market acceptance of our platform and products, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, harm to our brand, weakening of our competitive position, claims by customers for losses sustained by them, or failure to meet the stated service level commitments in our customer agreements. In such an event, we may be required, or may choose, for customer relations or other reasons, to expend significant additional resources in order to help correct the problem. Any errors, failures, or bugs in our platform or products could also impair our ability to attract new customers, retain existing customers, or expand their use of our software, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Incorrect or improper implementation or use of our platform and products could result in customer dissatisfaction and harm our business, results of operations, financial condition, and growth prospects.

Our automation platform and products and related services are designed to be deployed in a wide variety of technology environments, including in large-scale, complex technology environments across a wide range of use cases. We believe our future success will depend, at least in part, on our ability and the ability of our channel partners to support such deployments. Implementations of our platform may be technically complicated and it may not be easy to maximize the value of our platform without proper implementation and training. If our customers are unable to implement our platform successfully, or in a timely manner, or if our customers perceive that the implementation of our platform is too complex or time consuming, customer perceptions of our company and our software may be impaired, our reputation and brand may suffer, and customers may choose not to renew their licenses or increase their purchases of our related services.

We regularly train our customers and channel partners in the proper use of and the variety of benefits that can be derived from our automation platform and products to maximize its potential. We and our channel partners often work with our customers to achieve successful implementations, particularly for large, complex

 

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deployments. Our failure or the failure of our channel partners to train customers on how to efficiently and effectively deploy and use our platform and products, or our failure or the failure of our channel partners to provide effective support or professional services to our customers, whether actual or perceived, may result in negative publicity or legal actions against us. Also, as we continue to expand our customer base, any actual or perceived failure by us or our channel partners to properly provide these services will likely result in lost opportunities for follow-on sales of our related services.

We rely upon third-party providers of cloud-based infrastructure to host our cloud-based products. Any disruption in the operations of these third-party providers, limitations on capacity, or interference with our use could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our continued growth depends in part on the ability of our existing and potential customers to continue to adopt and utilize our cloud-based products in conjunction with our platform. We outsource substantially all of the infrastructure relating to our cloud-based products to third-party hosting services. Customers of our cloud-based products expect to be able to access these products at any time, without material interruption or degradation of performance. Our cloud-based products depend on protecting the virtual cloud infrastructure hosted by third-party hosting services by maintaining its configuration, architecture, features, and interconnection specifications, as well as the information stored in these virtual data centers, which is transmitted by third-party internet service providers. Any disruption as a result of cyber-attacks or similar issues, or any limitation on the capacity of our third-party hosting services, could impede our ability to onboard new customers or expand the usage of our existing customers or otherwise adversely affect our business, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Due the fact that we rely on third-party providers of cloud-based infrastructure to host our cloud-based products, it may become increasingly difficult to maintain and improve their performance, especially during peak usage times and as our cloud capabilities become more complex and our user traffic increases, because we do not control the infrastructure supporting these services. In addition, any incident affecting our third-party hosting services’ infrastructure that may be caused by cyber-attacks, natural disasters, fire, flood, severe storm, earthquake, power loss, telecommunications failures, outbreaks of contagious diseases, terrorist or other attacks, and other similar events beyond our control could negatively affect our cloud-based products. If our cloud-based products are unavailable or if our users are unable to access our cloud-based products within a reasonable amount of time or at all, we may experience a loss of customers, lost or delayed market acceptance of our platform and products, delays in payment to us by customers, injury to our reputation and brand, legal claims against us, and the diversion of our resources. We may also incur significant costs for using alternative equipment or taking other actions in preparation for, or in reaction to, events that damage the third-party hosting services we use.

In the event that our service agreements with our third-party hosting services are terminated, or there is a lapse of service, elimination of services or features that we utilize, interruption of internet service provider connectivity or damage to such facilities, we could experience interruptions in access to our cloud-based products as well as significant delays and additional expense in arranging or creating new facilities and services and/or re-architecting our cloud-based products for deployment on a different cloud infrastructure service provider, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We expect fluctuations in our financial results, making it difficult to project future results, and if we fail to meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors with respect to our results of operations, our stock price and the value of your investment could decline.

Our results of operations have fluctuated in the past and are expected to fluctuate in the future due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, our past results may not be indicative of our future performance. In addition to the other risks described herein, factors that may affect our results of operations include the following:

 

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fluctuations in demand for or pricing of our platform and products;

 

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fluctuations in usage of our platform and products;

 

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fluctuations in our mix of revenue from licenses and service arrangements;

 

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our ability to attract new customers;

 

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our ability to retain our existing customers;

 

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customer expansion rates and the pricing and quantity of licenses renewed;

 

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timing and amount of our investments to expand the capacity of our third-party cloud infrastructure providers;

 

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seasonality;

 

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the investment in new products and features relative to investments in our existing infrastructure and products;

 

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the timing of our customer purchases;

 

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fluctuations or delays in purchasing decisions in anticipation of new products or enhancements by us or our competitors;

 

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changes in customers’ budgets and in the timing of their budget cycles and purchasing decisions;

 

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our ability to control costs, including our operating expenses;

 

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the amount and timing of payment for operating expenses, particularly sales and marketing and research and development expenses, including commissions;

 

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the amount and timing of non-cash expenses, including stock-based compensation, goodwill impairments, and other non-cash charges;

 

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the amount and timing of costs associated with recruiting, training, and integrating new employees and retaining and motivating existing employees;

 

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the effects of acquisitions and their integration;

 

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general economic conditions, both domestically and internationally, as well as economic conditions specifically affecting industries in which our customers participate;

 

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the impact of new accounting pronouncements;

 

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changes in regulatory or legal environments that may cause us to incur, among other elements, expenses associated with compliance;

 

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changes in the competitive dynamics of our market, including consolidation among competitors or customers; and

 

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significant security breaches of, technical difficulties with, or interruptions to, the delivery and use of our products and platform capabilities.

 

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Any of these and other factors, or the cumulative effect of some of these factors, may cause our results of operations to vary significantly. If our quarterly results of operations fall below the expectations of investors and securities analysts who follow our stock, the price of our Class A common stock could decline substantially, and we could face lawsuits that are costly and may divert management’s attention, including securities class action suits.

Seasonality may cause fluctuations in our sales and results of operations.

Historically, we have experienced seasonality in new and renewal customer bookings, as typically we enter into a higher percentage of license agreements with new customers and renewals with existing customers in the fourth quarter of our fiscal year. We believe that this seasonality results from the procurement, budgeting, and deployment cycles of many of our customers, particularly our enterprise customers. While we believe that this seasonality has affected and will continue to affect our quarterly results, our rapid growth has largely masked seasonal trends to date. We expect that this seasonality will become more pronounced as we continue to target larger enterprise customers and as our rapid growth begins to slow. Seasonal fluctuations in our sales means that our revenue may not be consistent from period to period. Accordingly, you should not expect our quarterly results to be predictive of any future period.

Our key operating metric, ARR, and certain other operational data in this prospectus are subject to assumptions and limitations and may not provide an accurate indication of our future or expected results.

ARR is based on numerous assumptions and limitations, is calculated using our internal data that have not been independently verified by third parties and may not provide an accurate indication of our future or expected results. We define ARR as annualized invoiced amounts per solution sku from subscription licenses and maintenance obligations assuming no increases or reductions in their subscriptions. ARR does not include the costs we may incur to obtain such subscription licenses or provide such maintenance, and does not include invoiced amounts reported as perpetual licenses or professional services revenue in our consolidated statements of operations. ARR is not a forecast of revenue and does not reflect any actual or anticipated reductions in invoiced value due to contract non-renewals or service cancellations other than for specific bad debt or disputed amounts. In addition, dollar-based net retention rate and dollar-based gross retention rate may fluctuate based on the customers that qualify to be included in the cohort used to calculate such metrics. As a result, ARR and our other operational data, like dollar-based net retention rate and dollar-based gross retention rate, may not reflect our actual performance, and investors should consider these metrics in light of the assumptions used in calculating such metrics and limitations as a result thereof. In addition, investors should not place undue reliance on these metrics as an indicator of our future or expected results. Moreover, these metrics may differ from similarly titled metrics presented by other companies and may not be comparable to such other metrics. See the sections titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metric—Annualized Renewal Run-Rate” for additional information regarding our ARR and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Factors Affecting Our Performance” for additional information regarding our dollar-based gross retention rate and our dollar-based net retention rate.

If the estimates and assumptions we have used to calculate the size of our addressable market opportunity are inaccurate, our future growth rate may be limited.

We have estimated the size of our addressable market opportunity based on data published by third parties and on internally generated data and assumptions. While we believe our market size information is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise, and relies on our and third parties’ projections, assumptions, and estimates within our target market, which are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in this prospectus. If such third-party or internally generated data prove to be inaccurate or we make errors in our projections, assumptions, or estimates based on that data, including how current customer data and trends may apply to potential future customers and the number and type

 

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of potential customers, our addressable target market opportunity and/or our future growth rate may be less than we currently estimate. In addition, these inaccuracies or errors may cause us to misallocate capital and other business resources, which could divert resources from more valuable alternative projects and harm our business.

The variables that go into the calculation of our market opportunity are subject to change over time, and there is no guarantee that any particular number or percentage of addressable users or companies covered by our addressable target market opportunity estimates will purchase our products at all or generate any particular level of revenue for us. Any expansion in our market depends on a number of factors, including the cost, performance, and perceived value associated with our platform and products and those of our competitors. Even if our target market meets our size estimates, our business could fail to grow at similar rates, if at all. Our growth is subject to many factors, including our success in expanding our international operations, continuing to expand the use of our products by our customers and otherwise implementing our business strategy, which are subject to many risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, the information regarding the size of our addressable market opportunity included in this prospectus should not be taken as indicative of our future growth.

We may require additional capital to support the growth of our business, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, if at all.

We have funded our operations since inception primarily through customer payments and net proceeds from sales of equity securities. We cannot be certain when or if our operations will generate sufficient cash to fully fund our ongoing operations, our planned investments or the growth of our business. We also intend to continue to invest heavily to grow our business to take advantage of our market opportunity rather than optimize for profitability or cash flow in the near term. For example, in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021, we continued our focus on demonstrating the operational leverage in our business model, while prioritizing investments that will allow us to continue to achieve best-in-class growth and business scale and to capitalize on our significant market opportunity. Our planned investments to drive growth may require us to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. Additional financing may not be available on terms favorable to us, if at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to invest in future growth opportunities, which could harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. If we incur debt, the debt holders would have rights senior to holders of Class A common stock to make claims on our assets, and the terms of any future debt could restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock. Furthermore, if we issue additional equity securities, stockholders will experience dilution, and the new equity securities could have rights senior to those of our Class A common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in the future will depend on numerous considerations, including factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, or nature of any future issuances of debt or equity securities. As a result, our stockholders bear the risk of future issuances of debt or equity securities reducing the value of our Class A common stock and diluting their interests.

If we fail to maintain and enhance our brand, our ability to expand our customer base will be impaired and our business, financial condition, and results of operations may suffer.

We believe that maintaining and enhancing the UiPath brand is important to support the marketing and sale of our existing and future products to new customers and expand sales of our platform and products to existing customers. We also believe that the importance of brand recognition will increase as competition in our market increases. Successfully maintaining and enhancing our brand will depend largely on the effectiveness of our marketing efforts, our ability to provide reliable products that continue to meet the needs of our customers at competitive prices, our ability to maintain our customers’ trust, our ability to show that our products improve efficiency for our customers while improving engagement and satisfaction of their employees, our ability to continue to develop new functionality and use cases, our ability to successfully differentiate our products and platform capabilities from competitive products and our ability to adequately obtain and protect our trademarks and trade names. Our brand promotion activities may not generate customer awareness or yield increased revenue, and even if they do, any increased revenue may not offset the expenses we incur in building our brand.

 

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Our ability to maintain and enhance our brand may also be subject to factors that are outside of our control. For instance, media stories regarding the potential effects on employment of automation and technologies that replace traditional, human-driven systems are commonplace. Unfavorable publicity regarding the impact automation may have on unemployment could harm our brand and reputation, even if unrelated to our products. Such negative publicity could also reduce the potential demand and size of the market for our products and decrease our revenue.

We may not be able to protect all of our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names relevant to our brand and our rights may be challenged, infringed, circumvented, declared generic, lapsed, or determined to be infringing on or dilutive of other marks. If we are unable to protect our rights in these trademarks and trade names, third parties may file for registration of trademarks similar or identical to our trademarks, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brand, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may suffer.

If we cannot maintain our company culture as we grow, our success and our business and competitive position may be harmed.

We believe our culture has been a key contributor to our success to date and that the critical nature of the technology that we develop promotes a sense of greater purpose and fulfillment in our employees. We have developed a culture in which our employees adhere to our core tenets of being humble, bold, immersed, and fast. As we continue to hire more employees to keep pace with our growth, it may become more difficult for us to find employees that exhibit these virtues or to instill them in our new employees. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel, which is critical to our growth, and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives. As we grow and develop the infrastructure of a public company, we may find it difficult to maintain these important aspects of our culture. If we fail to maintain our company culture, our business and competitive position may be harmed.

Indemnity provisions in various agreements to which we are party potentially expose us to substantial liability for infringement, misappropriation, or other violation of intellectual property rights, data protection, and other losses.

Our agreements with our customers and other third parties may include indemnification provisions under which we agree to indemnify or otherwise be liable to them for losses suffered or incurred as a result of claims of infringement, misappropriation, or other violation of intellectual property rights, data protection, damages caused by us to property or persons, or other liabilities relating to or arising from our software, services, or platform, our acts or omissions under such agreements, or other contractual obligations. Some of these indemnity agreements provide for uncapped liability and some indemnity provisions survive termination or expiration of the applicable agreement. Large indemnity payments could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Although we attempt to contractually limit our liability with respect to such indemnity obligations, we are not always successful and may still incur substantial liability related to them, and we may be required to cease use of certain functions of our platform or products as a result of any such claims. Any dispute with a customer or other third party with respect to such obligations could have adverse effects on our relationship with such customer or other third party and other existing or prospective customers, reduce demand for our products and services, and adversely affect our business, financial conditions, and results of operations. In addition, although we carry general liability and cyber security insurance, our insurance may not be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that may be imposed or otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages with respect to claims alleging compromises of customer data, and any such coverage may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.

 

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Acquisitions, strategic investments, partnerships, or alliances could be difficult to identify, pose integration challenges, divert the attention of management, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value, and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We have in the past and may in the future seek to acquire or invest in businesses, joint ventures, products and platform capabilities, or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our services and platform capabilities, enhance our technical capabilities, or otherwise offer growth opportunities. Further, our anticipated proceeds from this offering increase the likelihood that we will devote resources to exploring larger and more complex acquisitions and investments than we have previously attempted. Any such acquisition or investment may divert the attention of management and cause us to incur various expenses in identifying, investigating, and pursuing suitable opportunities, whether or not the transactions are completed, and may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. In particular, we may encounter difficulties assimilating or integrating the businesses, technologies, products and platform capabilities, personnel or operations of any acquired companies, particularly if the key personnel of an acquired company choose not to work for us, their software is not easily adapted to work with our platform, or we have difficulty retaining the customers of any acquired business due to changes in ownership, management, or otherwise. For instance, we previously acquired certain products to support our platform’s technology through third-party acquisitions, and we may similarly acquire additional technologies in the future to further support the development of our platform. If we cannot adequately integrate these technologies into our platform or if the acquired technologies do not perform as expected, it may harm our product development efforts. Additionally, these transactions may also disrupt our business, divert our resources, and require significant management attention that would otherwise be available for development of our existing business. Any such transactions that we are able to complete may not result in any synergies or other benefits we had expected to achieve, which could result in impairment charges that could be substantial. In addition, we may not be able to find and identify desirable acquisition targets or business opportunities or be successful in entering into an agreement with any particular strategic partner. These transactions could also result in dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt, which could adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, if the resulting business from such a transaction fails to meet our expectations, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely affected or we may be exposed to unknown risks or liabilities.

Our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows could be significantly hindered by the occurrence of a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other catastrophic event.

Our business operations may be susceptible to outages due to fire, floods, unusual weather conditions, power loss, telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks, and other events beyond our control. Natural disasters including tornados, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes may damage the facilities of our customers or those of their suppliers or retailers or their other operations, which could lead to reduced revenue for our customers and thus reduced sales. In addition, a substantial portion of our operations rely on support from our headquarters in New York City and our office in Bucharest, Romania. To the extent that fire, floods, unusual weather conditions, power loss, telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks, and other events beyond our control materially impacts our ability to operate those offices, it may have a material impact on our business operations as a whole.

To the extent that such events disrupt our business or the business of our current or prospective customers, or adversely impact our reputation, such events could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Any future litigation against us could be costly and time-consuming to defend.

We are, and may become, subject to legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of business, such as claims brought by our customers in connection with commercial disputes or employment claims made by our current or former employees. Litigation might result in substantial costs and may divert management’s attention and resources, which might seriously harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Insurance might not cover such claims, might not provide sufficient payments to cover all the costs

 

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to resolve one or more such claims, and might not continue to be available on terms acceptable to us. A claim brought against us that is uninsured or underinsured could result in unanticipated costs, potentially harming our business, financial position, and results of operations.

Risks Related to Data Privacy and Cybersecurity

We are subject to stringent and changing laws, regulations and standards, information security policies, and contractual obligations related to data privacy and security.

We have legal and contractual obligations regarding confidentiality and the protection and appropriate use of personally identifiable information and other proprietary or confidential information. Data privacy has become a significant issue in the United States, countries in the European Union, or EU, and in many other countries in which we operate and where we offer our platform for sale. The regulatory framework for privacy issues worldwide is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. Many government bodies and agencies have adopted or are considering adopting laws and regulations regarding the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of personal information and breach notification procedures. We are also required to comply with laws, rules, and regulations relating to data security. Interpretation of these privacy and security laws, rules, and regulations and their application to our platform in applicable jurisdictions is ongoing and cannot be fully determined at this time.

In the United States, these include rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, and other U.S. state and federal laws relating to privacy and data security. The CCPA requires covered businesses to provide new disclosures to California residents and to provide them new ways to opt-out of the sale of personal information, and provides a private right of action and statutory damages for data breaches. Although there are limited exemptions under the CCPA (for example, business-to-business communications), the CCPA could impact our business depending on how the CCPA will be interpreted and exemplifies the vulnerability of our business to the evolving regulatory environment related to personal information. The CCPA may increase our compliance costs and potential liability. Other jurisdictions in the United States are beginning to propose laws similar to the CCPA. Some observers have noted that the CCPA could mark the beginning of a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States, which could increase our potential liability and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, California voters recently approved the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, or CPRA, that goes into effect on January 1, 2023. It is expected that the CPRA would, among other things, give California residents the ability to limit the use of their sensitive information, provide for penalties for CPRA violations concerning California residents under the age of 16, and establish a new California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the law.

As a result of our international operations, we must comply with a multitude of data security and privacy laws that may vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Virtually every jurisdiction in which we operate has established or is in the process of establishing data security and privacy legal frameworks with which we or our customers must comply. Our failure to comply with the laws of each jurisdiction may subject us to significant penalties. For example, the data protection landscape in Europe is currently unstable, resulting in possible significant operational costs for internal compliance and risk to our business. The European Economic Area, or EEA, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom adopted the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which went into effect in May 2018 and contains strict requirements for processing the personally identifiable information of individuals residing in the EEA, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The GDPR has increased, and will continue to increase, our compliance burdens, including by mandating potentially burdensome documentation requirements and granting certain rights to individuals to control how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and process information about them. In particular, under the GDPR, fines of up to 20 million euros or up to 4% of the annual global revenue of the noncompliant company, whichever is greater, could be imposed for violations of certain of the GDPR’s requirements. Such penalties are in addition to any civil litigation claims by customers and data subjects. The GDPR requirements apply not only to third-party transactions, but also to transfers of information between us and our subsidiaries, including employee information.

 

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European data protection laws including the GDPR also generally prohibit the transfer of personal data from Europe, including the EEA and Switzerland, to the United States and most other countries unless the parties to the transfer have implemented specific safeguards to protect the transferred personal data. One of the primary safeguards used for transfers of personal data from the EU to the United States, namely, the Privacy Shield framework administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, was recently invalidated by a decision of the EU’s highest court. The Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner also recently opined that the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield is inadequate for transfers of data from Switzerland to the United States. These decisions also cast doubt on our ability to use one of the primary alternatives to the Privacy Shield, namely, the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses, to lawfully transfer personal data from Europe to the United States and most other countries. At present, there are few if any viable alternatives to the Standard Contractual Clauses, on which we have relied for transfers of personal data from the EEA and Switzerland to the United States and other countries. The European Commission recently proposed updates to the Standard Contractual Clauses. As such, our transferring of personal data from the EEA and Switzerland may not comply with European data protection law; may increase our exposure to the GDPR’s heightened sanctions for violations of its cross-border data transfer restrictions; and may reduce demand for our services from companies subject to European data protection laws. Loss of our ability to transfer personal data from the EEA or Switzerland may also require us to increase our data processing capabilities in those jurisdictions at significant expense. Inability to import personal information from the EEA or Switzerland to the United States may decrease demand for our products and services as our customers that are subject to the GDPR may seek alternatives that do not involve personal information transfers out of those jurisdictions. Additionally, other countries outside of Europe have enacted or are considering enacting similar cross-border data transfer restrictions and laws requiring local data residency, which could increase the cost and complexity of delivering our services and operating our business.

Further, the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU, often referred to as Brexit, created uncertainty with regard to data protection regulation in the United Kingdom. Following December 31, 2020, the GDPR’s data protection obligations continue to apply to the United Kingdom in substantially unvaried form under the so called “UK GDPR.” More explicitly, the GDPR continues to form part of the laws in the United Kingdom by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended (including by the various Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (EU Exit) Regulations), which potentially exposes us to two parallel data protection regimes, each of which authorizes fines and the potential for divergent enforcement actions. In addition, it is still unclear whether the transfer of personal data from the EU to the United Kingdom will in the future continue to remain lawful under the GDPR. For example, pursuant to a post-Brexit agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU, the European Commission will continue to treat the United Kingdom as if it remained a member state of the EU in relation to transfers of personal data from the EEA to the United Kingdom, meaning such transfers may be made without a need for additional safeguards, for four months from January 1, 2021, with a potential additional two month extension. This “transition” period, however, will end if and when the European Commission adopts an adequacy decision in respect of the United Kingdom or the United Kingdom amends certain UK data protection laws, or relevant aspects thereof, without the EU’s consent (unless those amendments are made simply to align those UK data protection laws with the EU’s data protection regime). If the European Commission does not adopt an adequacy decision with regard to personal data transfers to the United Kingdom before the expiration of the transition period, from that point onwards, the United Kingdom will be a “third country” under the GDPR and such transfers will need to be made subject to GDPR-compliant safeguards (for example, the Standard Contractual Clauses). Additionally, countries outside of Europe, including without limitation Brazil that recently enacted the General Data Protection Law, or LGPD, are implementing significant limitations on the processing of personal information similar to those in the GDPR.

Complying with privacy and data protection laws and regulations may cause us to incur substantial operational costs or require us to change our business practices. Despite our efforts to bring practices into compliance with these laws and regulations, we may not be successful in our efforts to achieve compliance either due to internal or external factors such as resource allocation limitations or a lack of vendor cooperation. Noncompliance could result in proceedings against us by governmental and regulatory entities, customers, data subjects or others. We may also experience difficulty retaining or obtaining new European or multi-national customers due to the legal requirements, compliance cost, potential risk exposure and uncertainty for these entities, and we may experience significantly increased liability with respect to these customers pursuant to the terms set forth in our engagements with them. In addition to government regulation, privacy advocates and

 

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industry groups may propose new and different self-regulatory standards that may apply to us. Because the interpretation and application of privacy and data protection laws are uncertain, it is possible that these laws and other actual or alleged legal obligations, such as contractual or self-regulatory obligations, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our existing data management practices or the features of our platform or in a manner inconsistent across the various jurisdictions in which we operate. If so, in addition to the possibility of fines, lawsuits, and other claims, we could be required to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or modify our platform, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Any inability to adequately address privacy concerns, even if unfounded, or comply with applicable privacy or data protection laws, regulations, and policies, could result in additional cost and liability to us, damage our reputation, inhibit sales, and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Additionally, we publish privacy policies and other documentation regarding our collection, processing, use, and disclosure of personal information. Although we endeavor to comply with our published policies and other documentation, we may at times fail to do so or may be perceived to have failed to do so. Moreover, despite our efforts, we may not be successful in achieving compliance if our employees, contractors, service providers, or vendors fail to comply with our published policies and documentation. Such failures can subject us to potential foreign, federal, state, and local action if they are found to be deceptive, unfair, or misrepresentative of our actual practices. Claims that we have violated individuals’ privacy rights or failed to comply with data protection laws or applicable privacy notices, even if we are not found liable, could be expensive and time-consuming to defend and could result in adverse publicity that could harm our business.

If the security of the personal information that we (or our vendors) collect, store, or process is compromised or is otherwise accessed without authorization, or if we fail to comply with our commitments and assurances regarding the privacy and security of such information, our reputation may be harmed and we may be exposed to liability and loss of business.

We collect and maintain data about individuals and customers, including personally identifiable information, as well as other confidential or proprietary information. We may use third-party service providers and sub-processors to help us deliver services to our customers. These vendors may store or process personal information on our behalf.

Cyberattacks and other malicious internet-based activity continue to increase. In addition to traditional computer “hackers,” malicious code (such as viruses and worms), employee theft or misuse, and denial-of-service attacks, sophisticated nation-state and nation-state supported actors now engage in attacks (including advanced persistent threat intrusions). We cannot guarantee that our or our vendors’ security measures will be sufficient to protect against unauthorized access to or other compromise of personal information and our confidential or proprietary information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our employees are temporarily working remotely, which may pose additional data security risks. The techniques used to sabotage or to obtain unauthorized access to our or our vendors’ platforms, systems, networks and/or physical facilities in which data is stored or through which data is transmitted change frequently, and we or our vendors may be unable to implement adequate preventative measures or stop security breaches while they are occurring. The recovery systems, security protocols, network protection mechanisms, and other security measures that we have integrated into our platform, systems, networks, and physical facilities and any such measures implemented by our vendors, which are designed to protect against, detect, and minimize security breaches, may not be adequate to prevent or detect service interruption, system failure, or data loss. Our platform, systems, networks, and physical facilities, and those of our vendors, in the past have been, and in the future could be, breached and personal information has been and could be otherwise compromised. Third parties could attempt to fraudulently induce our employees or our customers to disclose information or user names and/or passwords, or otherwise compromise the security of our platform, networks, systems, and/or physical facilities. Third parties have exploited in the past, and could exploit in the future, vulnerabilities in, or could obtain unauthorized access to, platforms, systems, networks, and/or physical facilities utilized by our vendors.

We are required to comply with laws, rules, regulations and other obligations that require us to maintain the security of personal information. We may have contractual and other legal obligations to notify relevant stakeholders of security breaches. We operate in an industry that is prone to cyber-attacks. We have previously

 

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and may in the future become the target of cyber-attacks by third parties seeking unauthorized access to such data, including our or our customers’ data or to disrupt our ability to provide our services. Failure to prevent or mitigate cyber-attacks could result in the unauthorized access to personal information. Most jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals, regulatory authorities, and others of security breaches involving certain types of data. In addition, our agreements with certain customers and partners may require us to notify them in the event of a security breach. Such mandatory disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and/or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach. A security breach of any of our vendors that processes personal information of our customers may pose similar risks. The costs to respond to a security breach and/or to mitigate any security vulnerabilities that may be identified could be significant, our efforts to address these issues may not be successful, and these issues could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service, negative publicity, loss of customer trust, diminished use of our products and services as well as other harms to our business and our competitive position. Remediation of any potential security breach may involve significant time, resources, and expenses. Any security breach may result in regulatory inquiries, litigation or other investigations, and can affect our financial and operational condition.

A security breach may cause us to breach customer contracts. Our agreements with certain customers may require us to use industry-standard or reasonable measures to safeguard personal information. We also may be subject to laws that require us to use industry-standard or reasonable security measures to safeguard personal information. A security breach could lead to claims by our customers or other relevant stakeholders that we have failed to comply with such legal or contractual obligations. As a result, we could be subject to legal action or our customers could end their relationships with us. There can be no assurance that the limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from liabilities or damages, and in some cases our customer agreements do not limit our remediation costs or liability with respect to data breaches.

Litigation resulting from security breaches may adversely affect our business. Unauthorized access to our platform, systems, networks, or physical facilities, or those of our vendors, could result in litigation with our customers or other relevant stakeholders. These proceedings could force us to spend money in defense or settlement, divert management’s time and attention, increase our costs of doing business, or adversely affect our reputation. We could be required to fundamentally change our business activities and practices or modify our products and/or platform capabilities in response to such litigation, which could have an adverse effect on our business. If a security breach were to occur, and the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of personal information was disrupted, we could incur significant liability, or our platform, systems, or networks may be perceived as less desirable, which could negatively affect our business and damage our reputation.

We may not have adequate insurance coverage for security incidents or breaches. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds our available insurance coverage, or results in changes to our insurance policies (including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements), could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, we cannot be sure that our existing insurance coverage and coverage for errors and omissions will continue to be available on acceptable terms or that our insurers will not deny coverage as to any future claim.

Risks Related to Regulatory Compliance and Governmental Matters

We are subject to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-money laundering, and similar laws and noncompliance with such laws can subject us to criminal or civil liability and harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, U.S. domestic bribery laws, the United Kingdom Bribery Act, and other anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws in the countries in which we conduct activities. Due to the international scope of our operations, we must comply with these laws in each jurisdiction where we operate. Additionally, many anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, including the FCPA, have

 

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long-arm statutes that can expand the applicability of these laws to our operations worldwide. Accordingly, we must incur significant operational costs to support our ongoing compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws at all levels of our business. If we fail to comply with these laws we may be subject to significant penalties. Anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws have been enforced aggressively in recent years and are interpreted broadly to generally prohibit companies, their employees and their third-party intermediaries from authorizing, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or benefits to recipients in the public or private sector. As we increase our international sales and business and sales to the public sector, we may engage with business partners and third-party intermediaries to market our products 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.

While we have policies and procedures to address compliance with such laws, 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 sales and business, our 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 senior management. In addition, noncompliance with anti-corruption, anti-bribery, or anti-money laundering laws could subject us to whistleblower complaints, investigations, sanctions, settlements, prosecution, enforcement actions, fines, damages, other civil or criminal penalties or injunctions, suspension or debarment from contracting with certain persons, reputational harm, adverse media coverage, and other collateral consequences. If any subpoenas 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, financial condition, and results of operations could be harmed. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a materially significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and significant defense costs and other professional fees.

Sales to government entities and highly regulated organizations are subject to a number of challenges and risks.

We currently sell, and anticipate continuing to sell, to U.S. federal, state, and local, as well as foreign, governmental agency customers, as well as to customers in highly regulated industries such as financial services and healthcare. Sales to such customers are subject to a number of challenges and risks. Selling to such customers can be highly competitive, expensive, and time-consuming, often requiring significant upfront time and expense without any assurance that these efforts will generate a sale. These current and prospective customers may also be required to comply with stringent regulations in connection with purchasing and implementing our platform and products or particular regulations regarding third-party vendors that may be interpreted differently by different customers. In addition, regulatory agencies may impose requirements on third-party vendors generally, or our company in particular, that we may not be able to, or may not choose to, meet. In addition, government customers and customers in these highly regulated industries often have a right to conduct audits of our systems, products, and practices. In the event that one or more customers determine that some aspect of our business does not meet regulatory requirements, we may be limited in our ability to continue or expand our business. In addition, if our platform and products do not meet the standards of new or existing regulations, we may be in breach of our contracts with these customers, allowing them to terminate their agreements.

Government contracting requirements may also change and in doing so restrict our ability to sell into the government sector until we have attained the requisite approvals. Government demand and payment for our products are affected by public sector budgetary cycles and funding authorizations, with funding reductions or delays adversely affecting public sector demand for our products.

 

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These customers may also be subject to a rapidly evolving regulatory framework that may implicate their ability to use our platform and products. Moreover, changes in the underlying statutory and regulatory conditions that affect these types of customers could harm our ability to efficiently provide them access to our platform and to grow or maintain our customer base. If we are unable to enhance our platform and products to keep pace with evolving customer requirements, or if new technologies emerge that are able to deliver competitive products at lower prices, more efficiently, more conveniently, or more securely than our platform, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Further, governmental and highly regulated entities may demand contract terms that differ from our standard arrangements and are less favorable than terms agreed with private sector customers, including preferential pricing or “most favored nation” terms and conditions or are contract provisions that are otherwise time-consuming and expensive to satisfy. In the United States, applicable federal contracting regulations change frequently, and the President may issue executive orders requiring federal contractors to adhere to new compliance requirements after a contract is signed. If we undertake to meet special standards or requirements and do not meet them, we could be subject to significant liability from our customers or regulators. Even if we do meet these special standards or requirements, the additional costs associated with providing our platform to government and highly regulated customers could harm our operating results. In addition, engaging in sales activities to foreign governments introduces additional compliance risks specific to the FCPA, the United Kingdom Bribery Act, and other similar statutory requirements prohibiting bribery and corruption in the jurisdictions in which we operate.

Such entities may have statutory, contractual, or other legal rights to terminate contracts with us or our partners for convenience or for other reasons. Any such termination may adversely affect our ability to contract with other government customers as well as our reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are subject to governmental export and import controls that could impair our ability to compete in international markets or subject us to liability if we violate the controls.

Our business activities are subject to various export, import, and trade and economic sanction laws and regulations, including, among others, the U.S. Export Administration Regulations, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and economic and trade sanctions regulations maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which we refer to collectively as Trade Controls. Trade Controls may prohibit or restrict the sale or supply of certain products, including encryption items and other technology, and services to certain governments, persons, entities, countries, and territories, including those that are the target of comprehensive sanctions.

While we have implemented controls designed to promote and achieve compliance with applicable Trade Controls, our platform and products may have in the past, and could in the future, violate, or be provided in violation of, such laws, despite the precautions we take. Any failure to comply with applicable Trade Controls may materially affect us through reputational harm, as well as other negative consequences, including government investigations and penalties. Accordingly, we must incur significant operational costs to support our ongoing compliance with Trade Controls at all levels of our business.

Also, various countries, in addition to the United States, have enacted Trade Controls that could limit our ability to distribute our platform and products or could limit our customers’ ability to implement our platform and products in those countries. Changes in our platform or products or future changes in Trade Controls may create delays in the introduction of our platform and products in international markets or, in some cases, prevent the export or import of our platform and products to certain countries, governments, or persons altogether. Any change in Trade Controls could result in decreased use of our platform and products by, or in our decreased ability to export or sell our platform and products to, existing or potential customers. Any decreased use of our

 

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platform or products or limitation on our ability to export or sell our platform and products would adversely affect our business, results of operations, and growth prospects.

Risks Related to our Intellectual Property

Any failure to obtain, maintain, protect, or enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights could impair our ability to protect our proprietary technology and our brand.

Our success depends to a significant degree on our ability to obtain, maintain, protect, and enforce our intellectual property rights, including our proprietary technology, know-how, and our brand. We rely on a combination of trademarks, trade secret laws, patents, copyrights, service marks, contractual restrictions, and other intellectual property laws and confidentiality procedures to establish and protect our proprietary rights. However, the steps we take to obtain, maintain, protect, and enforce our intellectual property rights may be inadequate. We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights if, for example, we are unable to enforce our rights against infringement or misappropriation, or if we do not detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights. If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights adequately, our competitors may gain access to our proprietary technology and develop and commercialize substantially identical products, services, or technologies and our business, financial condition, results of operations, or prospects may be harmed.

In addition, defending our intellectual property rights may entail significant expense. Any patent, trademark, or other intellectual property rights that we have or may obtain may be challenged or circumvented by others or invalidated or held unenforceable through administrative processes, including re-examination, inter partes review, interference, and derivation proceedings and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition, invalidation, and cancellation proceedings) or litigation. Moreover, there can be no assurance that our pending patent applications will result in issued patents. Even if we continue to seek patent protection in the future, we may be unable to obtain or maintain patent protection for our technology. In addition, any patents issued from pending or future patent applications or licensed to us in the future may not be sufficiently broad to protect our proprietary technologies, may not provide us with competitive advantages, or may be successfully challenged by third parties. The United States Patent and Trademark Office and various foreign governmental patent and trademark agencies also require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment, and other similar provisions during the patent and trademark application process and after a patent or trademark registration has issued. There are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent, patent application, or trademark filing, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent or trademark rights in the relevant jurisdiction. If this occurs, our competitors might be able to enter the market.

Furthermore, legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability, and scope of protection of intellectual property rights are uncertain. Despite our precautions, it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy our brands, products and platform capabilities, and use information that we regard as proprietary to create brands and products that compete with ours. Effective patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection may not be available to us or commercially feasible in every country in which our products are available. Further, intellectual property law, including statutory and case law, particularly in the United States, is constantly developing, and any changes in the law could make it harder for us to enforce our rights. The value of our intellectual property could diminish if others assert rights in or ownership of our trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights, or adopt trademarks that are similar to our trademarks. We may be unable to successfully resolve these types of conflicts to our satisfaction. In some cases, as noted below, litigation or other actions may be necessary to protect or enforce our trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights against infringement or misappropriation. As we expand our international activities, our exposure to unauthorized copying and use of our products and platform capabilities and proprietary information will likely increase. Moreover, policing unauthorized use of our technologies, trade secrets, and intellectual property may be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, particularly in foreign countries where the laws may not be as protective of intellectual property rights as those in the United States and where mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights may be weak or inadequate. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may be unable to

 

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prevent third parties from infringing upon, misappropriating, or otherwise violating our intellectual property rights. Any of the foregoing could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may become subject to intellectual property disputes, which are costly and may subject us to significant liability and increased costs of doing business.

We are from time-to-time subject to intellectual property disputes. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to develop and commercialize our products and services without infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of third parties. However, we may not be aware that our products or services are infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating third-party intellectual property rights and such third parties may bring claims alleging such infringement, misappropriation, or violation. As one example, there may be issued patents of which we are not aware, held by third parties that, if found to be valid and enforceable, could be alleged to be infringed by our current or future technologies or products. There also may be pending patent applications of which we are not aware that may result in issued patents, which could be alleged to be infringed by our current or future technologies or products. Because patent applications can take years to issue and are often afforded confidentiality for some period of time there may currently be pending applications, unknown to us, that later result in issued patents that could cover our current or future technologies or products.

Lawsuits can be time-consuming and expensive to resolve and can divert management’s time and attention. The software industry in which we operate is characterized by the existence of a large number of patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and other intellectual and proprietary rights. Companies in the software industry are often required to defend against litigation claims based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation, or other violations of intellectual property rights. Our technologies may not be able to withstand any third-party claims against their use. In addition, many companies have the capability to dedicate substantially greater resources to enforce their intellectual property rights and to defend claims that may be brought against them, than we can. In a patent infringement claim against us, we may assert, as a defense, that we do not infringe the relevant patent claims, that the patent is invalid, or both. The strength of our defenses may depend on the patents asserted, the interpretation of these patents, or our ability to invalidate the asserted patents. However, we could be unsuccessful in advancing non-infringement and/or invalidity arguments in our defense. In the United States, issued patents enjoy a presumption of validity, and the party challenging the validity of a patent claim must present clear and convincing evidence of invalidity, which is a high burden of proof. Conversely, the patent owner need only prove infringement by a preponderance of the evidence, which is a lower burden of proof. We do not currently have a large number of issued patents, which could prevent us from deterring patent infringement claims through our own patent portfolio, and our competitors and others may now and in the future have significantly larger and more mature patent portfolios than we have. Any litigation may also involve patent holding companies or other adverse patent owners that have no relevant product revenue, and therefore, our patents may provide little or no deterrence as we would not be able to assert them against such entities or individuals.

An adverse result in any infringement or misappropriation proceeding could subject us to significant damages, injunctions, and reputational harm. If a third party is able to obtain an injunction preventing us from accessing such third-party intellectual property rights, or if we cannot license or develop alternative technology for any infringing aspect of our business, we may be forced to limit or stop sales of our relevant products and platform capabilities or cease business activities related to such intellectual property. Although we carry general liability and intellectual property insurance, our insurance may not cover potential claims of this type or may not be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that may be imposed. We cannot predict the outcome of lawsuits and cannot ensure that the results of any such actions will not have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Any intellectual property litigation to which we might become a party, or for which we are required to provide indemnification, may require us to do one or more of the following:

 

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cease selling or using products or services that incorporate the intellectual property rights that we allegedly infringe, misappropriate, or violate;

 

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make substantial payments for legal fees, settlement payments, or other costs or damages;

 

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obtain a license, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, to sell or use the relevant technology;

 

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redesign the allegedly infringing products to avoid infringement, misappropriation, or violation, which could be costly, time-consuming, or impossible;

 

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rebrand our products and services and/or be prevented from selling some of our products or services if third parties successfully oppose or challenge our trademarks or successfully claim that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate their trademarks or other intellectual property rights; and

 

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limit the manner in which we use our brands, or prevent us from using our brands in particular jurisdictions.

Even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and harm our business and operating results. Moreover, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. The occurrence of infringement and misappropriation claims may grow as the market for our platform and products grows. Accordingly, our exposure to damages resulting from infringement claims could increase and this could further exhaust our financial and management resources. Any of the foregoing could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful.

Third parties, including our competitors, could be infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating our intellectual property rights. In order to protect our intellectual property rights, we may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights and to protect our trade secrets. Litigation brought to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could be costly, time-consuming, and distracting to management, and could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property.

Further, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims, and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights and if such defenses, counterclaims, or countersuits are successful, we could lose valuable intellectual property rights. An adverse determination of any litigation proceedings could put our intellectual property at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our related patents, patent applications, and trademark filings at risk of being invalidated, not issuing, or being cancelled. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential or sensitive information could be compromised by disclosure in the event of litigation. In addition, during the course of litigation there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Our inability to protect our proprietary technology against unauthorized copying or use, as well as any costly litigation or diversion of our management’s attention and resources, could delay further sales or the implementation of our products and platform capabilities, impair the functionality of our products and platform capabilities, delay introductions of new solutions, result in our substituting inferior or more costly technologies into our products, or injure our reputation. Any of the foregoing could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

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If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.

We rely heavily on trade secrets and confidentiality agreements to protect our unpatented know-how, technology, and other proprietary information, and to maintain our competitive position. However, trade secrets and know-how can be difficult to protect. We seek to protect these trade secrets and other proprietary technology, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to them, such as our employees, consultants, and other third parties, including suppliers and other partners. However, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that has or may have had access to our proprietary information, know-how, and trade secrets. Moreover, no assurance can be given that these agreements will be effective in controlling access to, distribution, use, misuse, misappropriation, reverse engineering, or disclosure of our proprietary information, know-how, and trade secrets. Further, these agreements may not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our products and platform capabilities. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach. For example, past employees have sought to misappropriate source code relevant to certain of our products. While we have taken steps to enjoin misappropriation that we are aware of, such steps may not ultimately be successful and we may not be aware of all such misappropriation. Any of the foregoing could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their current or former employers or claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.

Many of our employees and consultants are currently or were previously employed at other companies in our field, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees and consultants do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

In addition, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. The assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing, or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. Any of the foregoing could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We use open source software in our products, which could negatively affect our ability to sell our services or subject us to litigation or other actions.

We use open source software in our products and we expect to continue to incorporate open source software in our services in the future. Few of the licenses applicable to open source software have been interpreted by courts, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a manner that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products. Moreover, we cannot ensure that we have not incorporated additional open source software in our products in a manner that is inconsistent with the terms of the applicable license or our current policies and procedures. If we fail to comply with these licenses, we may be subject to certain requirements, including requirements that we offer our products that incorporate the open source software for no cost, that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create

 

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based upon, incorporating, or using the open source software and that we license such modifications or derivative works under the terms of applicable open source licenses. In addition, although we employ open source software license screening measures, if we were to combine our proprietary software products with open source software in a certain manner we could, under certain open source licenses, be required to release the source code of our proprietary software products. If an author or other third party that distributes such open source software were to allege that we had not complied with the conditions of one or more of these licenses, we could be required to incur significant legal expenses defending against such allegations and could be subject to significant damages, enjoined from the sale of our products that contained the open source software and required to comply with onerous conditions or restrictions on these products, which could disrupt the distribution and sale of these products.

From time to time, there have been claims challenging the ownership rights in open source software against companies that incorporate it into their products and the licensors of such open source software provide no warranties or indemnities with respect to such claims. As a result, we and our customers could be subject to lawsuits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software. Litigation could be costly for us to defend, have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, or require us to devote additional research and development resources to change our products. Some open source projects have known vulnerabilities and architectural instabilities and are provided on an “as-is” basis, which, if not properly addressed, could negatively affect the performance of our product. If we inappropriately use or incorporate open source software subject to certain types of open source licenses that challenge the proprietary nature of our products, we may be required to re-engineer such products, discontinue the sale of such products, or take other remedial actions, any of which could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

If we cannot license rights to use technologies on reasonable terms, we may be unable to license rights that are critical to our business.

In the future we may identify additional third-party intellectual property that we may need to license in order to engage in our business, including to develop or commercialize new products or services. However, such licenses may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. The licensing or acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and several more established companies may pursue strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive or necessary. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, capital resources, and greater development or commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. Even if such licenses are available, we may be required to pay the licensor substantial royalties based on sales of our products and services. Such royalties are a component of the cost of our products or services and may affect the margins on our products and services. If we are unable to enter into the necessary licenses on acceptable terms or at all, it could adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Risks Related to our International Operations

Our current operations are international in scope, and we plan further geographic expansion, creating a variety of operational challenges.

We currently operate internationally, and a component of our growth strategy involves the further expansion of our operations and customer base internationally. Customers outside the United States generated 66% and 61% of our revenue as of January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Beyond the United States, we have operational presence internationally, including, among others, in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. We are continuing to adapt to and develop strategies to further address international markets, but there is no guarantee

 

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that such efforts will have the desired effect. For example, we anticipate that we will need to establish relationships with new partners in order to expand into certain countries, and if we fail to identify, establish, and maintain such relationships, we may be unable to execute on our expansion plans. As of January 31, 2021, approximately 72% of our full-time employees were located outside of the United States. We expect that our international activities will continue to grow for the foreseeable future as we continue to pursue opportunities in existing and new international markets, which will require significant dedication of management attention and financial resources.

Our current and future international business and operations involve a variety of risks, including:

 

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slower than anticipated availability and adoption of our platform and products by international businesses;

 

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changes in a specific country’s or region’s political, regulatory, or economic conditions;

 

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the need to adapt and localize our products for specific countries;

 

•

greater difficulty collecting accounts receivable and longer payment cycles;

 

•

potential changes in trade relations, regulations, or laws;

 

•

unexpected changes in laws, regulatory requirements, or tax laws;

 

•

more stringent regulations relating to privacy and data security and the unauthorized use of, or access to, commercial and personal information, particularly in Europe;

 

•

differing and potentially more onerous labor regulations, especially in Europe, where labor laws are generally more advantageous to employees as compared to the United States, including deemed hourly wage and overtime regulations in these locations;

 

•

challenges inherent in efficiently managing, and the increased costs associated with, an increased number of employees over large geographic distances, including the need to implement appropriate systems, policies, benefits, and compliance programs that are specific to each jurisdiction;

 

•

potential changes in laws, regulations, and costs affecting our U.K. operations and local employees due to Brexit;

 

•

difficulties in managing a business in new markets with diverse cultures, languages, customs, legal systems, alternative dispute systems, and regulatory systems;

 

•

increased travel, real estate, infrastructure, and legal compliance costs associated with international operations;

 

•

currency exchange rate fluctuations and the resulting effect on our revenue and expenses and the cost and risk of entering into hedging transactions if we chose to do so in the future;

 

•

limitations on our ability to reinvest earnings from operations in one country to fund the capital needs of our operations in other countries;

 

•

laws and business practices favoring local competitors or general market preferences for local vendors;

 

•

limited or insufficient intellectual property protection or difficulties obtaining, maintaining, protecting, or enforcing our intellectual property rights, including our trademarks and patents;

 

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•

political instability or terrorist activities;

 

•

an outbreak of a contagious disease, which may cause us or our third-party providers and/or customers to temporarily suspend our or their respective operations in the affected city or country;

 

•

exposure to liabilities under anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws, including the FCPA, U.S. bribery laws, the United Kingdom Bribery Act, and similar laws and regulations in other jurisdictions;

 

•

exposure to anti-competition laws in foreign jurisdictions that may conflict with or be more restrictive than similar U.S. anti-competition laws; and

 

•

adverse changes to domestic and foreign tax law and the burdens of foreign exchange controls that could make it difficult to repatriate earnings and cash.

If we invest substantial time and resources to further expand our international operations and are unable to do so successfully and in a timely manner, our business and results of operations will suffer.

Risks Related to Tax and Accounting Matters

We and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting in the past, and any failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could harm us.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Under standards established by the United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis.

Prior to changing the end of our fiscal year from December 31 to January 31, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting related to revenue recognition for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, which resulted in the improper allocation of stand-alone selling price and certain errors in deferred revenue and contract assets. The material weakness was caused by, among other things, a lack of oversight and technical competence and experience within our finance department to identify such errors. We have completed the following steps to address this material weakness:

 

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engaged third-party service providers to assist in technical accounting matters;

 

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increased oversight and reviews of technical accounting assessments performed by outside consultants;

 

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designed and implemented internal controls related to revenue recognition accounting; and

 

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hired experienced professionals to key revenue recognition accounting positions.

We believe that this material weakness has been remediated through the steps we have taken as noted above, and we did not incur any material costs related to this remediation. However, neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm have tested the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and we cannot assure you that we will not suffer from this or other material weaknesses in the future.

 

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Upon completion of this offering, we will be required to document and test our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, or Section 404, of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, so that our management can certify as to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. Likewise, our independent registered public accounting firm will be required to provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at such time as we cease to be an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse if a material weakness is identified.

We have recently commenced the costly and challenging process of compiling the system and processing documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404, but we may not be able to complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion once initiated. Our compliance with Section 404 will require that we incur substantial expenses and expend significant management efforts. We will need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge and compile the system and process documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404.

If our management is unable to conclude that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting, or to certify the effectiveness of such controls, or if our independent registered public accounting firm cannot render an unqualified opinion on management’s assessment and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, or if material weaknesses in our internal controls are identified in the future, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny and a loss of public confidence, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our stock price. In addition, if we do not maintain adequate financial and management personnel, processes and controls, we may not be able to manage our business effectively or accurately report our financial performance on a timely basis, which could cause a decline in our common stock price and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which could negatively affect our results of operations.

While our sales contracts are denominated predominantly in U.S. dollars, we also have sales contracts representing a large portion of our revenue denominated in foreign currencies. Therefore, a portion of our revenue is subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Additionally, for our foreign sales contracts denominated in U.S. dollars, a strengthening of the U.S. dollar could increase the real cost of our products and platform capabilities to these customers outside of the United States, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Further, an increasing portion of our operating expenses are incurred outside the United States. We conduct our business and incur costs in the local currency of most countries in which we operate. We incur currency transaction risk whenever one of our operating subsidiaries enters into either a purchase or a sales transaction using a different currency from the currency in which it operates, or holds assets or liabilities in a currency different from its functional currency. Changes in exchange rates can also affect our results of operations when the value of sales and expenses of foreign subsidiaries are translated to U.S. dollars. We cannot accurately predict the impact of future exchange rate fluctuations on our results of operations. If we are not able to successfully hedge against the risks associated with currency fluctuations, our results of operations could be adversely affected. Further, given the volatility of exchange rates, we may not be able to effectively manage our currency risks, and any volatility in currency exchange rates may increase the price of our products in local currency to our foreign customers or increase the manufacturing cost of our products, either of which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows, and profitability.

 

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Our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements cause us to be subject to the tax laws of various jurisdictions, and we could be obligated to pay additional taxes, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We have been rapidly expanding our international operations and personnel to support our business in numerous international markets. We generally conduct our international operations through directly or indirectly wholly-owned subsidiaries, and we are or may be required to report our taxable income in various jurisdictions worldwide with increasingly complex tax laws based upon our business operations in those jurisdictions. Our intercompany relationships and agreements are subject to complex transfer pricing regulations administered by tax authorities in various jurisdictions with potentially divergent tax laws. Tax authorities may disagree with tax positions that we have taken. For example, the U.S Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, or another tax authority could challenge our allocation of income by tax jurisdiction and the amounts paid between our affiliated companies pursuant to our intercompany arrangements and transfer pricing policies, including amounts paid with respect to our intellectual property in connection with our intercompany research and development cost sharing arrangement and legal structure.

The amount of taxes we pay in different jurisdictions may depend on the application of the tax laws of the various jurisdictions, including the United States, to our international business activities, changes in tax rates, new or revised tax laws or interpretations of existing tax laws and policies, and our ability to operate our business in a manner consistent with our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements. The authorities in these jurisdictions could review our tax returns or require us to file tax returns in jurisdictions in which we are not currently filing and could impose additional tax, interest, and penalties. In addition, the authorities could claim that various withholding requirements apply to us or our subsidiaries, assert that benefits of tax treaties are not available to us or our subsidiaries, or challenge our methodologies for valuing developed technology or intercompany arrangements, including our transfer pricing. If such a challenge or disagreement were to occur, and our position was not sustained, we could be required to pay additional taxes, interest, and penalties, which could result in one-time tax charges, higher effective tax rates, reduced cash flows, and lower overall profitability of our operations. Our financial statements could fail to reflect adequate reserves to cover such a contingency. Furthermore, we are subject to periodic audits in the various jurisdictions in which we operate, which if determined aversely could have an adverse impact on our financial conditions.

Changes in tax laws or tax rulings could materially affect our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

The tax regimes we are subject to or operate under, including income and non-income taxes, may be subject to significant change. Changes in tax laws, regulations, or rulings, or changes in interpretations of existing laws and regulations, could materially affect our financial position and results of operations. For example, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act, made broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code, including changes to U.S. federal tax rates, additional limitations on the deductibility of interest, both positive and negative changes to the utilization of future net operating loss, or NOL, carryforwards, allowing for the expensing of certain capital expenditures and putting into effect the migration from a “worldwide” system of taxation to a territorial system. The Tax Act and issuance of additional regulatory or accounting guidance related to the Tax Act could materially affect our tax obligations, deferred tax assets, and effective tax rate in the period issued and in the future. In addition, many countries in Europe, as well as a number of other countries and organizations, have recently proposed or recommended changes to existing tax laws or have enacted new laws that could significantly increase our tax obligations in the countries where we do business or require us to change the manner in which we operate our business.

During the course of his campaign and after his election, President Biden proposed to increase the tax rate for corporations and high-income individuals, double the tax rate on global intangible low-taxed income, and impose a new 15% minimum tax on global book income and other tax measures. If such proposals are passed, they may have a material impact on our financial statements.

 

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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, has been working on a Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, and issued a report in 2015, an interim report in 2018, and is expected to continue to issue guidelines and proposals that may change various aspects of the existing framework under which our tax obligations are determined in many of the countries in which we do business. While this project is in an advanced stage, we cannot predict what its outcome will be or what potential impact it may have on our tax obligations and operations.

The European Commission and several countries have issued proposals that would change various aspects of the current tax framework under which we are taxed. These proposals include changes to the existing framework to calculate income tax, as well as proposals to change or impose new types of non-income taxes, including taxes based on a percentage of revenue. The Council of the European Union stated publicly that an EU digital levy may be designed as a measure separate from the OECD framework, which could represent a significant departure from the understanding to date regarding digital services taxes serving as a backstop to such framework. In addition, several countries have proposed or enacted taxes applicable to digital services, which could apply to our business.

Due to the large and expanding scale of our international business activities, these types of changes to the taxation of our activities could increase our worldwide effective tax rate, increase the amount of taxes imposed on our business, and harm our financial position. Such changes may also apply retroactively to our historical operations and result in taxes greater than the amounts estimated and recorded in our financial statements.

Changes in our effective tax rate or tax liability may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. The determination of our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment by management, and there are many transactions where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We believe that our provision for income taxes is reasonable, but the ultimate tax outcome may differ from the amounts recorded in our consolidated financial statements and may materially affect our financial results in the period or periods in which such outcome is determined.

Our effective tax rate could increase due to several factors, including:

 

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changes in the relative amounts of income before taxes in the various jurisdictions in which we operate that have differing statutory tax rates;

 

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changes in tax laws, tax treaties, and regulations or the interpretation of them, including the Tax Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act;

 

•

changes to our assessment about our ability to realize our deferred tax assets that are based on estimates of our future results, the prudence and feasibility of possible tax planning strategies, and the economic and political environments in which we do business;

 

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the outcome of current and future tax audits, examinations, or administrative appeals;

 

•

changes international tax frameworks; and

 

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the effects of acquisitions.

Any of these developments could adversely affect our results of operations.

 

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We could be required to collect additional sales or indirect taxes or be subject to other tax liabilities that may increase the costs our customers would have to pay for our products and adversely affect our results of operations.

We currently collect and remit applicable sales and indirect taxes and other applicable transfer taxes in jurisdictions where we, through our employees or economic activity, have a presence and where we have determined, based on applicable legal precedents, that sales or licensing of our products are classified as taxable. We do not currently collect and remit state and local excise, utility user and ad valorem taxes, fees, or surcharges in jurisdictions where we believe we do not have sufficient “nexus.” There is uncertainty as to what constitutes sufficient nexus for a state or local jurisdiction to levy taxes, fees and surcharges for sales made over the internet, and there is also uncertainty as to whether our characterization of our products as not taxable in certain jurisdictions will be accepted by state and local tax authorities.

An increasing number of states have considered or adopted laws that attempt to impose tax collection obligations on out-of-state companies. Additionally, the Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. et al, or Wayfair, that online sellers can be required to collect sales and use tax despite not having a physical presence in the buyer’s state. In response to Wayfair, or otherwise, states or local governments may adopt, or begin to enforce, laws requiring us to calculate, collect, and remit taxes on sales in their jurisdictions. A successful assertion by one or more states requiring us to collect taxes where we presently do not do so, or to collect more taxes in a jurisdiction in which we currently do collect some taxes, could result in substantial tax liabilities, including taxes on past sales, as well as penalties and interest. The imposition by state governments or local governments of sales tax collection obligations on out-of-state sellers could also create additional administrative burdens for us, put us at a competitive disadvantage if they do not impose similar obligations on our competitors, and decrease our future sales, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our ability to use our NOLs to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.

Our NOLs could expire unused and be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities because of their limited duration or because of restrictions under U.S. or foreign tax law. NOLs generated in taxable years beginning before January 1, 2018 are permitted to be carried forward for only 20 taxable years under applicable U.S. federal income tax law. Under the Tax Act, as modified by the CARES Act, NOLs arising in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2021 may be carried back to each of the five tax years preceding the tax year of such loss, and NOLs arising in tax years beginning after December 31, 2020 may not be carried back. Moreover, under the Tax Act as modified by the CARES Act, NOLs generated in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such NOLs generally will be limited in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020 to 80% of current year taxable income. The extent to which state income tax law will conform to the Tax Act and CARES Act is uncertain.

In general, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” (as defined under Section 382 of the Code and applicable Treasury Regulations) is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change NOLs to offset future taxable income. We have identified Section 382 ownership changes in April 2017 and July 2020 and, accordingly, our NOLs are subject to limitation. We do not believe, based on our preliminary analysis, that we experienced a subsequent ownership change in connection with the Series F Financing. We do not believe that any Section 382 limitations will prevent us from fully utilizing our NOLs. It is possible that we have in the past undergone and may in the future undergo, additional ownership changes that we have not identified and that could result in additional limitations on our NOLs. Furthermore, our ability to utilize NOLs of companies that we have acquired or may acquire in the future may be subject to limitations. There is also a risk that due to regulatory changes, such as suspensions on the use of NOLs or other unforeseen reasons, our existing NOLs could expire or otherwise be unavailable to reduce future income tax liabilities, including for state tax purposes. For these reasons, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of the NOLs reflected on our balance sheets, even if we attain profitability,

 

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which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us and could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Our reported financial results may be adversely affected by changes in GAAP.

GAAP is subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. A change in these principles or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported results of operations and could affect the reporting of transactions already completed before the announcement of a change.

If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies prove to be incorrect, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities, and equity, and the amount of revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant estimates and judgments involve revenue recognition and the valuation of our stock-based compensation awards, including the determination of fair value of our common stock, among others. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the market price of our Class A common stock.

Our revenue recognition policy and other factors may distort our financial results in any given period and make them difficult to predict.

We derive our revenue from the sale of our software licenses for use of our proprietary software, maintenance and support for our licenses, right to access certain products that are hosted by us (i.e., software as a service, or SaaS), and professional services. Under Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 (Topic 606), Revenue from Contracts with Customers, we recognize revenue when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services are delivered. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for these goods or services. Our licenses revenue is mainly derived from the sale of term-based licenses hosted on-premises, which is recognized when we transfer control of the respective license to the customer. Revenue from SaaS and revenue from maintenance and support are recognized ratably over time since control passes to our customers over the arrangement’s contractual period.

Furthermore, the presentation of our financial results requires us to make estimates and assumptions that may affect revenue recognition. In some instances, we could reasonably use different estimates and assumptions, and changes in estimates are likely to occur from period to period.

Given the foregoing factors, our actual results could differ significantly from our estimates. Comparing our revenue and operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and our past results may not be indicative of our future performance.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock

The dual class structure of our common stock will have the effect of concentrating voting control with our Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and Chairman, which will limit your ability to influence the outcome of important decisions.

Our Class B common stock has 35 votes per share and our Class A common stock, which is the stock we are offering hereby, has one vote per share. Our Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and Chairman, Daniel Dines,

 

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who, collectively with his controlled entities, holds all our outstanding shares of Class B common stock, will beneficially own shares representing approximately                % of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock following the completion of this offering. As a result, Mr. Dines will have the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or our assets, even if his stock ownership represents less than 50% of the outstanding aggregate number of shares of our capital stock. This concentration of ownership will limit the ability of other stockholders to influence corporate matters and may cause us to make strategic decisions that could involve risks to you or that may not be aligned with your interests. As a board member, Mr. Dines owes a fiduciary duty to our stockholders and is legally obligated to act in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of our stockholders. As a stockholder, Mr. Dines is entitled to vote his shares in his own interests, which may not always be in the interests of our stockholders generally. Mr. Dines’ control may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Further, future transfers by holders of our Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting into shares of our Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions, such as certain transfers effected for tax or estate planning purposes.

We have not elected to take advantage of the “controlled company” exemption to the corporate governance rules for publicly-listed companies but may do so in the future.

Because our Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and Chairman, Daniel Dines, who, collectively with his controlled entities, holds all our outstanding shares of Class B common stock, will beneficially own shares representing in excess of 50% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock following the completion of this offering, we are eligible to elect the “controlled company” exemption to the corporate governance rules for publicly-listed companies. We have not elected to do so. If we decide to become a “controlled company” under the corporate governance rules for publicly-listed companies, we would not be required to have a majority of our board of directors be independent, nor would we be required to have a compensation committee or an independent nominating function. If we choose controlled company status in the future, our status as a controlled company could cause our Class A common stock to be less attractive to certain investors or otherwise harm our trading price.

We cannot predict the impact our dual class structure may have on the market price of our Class A common stock.

We cannot predict whether our dual class structure, combined with the concentrated control of our Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and Chairman, who holds all of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock, will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A common stock or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. Certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indexes. For example, in July 2017, FTSE Russell and Standard & Poor’s announced that they would cease to allow most newly public companies utilizing dual or multi-class capital structures to be included in their indices. Under the announced policies, our dual class capital structure would make us ineligible for inclusion in any of these indices. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indexes, exclusion from stock indexes would likely preclude investment by many of these funds and could make our Class A common stock less attractive to other investors. As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.

No public market for our Class A common stock currently exists, and an active public trading market may not develop or be sustained following this offering.

No public market for our Class A common stock currently exists. An active public trading market for our Class A common stock may not develop following the completion of this offering or, if developed, it may not be sustained. The lack of an active market may impair your ability to sell your shares at the time you wish to sell

 

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them or at a price that you consider reasonable. The lack of an active market may also reduce the fair value of your shares. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.

We will have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds to us from this offering and may not use them effectively.

We will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds to us from this offering, including for any of the purposes described in the section titled “Use of Proceeds,” and you will not have the opportunity as part of your investment decision to assess whether the net proceeds are being used appropriately. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine our use of the net proceeds from this offering, our ultimate use may vary substantially from our currently intended use. Investors will need to rely upon the judgment of our management with respect to the use of proceeds. Pending use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities, such as money market accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and guaranteed obligations of the U.S. government that may not generate a high yield for our stockholders. We may use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire complementary businesses, products, services, or technologies. At this time, we do not have agreements or commitments to enter into any material acquisitions. If we do not use the net proceeds that we receive in this offering effectively, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be harmed and the market price of our Class A common stock could decline.

Future sales of our Class A common stock in the public market could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock in the public market following the completion of this offering, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our Class A common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. Many of our existing equity holders have substantial unrecognized gains on the value of the equity they hold based upon the price of this offering, and therefore they may take steps to sell their shares or otherwise secure the unrecognized gains on those shares. We are unable to predict the timing of or the effect that such sales may have on the prevailing market price of our Class A common stock.

All of the Class A common stock sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restrictions or further registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, except for any shares held by our affiliates as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, or Rule 144.

All of our directors and executive officers, the selling stockholders, and the holders of                 % of our Class A common stock, Class B common stock and securities exercisable for, or convertible into, our Class A common stock outstanding immediately on the closing of this offering, are subject to lock-up agreements with the underwriters or agreements with market stand-off provisions with us pursuant to which they have agreed that they will not, and will not publicly disclose an intention to, during the period ending immediately prior to the opening of trading on the NYSE on the second full trading day following the release of our regular earnings announcement for our second fiscal quarter following the completion of this offering (such period, the “restricted period”), offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our shares of common stock, any options or warrants to purchase any of our shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of our common stock or enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of our common stock; provided that Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC on behalf of the underwriters may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time, subject to the applicable notice requirements.

 

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In addition, the restricted period may be shortened with respect to a portion of the locked-up securities held by certain lock-up parties, and the lock-up agreements are subject to a number of exceptions. These agreements are further described in the sections titled “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” and “Underwriting.” If not earlier released, all of the shares of Class A common stock not sold in this offering will become eligible for sale upon expiration of the restricted period, except for any shares held by our affiliates as defined in Rule 144.

In addition, there were 57,765,481 shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of options and upon the vesting and settlement of restricted stock units outstanding as of January 31, 2021. We intend to register all of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding options, the vesting and settlement of outstanding restricted stock units, and other equity incentives we may grant in the future, for public resale under the Securities Act. The shares of Class A common stock will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent such options are exercised or restricted stock unites vested and settled, subject to the lock-up agreements described above and compliance with applicable securities laws.

Further, based on shares outstanding as of January 31, 2021, holders of approximately              shares of Class A common stock, or         % of our capital stock after the completion of this offering, will have rights, subject to some conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering the sale of their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders.

Sales, short sales, or hedging transactions involving our equity securities, whether before or after this offering and whether or not we believe them to be prohibited, could adversely affect the price of our Class A common stock.

You will experience immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of the shares of Class A common stock you purchase in this offering.

The initial public offering price of our Class A common stock will be substantially higher than the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. If you purchase shares of our Class A common stock in this offering, you will suffer immediate dilution of $                per share, or $                per share if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, representing the difference between our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share as of January 31, 2021 after giving effect to the sale of Class A common stock in this offering and the assumed public offering price of $                per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. See the section titled “Dilution.”

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future and, as a result, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our Class A common stock.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not intend to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Accordingly, you may need to rely on sales of our Class A common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on your investment.

We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting and disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act, as an

 

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emerging growth company, we have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. As a result, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of issuers who are required to comply with the effective dates for new or revised accounting standards that are applicable to public companies, which may make our Class A common stock less attractive to investors. In addition, if we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will no longer be able to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of this offering; (2) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue is $1.07 billion or more; (3) the date on which we have, during the previous rolling three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities; and (4) the last day of the fiscal year in which the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700 million as of July 31 of such fiscal year.

We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A common stock less attractive if we choose to rely on these exemptions. For example, if we do not adopt a new or revised accounting standard, our future results of operations may not be as comparable to the results of operations of certain other companies in our industry that adopted such standards. If some investors find our Class A common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of our company more difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management and limit the market price of our Class A common stock.

In addition to the effects of our dual class structure, provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as they will be in effect upon the completion of this offering, may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control or changes in our management. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will include provisions that may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management.

In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which generally, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any “interested” stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an “interested” stockholder. Any of the foregoing provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our Class A common stock, and they could deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you would receive a premium for your shares of our Class A common stock in an acquisition.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forums for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as will be in effect upon the completion of this offering, will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law:

 

•

any derivative claim or cause of action brought on our behalf;

 

•

any claim or cause of action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty;

 

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•

any claim or cause of action against us arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law;

 

•

any claim or cause of action arising under or seeking to interpret our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; and

 

•

any claim or cause of action against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

The provisions would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will further provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause or causes of action arising under the Securities Act, including all causes of action asserted against any defendant to such complaint. For the avoidance of doubt, this provision is intended to benefit and may be enforced by us, our officers and directors, the underwriters to any offering giving rise to such complaint, and any other professional entity whose profession gives authority to a statement made by that person or entity and who has prepared or certified any part of the documents underlying the offering.

While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions. In such instance, we would expect to vigorously assert the validity and enforceability of the exclusive forum provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. This may require significant additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions and there can be no assurance that the provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions.

These exclusive forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees. If a court were to find either exclusive-forum provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur further significant additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, all of which could seriously harm our business.

General Risk Factors

Our stock price may be volatile, and the value of our Class A common stock may decline.

The market price of our Class A common stock may be highly volatile and may fluctuate or decline substantially as a result of a variety of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

 

•

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial condition or results of operations;

 

•

variance in our financial performance from expectations of securities analysts;

 

•

changes in the pricing of licenses to our products;

 

•

changes in our projected operating and financial results;

 

•

changes in laws or regulations applicable to our platform and products;

 

•

announcements by us or our competitors of significant business developments, acquisitions, or new products;

 

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•

significant data breaches, disruptions to or other incidents involving our software;

 

•

our involvement in litigation or governmental investigations;

 

•

future sales of our Class A common stock by us or our stockholders, as well as the anticipation of lock-up releases;

 

•

changes in senior management or key personnel;

 

•

the issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;

 

•

the trading volume of our Class A common stock;

 

•

changes in the anticipated future size and growth rate of our market; and

 

•

economic and market conditions in general, or in our industry in particular.

Broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political, regulatory, and market conditions, may also negatively impact the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, technology stocks have historically experienced high levels of volatility. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their securities have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future, which could result in substantial expenses and divert our management’s attention.

Our issuance of additional capital stock in connection with financings, acquisitions, investments, our equity incentive plans, or otherwise will dilute all other stockholders.

We expect to issue additional capital stock in the future that will result in dilution to all other stockholders. We expect to grant equity awards to employees, directors, and consultants under our equity incentive plans. We may also raise capital through equity financings in the future. As part of our business strategy, we may acquire or make investments in companies, products, or technologies and issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition or investment. Any such issuances of additional capital stock may cause stockholders to experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the per share value of our Class A common stock to decline.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish unfavorable or inaccurate research about our business, the market price and trading volume of our Class A common stock could decline.

The market price and trading volume of our Class A common stock following the completion of this offering will be heavily influenced by the way analysts interpret our financial information and other disclosures. We do not have control over these analysts. If few securities analysts commence coverage of us, or if industry analysts cease coverage of us, our stock price would be negatively affected. If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, downgrade our Class A common stock, or publish negative reports about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our Class A common stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price to decline and could decrease the trading volume of our Class A common stock.

We will incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to compliance with our public company responsibilities and corporate governance practices.

As a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, which we expect to further increase after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”

 

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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to compliance with these requirements. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we will incur as a public company or the specific timing of such costs.

Pursuant to the terms of our outstanding indebtedness, we may be limited in our ability to incur future debt.

In October 2020, we entered into a Senior Secured Credit Facility, or the Credit Facility, with HSBC Ventures USA Inc., Silicon Valley Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Mizuho Bank, LTD, which provided a $200.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility with a maturity date of October 30, 2023. Our obligations under the Credit Facility are secured by substantially all of our assets, except for our intellectual property.

Pursuant to the terms of the Credit Facility, we are limited in our ability to incur additional indebtedness other than on the terms and conditions thereof. In addition, a failure to comply with the covenants under the Credit Facility could result in an event of default by us and an acceleration of amounts due. If an event of default occurs that is not waived by the lenders, and the lenders accelerate any amounts due, we may not be able to make accelerated payments, and the lender could seek to enforce their security interests in the collateral securing such indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations or financial condition, business strategy, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the following:

 

•

our expectations regarding our ARR, revenue, expenses, and other operating results;

 

•

our ability to acquire new customers and successfully retain existing customers;

 

•

our ability to increase the number of users who access our platform and the number of automations built on our platform by our existing customers;

 

•

our ability to effectively manage our growth;

 

•

our ability to achieve or maintain profitability;

 

•

future investments in our business, our anticipated capital expenditures, and our estimates regarding our capital requirements;

 

•

the costs and success of our marketing efforts and our ability to maintain and enhance our brand;

 

•

our growth strategies, including any further expansion into the top 25 countries as measured by gross domestic product;

 

•

the estimated addressable market opportunity for our platform and automation generally;

 

•

our reliance on key personnel and our ability to attract and retain highly-qualified personnel;

 

•

our ability to obtain, maintain, protect, and enforce our intellectual property rights and any costs associated therewith;

 

•

the effect of global events, such as COVID-19 or other public health crises, on our business, industry, and the global economy;

 

•

our ability to compete effectively with existing competitors and new market entrants; and

 

•

the size and growth rates of the markets in which we compete.

You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, and operating results. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus. The results, events, and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results, events, or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

 

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In addition, statements that “we believe,” and similar statements, reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this prospectus. And while we believe that information provides a reasonable basis for these statements, that information may be limited or incomplete. Our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on these statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this prospectus to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments.

 

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MARKET, INDUSTRY, AND OTHER DATA

This prospectus contains statistical data, estimates, and forecasts that are based on independent industry publications or other publicly available information, as well as other information based on our internal sources. While we believe the industry and market data included in this prospectus are reliable and are based on reasonable assumptions, these data involve many assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to these estimates. We have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the data contained in these industry publications and other publicly available information. The industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Among other items, certain of the market research included in this prospectus was published prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and did not anticipate the virus or the impact it has caused on our industry. We have utilized this pre-pandemic market research in the absence of updated sources. These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the projections and estimates made by the independent third parties and us. See the section titled “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business, Products, Operations, and Industry—If the estimates and assumptions we have used to calculate the size of our addressable market opportunity are inaccurate, our future growth rate may be limited.”

The sources of certain statistical data, estimates, and forecasts contained in this prospectus are the following independent industry publications or reports:

 

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Bain & Company, Beyond Cost Savings: Reinventing Business Through Automation, published March 2021;

 

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IDC, IDC Intelligent Process Automation; Worldwide Intelligent Process Automation Revenue by Segment and Deployment Type, 2015-2024, published July 2020;

 

•

IDC, FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Work 2020 Predictions, published October 2019;

 

•

Gallup Inc., Is Working Remotely Effective? Gallup Research Says Yes, published January 2020;

 

•

Forrester, Information Worker Population estimate Q1 2021 Commissioned by Morgan Stanley, February 2021; and

 

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Forrester, The Forrester Wave™: Robotic Process Automation, published Q1 2021.

This prospectus also contains our Net Promoter Score, or NPS. NPS is a widely known survey methodology that measures customers’ overall satisfaction with a company’s products and services and their loyalty to the brand. We measure NPS using a scale of zero to 10 based on a customer’s response to the following survey question: “How likely are you to recommend UiPath to other companies?” Responses of nine or 10 are considered “promoters,” responses of seven or eight are considered passive, and responses of six or less are considered “detractors.” NPS is a percentage expressed as a numerical value, which we calculate by subtracting the percentage of total respondents over a 12-month period who are detractors from the percentage of total respondents over the same period who are promoters. The NPS calculation gives no weight to customers who decline to answer the survey question or respondents who are considered passive. Our NPS score of 71 was calculated on a rolling average using data from a survey of our customer base that we conducted over the 12-month period ended February 2021.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that we will receive net proceeds from this offering of approximately $                million (or approximately $                million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our Class A common stock from us in full) based on an assumed initial public offering price of $                per share of Class A common stock, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of Class A common stock in this offering by the selling stockholders.

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $                per share of Class A common stock, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $                million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions. Similarly, each increase (decrease) of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares of Class A common stock offered by us would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $                million, assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $                per share of Class A common stock remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

The principal purposes of this offering are to increase our capitalization and financial flexibility, facilitate an orderly distribution of shares for the selling stockholders, create a public market for our Class A common stock, and facilitate our future access to the capital markets. As of the date of this prospectus, we cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to us from this offering. However, we currently intend to use the net proceeds we receive from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses, and capital expenditures. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire complementary businesses, products, services, or technologies. At this time, we do not have agreements or commitments to enter into any material acquisitions.

We will have broad discretion over how to use the net proceeds to us from this offering. We intend to invest the net proceeds to us from this offering that are not used as described above in investment-grade, interest-bearing instruments.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, to fund the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, pursuant to our Credit Facility, we are prohibited from paying any dividends without the prior written consent of the required lenders. Any future determination regarding the declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on then-existing conditions, including our financial condition, operating results, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects, and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash and capitalization as of January 31, 2021:

 

•

on an actual basis;

 

•

on a pro forma basis, giving effect to (1) the Series F Financing, (2) the automatic conversion of all of our outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of            shares of Class A common stock immediately prior to the closing of this offering, (3) the filing and effectiveness of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation immediately prior to the closing of this offering, (4) the conversion of              shares of RSUs into Class A common stock for which the service-based vesting condition was satisfied on or before the date of the offering and for which the performance-based vesting condition will be satisfied in connection with this offering, and (5) stock-based compensation expenses of approximately $         million related to RSUs for which the service-based vesting condition was satisfied and for which the performance-based vesting condition will be satisfied in connection with this offering; and

 

•

on a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to (1) the pro forma adjustments set forth above and (2) our receipt of $    million in net proceeds from the issuance and sale of            shares of Class A common stock that we are offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $    per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

You should read this table together with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

		As of January 31, 2021
		Actual				Pro Forma				Pro Forma As Adjusted
		(in thousands except share and per share amounts)
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities		$	474,018			$				$
Convertible preferred stock, $0.00001 par value, 297,973,353 shares authorized, 294,257,205 shares issued and outstanding, actual; no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted		$	1,221,968			$				$

 

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		As of January 31, 2021
		Actual				Pro Forma				Pro Forma As Adjusted
		(in thousands except share and per share amounts)
Stockholders’ (deficit) equity:
Preferred stock, $0.00001 par value, no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, actual; 20,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted			—
Class A common stock, $0.00001 par value, 581,000,000 shares authorized, 75,176,582 shares issued and outstanding, actual; 2,000,000,000 shares authorized,                          shares issued and outstanding, pro forma; 2,000,000,000 shares authorized,                  shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted			1
Class B common stock, $0.00001 par value, 115,741,494 shares authorized, 110,653,498 shares issued and outstanding, actual; 115,741,494 shares authorized,                          shares issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted			1
Additional paid-in capital			179,175
Accumulated other comprehensive loss			(12,521	)
Accumulated deficit			(970,360	)
Total stockholders’ (deficit) equity			(803,704	)
Total capitalization		$	418,264			$				$

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $    per share of Class A common stock, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) each of our pro forma as adjusted cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities, and additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ (deficit) equity and total capitalization by approximately $    million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions. Similarly, each increase (decrease) of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares of Class A common stock offered by us would increase (decrease) each of our pro forma as adjusted cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities, and additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ (deficit) equity and total capitalization by approximately $    million, assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $    per share of Class A common stock remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

The number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on                 shares of Class A common stock and 110,653,498 shares of Class B common stock outstanding as of January 31, 2021, and excludes:

 

•

5,175,906 shares of Class A common stock issuable on the exercise of stock options outstanding as of January 31, 2021 under the 2015 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $0.07 per share;

 

•

17,836,792 shares of Class A common stock issuable on the exercise of stock options outstanding as of January 31, 2021 under the 2018 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $2.02 per share;

 

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•

128,385 shares of Class A common stock issuable on the exercise of stock options granted after January 31, 2021 under the 2018 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $0.10 per share;

 

•

shares of Class A common stock issuable on the vesting and settlement of RSUs outstanding as of January 31, 2021 under the 2018 Plan for which the performance-based vesting condition will be satisfied in connection with this offering, but for which the service-based vesting condition will not be satisfied on or before the date of this offering;

 

•

shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the vesting and settlement of RSUs granted after January 31, 2021 under the 2018 Plan for which the performance-based vesting condition will be satisfied in connection with this offering, but for which the service-based vesting condition will not be satisfied on or before the date of this offering;

 

•

shares of Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under the 2021 Plan, plus a number of shares of Class A common stock not to exceed                (consisting of the number of shares that remain available under the 2018 Plan as of immediately prior to the effective date of the 2021 Plan, and any shares underlying stock awards outstanding under the 2015 Plan or the 2018 Plan that expire or otherwise terminate prior to exercise or settlement after the effective date of the 2021 Plan), as well as any future increases, including annual automatic evergreen increases, in the number of shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under the 2021 Plan;

 

•

shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under our ESPP, as well as any future increases, including annual automatic evergreen increases, in the number of shares of Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under our ESPP; and

 

•

2,810,082 shares of our Class A common stock that we have reserved and may donate to fund our social impact and environmental, social, and governance initiatives, as more fully described in “Business—Social Responsibility and Community Initiatives.”

 

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DILUTION

If you invest in our Class A common stock in this offering, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of Class A common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share immediately after this offering.

Our pro forma net tangible book value as of January 31, 2021 was $380.0 million, or $        per share. Our pro forma net tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets less our total liabilities, divided by the number of our shares of common stock outstanding as of January 31, 2021, after giving effect to (1) the Series F Financing, (2) the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of                shares of Class A common stock immediately prior to the closing of this offering, (3) the conversion of                  shares of RSUs into Class A common stock for which the service-based vesting condition was satisfied on or before the date of the offering and for which the performance-based vesting condition will be satisfied in connection with this offering, and (4) stock-based compensation expenses of approximately $         million related to RSUs for which the service-based vesting condition was satisfied and for which the performance-based vesting condition will be satisfied in connection with this offering.

After giving effect to the sale by us of                shares of Class A common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $    per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of January 31, 2021 would have been $        million, or $        per share. This amount represents an immediate increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value of $    per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution of $    per share to new investors purchasing Class A common stock in this offering. We determine dilution by subtracting the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering from the initial public offering price per share paid by investors purchasing Class A common stock in this offering. The following table illustrates this dilution on a per share basis:

 

Assumed initial public offering price per share						$
Historical net tangible book value per share as of January 31, 2021		$
Increase per share attributable to the pro forma adjustments described above
Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of January 31, 2021
Increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors purchasing shares in this offering
Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering
Dilution per share to new investors in this offering						$

The dilution information discussed above is illustrative only and may change based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering. A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $    per share of Class A common stock, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share by $    per share, and increase (decrease) the immediate dilution to new investors by $    per share, in each case assuming the number of shares of Class A common stock offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, each increase of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares of Class A common stock offered by us would increase our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by $    per share and decrease the immediate dilution to new investors by $    per share, and each decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares of Class A common stock offered by us would decrease our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by $    per share and increase the immediate dilution to new investors by $    per share, in each case assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $    per share of Class A common stock remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

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If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock from us in full, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of January 31, 2021 would have been $        million, or $    per share, and the immediate dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per share to new investors would have been $    per share.

The following table summarizes, as of January 31, 2021, on a pro forma as adjusted basis as described above, the number of shares of our Class A common stock, the total consideration and the average price per share (1) paid to us by existing stockholders and (2) to be paid by new investors acquiring our Class A common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $    per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, before deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

		Shares Purchased								Total Consideration								Average Price Per Share
		Number				Percent				Amount				Percent
Existing stockholders							%			$					%			$
New investors
Totals							100.0%			$					100.0%			$

Sales by the selling stockholders in this offering will cause the number of shares held by existing stockholders to be reduced to                shares, or        % of the total number of shares of our capital stock outstanding following the completion of this offering, and will increase the number of shares held by new investors to                shares, or        % of the total number of shares of our capital stock outstanding following the completion of this offering.

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the total consideration paid by new investors and total consideration paid by all stockholders by $        million, assuming that the number of shares of Class A common stock offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions. Similarly, each increase (decrease) of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares of Class A common stock offered by us would increase (decrease) the total consideration paid by new investors and total consideration paid by all stockholders by $        million, assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $        per share of Class A common stock remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

The number of shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on                          shares of Class A common stock and 110,653,498 shares of Class B common stock outstanding as of January 31, 2021, and excludes:

 

•

5,175,906 shares of Class A common stock issuable on the exercise of stock options outstanding as of January 31, 2021 under the 2015 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $0.07 per share;

 

•

17,836,792 shares of Class A common stock issuable on the exercise of stock options outstanding as of January 31, 2021 under the 2018 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $2.02 per share;

 

•

128,385 shares of Class A common stock issuable on the exercise of stock options granted after January 31, 2021 under the 2018 Plan, with a weighted-average exercise price of $0.10 per share;

 

•

shares of Class A common stock issuable on the vesting and settlement of RSUs outstanding as of January 31, 2021 under the 2018 Plan for which the performance-based vesting condition will be satisfied in connection with this offering, but for which the service-based vesting condition will not be satisfied on or before the date of this offering;

 

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•

shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the vesting and settlement of RSUs granted after January 31, 2021 under the 2018 Plan for which the performance-based vesting condition will be satisfied in connection with this offering, but for which the service-based vesting condition will not be satisfied on or before the date of this offering;

 

•

shares of Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under the 2021 Plan, plus a number of shares of Class A common stock not to exceed                 (consisting of the number of shares that remain available under the 2018 Plan as of immediately prior to the effective date of the 2021 Plan, and any shares underlying stock awards outstanding under the 2015 Plan or the 2018 Plan that expire or otherwise terminate prior to exercise or settlement after the effective date of the 2021 Plan), as well as any future increases, including annual automatic evergreen increases, in the number of shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under the 2021 Plan;

 

•

shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance under our ESPP, as well as any future increases, including annual automatic evergreen increases, in the number of shares of Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under our ESPP; and

 

•

2,810,082 shares of our Class A common stock that we have reserved and may donate to fund our social impact and environmental, social, and governance initiatives, as more fully described in “Business—Social Responsibility and Community Initiatives.”

To the extent that any outstanding options are exercised, outstanding RSUs vest and settle or new options or RSUs are issued under our stock-based compensation plans, or we issue additional shares of Class A common stock in the future, there will be further dilution to investors participating in this offering. If all outstanding options under the 2015 Plan and 2018 Plan and RSUs under the 2018 Plan as of January 31, 2021 were exercised or vested and settled, as applicable, then our existing stockholders, including the holders of these options and RSUs, would own    % and our new investors would own    % of the total number of shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding on the closing of this offering.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis, including information with respect to our planned investments in our sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative functions, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should review the sections titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” for a discussion of forward-looking statements and important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. The last day of our fiscal year is January 31. Our fiscal quarters end on April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. References to fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 in this prospectus refer to our fiscal years ended January 31, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Overview

We are at the forefront of technology innovation and thought leadership in automation, creating an end-to-end platform that provides automation with user emulation at its core. Our platform leverages computer vision and artificial intelligence, or AI, to empower software robots to emulate human behavior and execute specific business processes, eliminating the need for employees to execute certain manual and mundane tasks. Our platform allows employees to focus on more value-added work and enables organizations to seamlessly automate business processes ranging from those in legacy information technology, or IT, systems and on-premises applications to new cloud-native infrastructure and applications without requiring significant changes to the organization’s underlying technology infrastructure. Our platform is purpose-built to be used by employees throughout a company and to address a wide variety of use cases, from simple tasks to long-running, complex business processes.

Our platform is designed to transform the way humans work. We provide our customers with a robust set of capabilities to discover automation opportunities and build, manage, run, engage, measure, and govern automations across departments within an organization. Our platform leverages the power of AI-based computer vision to enable our robots to perform a vast array of actions as a human would when executing business processes. These actions include, but are not limited to, logging into applications, extracting information from documents, moving folders, filling in forms, and updating information fields and databases. Our robots’ ability to learn from and replicate workers’ steps in executing business processes drives continuous improvements in operational efficiencies and enables companies to deliver on key digital initiatives with greater speed, agility, and accuracy.

Our platform is designed to interact with and automate processes across a company’s existing enterprise stack. As a result, our customers can leverage the power of our platform without the need to replace or change existing business applications and with lower overall IT infrastructure cost. Our platform enables employees to quickly build automations for both existing and new processes. Employees can seamlessly maintain and scale automations across multiple deployment options, constantly improve and evolve automations, and continuously track and measure the performance of automations, all without substantial technical experience.

At the core of our automation platform is a set of capabilities that emulates human behavior, which provides our customers with the ability to automate both simple and complex use cases. Automations on our platform can be built, consumed, managed, and governed by any employee who interacts with computers, resulting in the potential for broad applicability of our platform across departments within an organization. Society is at a turning point in how organizations execute work, and we believe the ability to leverage software to enrich the employee experience will unlock tremendous value and efficiency opportunities. While we are still in the early days of a multi-year journey to the fully automated enterprise, momentum is growing as organizations across the world are only now beginning to understand the power of automation.

 

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UiPath was founded in 2005 in Bucharest, Romania as a company principally focused on building automation scripts and developing computer vision technology, which remains the foundation of our platform today. Since that time, we have developed and enhanced our robotic process automation, or RPA, capabilities, launched new products, and expanded our operations across the globe. Key milestones on our journey included the following:

 

 

We offer a comprehensive range of automation solutions via a suite of interrelated software offerings. We generate revenue from the sale of licenses for our proprietary software, maintenance and support, and professional services. Our license fees are based primarily on the number of users who access our software and the number of automations running on our platform. Our license agreements primarily have annual terms, and some of our license agreements have multi-year terms. We generally do not sell standalone licenses with a term of less than one year. However, during the term of an annual contract or the last year of a multi-year contract, our customers may enter into an additional license agreement with a termination date that is coterminous with the anniversary date of such annual contract. Additionally, we provide maintenance and support for our software as well as non-recurring professional services such as training and implementation services to facilitate the adoption of our platform. Our professional services complement the capabilities of our customers and partners as they improve customers’ time-to-market and optimize business outcomes using our platform. Our non-recurring professional services include use case development and deployment, solutions architecting, implementation consulting, and training.

We have an efficient go-to-market model, which consists primarily of an enterprise field sales force supplemented by a high velocity inside sales team focused on small and mid-sized customers, as well as a global strategic sales team focused on the largest global customers. As of January 31, 2020, we had 6,009 customers, including 80% of the Fortune 10 and 61% of the Fortune Global 500. As of January 31, 2021, we had 7,968 customers, including 80% of the Fortune 10 and 63% of the Fortune Global 500. Our customers span a variety of industries and include Adobe, Applied Materials, Chevron, Chipotle Mexican Grill, CrowdStrike, CVS Health, Deutsche Post DHL, EY, Generali, KDDI, SBA Communications, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Uber Technologies, Inc.

Many of our customers expand the scope and size of use cases of our platform across their organizations as they quickly realize the power of our platform. We believe that the success of our land-and-expand business model is centered on our ability to deliver significant value in a very short time. We grow with our customers as they identify and expand the number of business processes to automate, which increases the number of robots

 

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deployed and the number of users interacting with our robots. Our ability to expand within our customer base is demonstrated by our dollar-based net retention rate, which represents the rate of net expansion of annualized renewal run-rate, or ARR, from existing customers over the last 12 months. Our dollar-based net retention rate was 153% and 145% as of January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively. See the section titled “—Key Factors Affecting Our Performance” for additional information regarding our dollar-based net retention rate.

A crucial component of our go-to-market strategy is our partner and channel ecosystem, which extends our local and global reach and helps ensure customers are able to rapidly build, deploy, and scale automations on our platform. Our business partners include more than 3,700 global and regional system integrators, value-added resellers, and business consultants. Our partner network includes, among others, Accenture LLP, Capgemini SE, CGI Inc., Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst and Young LLP, KPMG LLP, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. We provide tiering recognition through Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Registered levels for partners that meet competency requirements and deliver and maintain a specified number of satisfied customers. These partnerships enhance our market presence and drive greater sales efficiencies. In addition, we have aggressively built strong technology partnerships and alliances to enable a large number of connectors and other technical capabilities necessary to meet the breadth of our customer needs. Our technical alliances include, among others, Amazon Web Services Inc., Adobe Inc., Alteryx Inc., Box, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Salesforce.com, inc., SAP SE, ServiceNow, Inc., and Workday, Inc.

We have experienced rapid growth. Our ARR was $351.4 million and $580.4 million in the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively, representing a growth rate of 65%. Approximately 30% of this growth rate was due to new customers and 70% of this growth rate was due to existing customers. We generated revenue of $336.2 million and $607.6 million, representing a growth rate of 81%, and a net loss of $519.9 million and $92.4 million in the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Our operating cash flows were $(359.4) million and $29.2 million and our free cash flows were $(380.4) million and $26.0 million in the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively. See the section titled “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures—Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow” for additional information on free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure.

Our Focus on Driving Operational Efficiency and Hyper-Growth

We have been strategic and intentional in building and scaling our global business to disrupt a large and fast-growing market. In fiscal year 2019, we intensely focused on investments to capture the significant opportunity in the automation market, as well as to build our global brand. In fiscal year 2020, we continued to make investments that enabled our hyper-growth and market capture, and began to focus on realizing the operational leverage inherent in our business model and customer economics. In fiscal year 2021, we continued our focus on demonstrating the operational leverage in our business model, while prioritizing investments that will allow us to continue to achieve best-in-class growth and business scale and to capitalize on our significant market opportunity.

We have made incredible progress in building a world-class business. Today, we are a company committed to solving for both growth and efficiency and have accelerated our path to profitability while continuing to deliver hyper-growth.

Impact from COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold, we were able to move seamlessly to a remote working environment given our investments in fiscal year 2019 in a digital-first business. We took decisive action across our internal and customer operations to ensure the resilience of our company and the safety of our employees. We temporarily shut down all offices and offered our employees technology stipends to encourage remote working, postponed the majority of physical conferences and other customer and promotional events through the end of 2020, implemented global travel restrictions, reduced headcount and expenses related to event-marketing, and engaged in other discretionary cost-saving measures through May 2020. Aligned with our rigor around operational discipline

 

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and people-first culture, we reduced our executive salaries from March through May 2020 and preserved our global team of employees and their compensation and incentive structures. Our operational rigor, digital infrastructure, and global footprint enabled us to support our customers navigating new challenges presented by the pandemic and existing needs to automate. We also continued to invest in the development and marketing of our automation platform. Ever mindful of our role as global citizens, we began to offer customers in critical industries and situations on the frontlines of the pandemic promotions enabling them to utilize our platform for free for a limited time in order to assist them in responding to the world crisis. For example, the power of automation helped nurses to spend more time with COVID-19 patients, accelerated access to unemployment benefits, and reduced the length of clinical trials in a race to a viable vaccine and life-saving therapeutics. As the pandemic persisted, global demand for automation continued to accelerate as automation became essential for business execution and performance in a remote working environment. Beginning in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, we reallocated our financial and strategic focuses. For instance, we accelerated our investments in our research and development and engineering initiatives and refocused our marketing efforts to surface the value of our automation platform to customers looking to invest in and/or accelerate their automation initiatives. While the pandemic may have accelerated the adoption of automation, the need for organizations to address extraordinary cost pressures, preserve and grow revenue, and adapt to ever-evolving end-customer needs illustrates the durability of the demand for digital transformation and the resilience and power of automation in even the most challenging times.

Key Metric

We monitor the following key metric to help us measure and evaluate the effectiveness of our operations:

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021				Change				% Change
		(dollars in thousands)
Annualized renewal run-rate (ARR)		$	351,441			$	580,483			$	229,042				65	%

Annualized Renewal Run-Rate

ARR is the key metric we use in managing our business because it illustrates our ability to acquire new subscription customers and to maintain and expand our relationship with existing subscription customers. We define ARR as annualized invoiced amounts per solution sku from subscription licenses and maintenance obligations assuming no increases or reductions in their subscriptions. ARR does not include the costs we may incur to obtain such subscription licenses or provide such maintenance, and does not reflect any actual or anticipated reductions in invoiced value due to contract non-renewals or service cancellations other than for specific bad debt or disputed amounts. For the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, our ARR was $351.4 million and $580.4 million, respectively, representing a growth rate of 65%. Approximately 30% of this growth rate was due to new customers and 70% of this growth rate was due to existing customers. In each of the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020 and 2021, our ARR was approximately 1.0x of our total revenue. Our ARR may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including customers’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction with our platform and professional services, pricing, competitive offerings, economic conditions, or overall changes in our customers’ spending levels. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue as ARR is an operating metric and is not intended to be combined with or replace these items. For clarity, we use annualized invoiced amounts per solution sku as compared to revenue calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP, to calculate our ARR. Our invoiced amounts are not matched to the performance obligations associated with the underlying subscription licenses and maintenance obligations as they are with respect to our GAAP revenue. This can result in timing differences between our GAAP revenue and ARR calculations. Our ARR calculation simply takes our invoiced amounts per solution sku under a subscription license or maintenance agreement and divides that amount by the invoice term and multiplies by 365 days to derive the annualized value. In contrast, for our revenue calculated in accordance with GAAP, subscription license revenue derived from the sale of term-based licenses hosted on-premises is recognized at the point-in-time when the customer is able to use and benefit from our

 

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software, which is generally upon delivery to the customer or upon the commencement of the renewal term, and maintenance revenue is recognized ratably over the term of the arrangement. ARR is not a forecast of future revenue, which can be impacted by contract start and end dates, duration, and renewal rates, and does not include invoiced amounts reported as perpetual licenses or professional services revenue in our consolidated statements of operations. In addition, investors should not place undue reliance on ARR as an indicator of our future or expected results. Moreover, ARR may differ from similarly titled metrics presented by other companies and may not be comparable to such other metrics. See the section titled “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business, Products, Operations, and Industry—Our key operating metric, ARR, and certain other operational data in this prospectus are subject to assumptions and limitations and may not provide an accurate indication of our future or expected results.”

Our Business Model

Our platform is designed to identify and accelerate the design and deployment of automations that can be executed by our robots under the management and control of our customers. We have built a platform that addresses the end-to-end automation lifecycle of our customers, helping our customers discover, build, manage, run, engage, measure, and govern their automation programs. Our primary business model is to help customers leverage our platform to deploy more unattended, attended, testing, and AI robots, and to make it easier for everyone, from non-technically oriented workers to professional developers, to build and deploy robots.

We believe that as customers deploy more robots over time, their return-on-investment will generally increase. We call this approach our Automation Flywheel. The more our customers employ our new products around the flywheel, the faster we believe they require additional robots to execute automations. For example, our Automation Hub and Process Mining products greatly improve the identification of tasks and process bottlenecks ideal for automation, accelerating the design and deployment of automations that can provide meaningful business impacts. Our products are designed to be additive, with most of our capabilities designed to increase the deployment of automations that drive the need for additional robots, to be modular, and to be used individually or as a unified solution.

We offer our platform and support in various ways to meet the needs of our diverse customer base, including:

 

•

On-Premises, Public or Private Cloud, or Hybrid Environment. Customers can deploy our platform on-premises, in a public or private cloud, or in a hybrid environment. In addition, we offer a managed, multi-tenant, software-as-a-service, or SaaS, version called Automation Cloud, which enables our customers to begin automating without the need to provision infrastructure, install applications, or perform additional configurations.

 

•

Licensed Software, Largely through Annual and Multi-Year Subscription Contracts. Our platform is offered mainly through term licenses that provide customers the right to use our software and access to continuous support. A small percentage of our customers acquire perpetual licenses, which include provisions for maintenance and support. In limited cases, the maintenance and support for perpetual licenses is renewable, generally on an annual basis, at the option of the customer.

 

•

Professional Services and Premium Support. We also offer professional services and other support to our customers, including process automation, use case development and deployment, business consulting, and customer education and training services.

In the future, we expect further expansion of our cloud-based deployments. As cloud-based license software and services become a larger percentage of our sales, we expect the cloud offering to impact the timing of our recognition of revenue as well as impact our operating margins due to an increase in hosting fees and cloud infrastructure costs.

 

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Historically, once our platform is deployed, our customers have significantly expanded their use of our platform by engaging with our customer success team as well as increasing use and spend across our product categories and pivoting into enterprise agreements for the entire platform. The chart below illustrates this expansion by presenting the ARR from each customer cohort over the years presented. See “—Key Metric—Annualized Renewal Run-Rate” for additional information regarding our ARR. Each cohort represents customers that made their initial purchase from us in a given fiscal year. For example, the 2016 cohort includes all customers that had their initial purchase within the fiscal year 2016. This cohort increased their ARR from $395,368 as of January 31, 2016 to $22.7 million as of January 31, 2021, representing a multiple of approximately 57x since fiscal year 2016.

 

 

Additionally, the ARR from our top 50 customers as of January 31, 2021 increased by a median multiple of approximately 81x, as measured from the ARR generated in each such customer’s first month as a customer.

Our Fiscal Year

Our fiscal year ends on January 31. We changed the end of our fiscal year from December 31 to January 31, effective for our fiscal year ended January 31, 2019.

Key Factors Affecting Our Performance

Our results of operations and financial condition are impacted by the macro factors affecting our industry, including the proliferation of cloud-based applications, the cost of skilled human capital, and the global demand for automation solutions. While our business is influenced by these macro factors, our results of operations are more directly affected by certain company specific factors, including:

Growing Our Global Customer Base

We believe there is a substantial opportunity to continue to grow our customer base. Additionally, we believe that as more organizations adopt our automation platform and experience quantifiable competitive advantages, other organizations will also adopt automation as a necessary tool to compete. While we sell to organizations of all sizes and across a broad range of industries, our go-to-market team’s key focus is on the largest organizations, including large enterprises and governments. We also use an inside sales team focused on small and mid-sized businesses. We plan to continue to invest in our go-to-market team to grow our customer

 

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base both domestically and internationally. We intend to continue to grow our customer base by focusing on the top 25 countries as measured by gross domestic product. Although these investments may adversely affect our operating results in the near term, we believe that they will contribute to our long-term growth. Our ability to attract new customers will also depend on a number of other factors, including our ability to drive awareness of the benefits and power of automation in the industry and at our existing and prospective customers, the effectiveness and pricing of our products, the offerings of our competitors, and competition among resellers.

We define our number of customers as the number of accounts with a unique account identifier for which we have an active subscription in the period indicated and include in our customer count entities to which we have sold our products either directly or through a channel partner. Users of our free trials or tier are not included in our customer count. A single organization with multiple divisions, segments, or subsidiaries is counted as a single customer. Our customer count is subject to adjustments for acquisitions, consolidations, spin-offs, and other market activity, and specifically excludes non-paying partners and resellers.

Expanding Within Our Existing Customer Base

Our customer base represents a significant opportunity for further sales expansion. As of January 31, 2020, we had 6,009 customers, including 80% of the Fortune 10 and 61% of the Fortune Global 500. As of January 31, 2021, we had 7,968 customers, including 80% of the Fortune 10 and 63% of the Fortune Global 500. We employ a land-and-expand business model centered around offering products that are easy to adopt and have a short time to value. We believe there is significant opportunity for us to become a strategic partner to our customers in their automation journeys and drive further sales expansion through the following vectors:

 

•

deploy more robots across different departments;

 

•

provide more employees with their own robot assistants;

 

•

increase adoption of platform products; and

 

•

expand use cases for automation in the enterprise to drive increased usage of robots and capacity consumption of our various products.

Our customers often expand the deployment of our platform across large teams and more broadly within the enterprise as they find new use cases for our platform and their employees increasingly interact and gain confidence working with robots. Evidence of the power of our land-and-expand model is our customers that exceed significant ARR thresholds. For example, as of January 31, 2019, we had 305 customers with ARR of $100,000 or more and 21 customers with ARR of $1.0 million or more, which accounted for 69% and 27% of our revenue, respectively, for the fiscal year then ended. As of January 31, 2020, we had 597 customers with ARR of $100,000 or more and 43 customers with ARR of $1.0 million or more, which accounted for 69% and 25% of our revenue, respectively, for the fiscal year then ended. As of January 31, 2021, we had 1,002 customers with ARR of $100,000 or more and 89 customers with ARR of $1.0 million or more, which accounted for 75% and 35% of our revenue, respectively, for the fiscal year then ended.

Further evidence of our land-and-expand business model is our dollar-based net retention rate, which was 153% and 145% as of January 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively. We calculate dollar-based net retention rate as of a period end by starting with the ARR from the cohort of all customers as of 12 months prior to such period-end, or the Prior Period ARR. We then calculate the ARR from these same customers as of the current period-end, or the Current Period ARR. Current Period ARR includes any expansion and is net of contraction or attrition over the last 12 months, but does not include ARR from new customers in the current period. We then divide the total Current Period ARR by the total Prior Period ARR to arrive at the point-in-time dollar-based net retention rate.

Furthermore, our dollar-based gross retention rate, which is the percentage of ARR from all subscription customers as of the year prior that is not lost to customer churn, was 96% and 97% as of January 31,

 

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2020 and 2021, respectively. We calculate our dollar-based gross retention rate as of a period end by starting with the ARR from the cohort of all subscription customers as of 12 months prior to such period-end, or the Prior Period ARR. We then deduct from the Prior Period ARR any ARR from subscription customers who are no longer customers as of the current period end, or the Current Period Remaining ARR. We then divide the total Current Period Remaining ARR by the total Prior Period ARR to arrive at the point-in-time dollar-based gross retention rate. Because our dollar-based gross retention rate reflects only customer losses and does not reflect customer expansion or contraction, it demonstrates that the vast majority of our customers continue to use our platform and renew their licensed software.

We believe these impressive retention rates demonstrate the stickiness of the product category we operate in and of our platform in particular. We intend to continue to invest in enhancing awareness of our brand and developing more products, features, and functionality, which we believe are important factors to achieve widespread adoption of our platform. Our ability to increase sales to existing customers will depend on a number of factors, including our customers’ satisfaction with our solution, competition, pricing, and overall changes in our customers’ spending levels.

Driving Preference and Share of System Integrators, Value-Added Resellers, and Business Consultants Selling the Value Propositions and Capabilities of Digital Transformation

We are focused on maintaining and growing our ecosystem of partners that build, train, and certify skills in our technology as well as deploy our technology on behalf of their customers. We have built a global partner ecosystem of more than 3,700 systems integrators, value-added resellers, business consultants, technology partners and public cloud vendors. Our partner network includes, among others, Accenture LLP, Capgemini SE, CGI Inc., Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst and Young LLP, KPMG LLP, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. We provide a tiering recognition through Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Registered levels for partners that meet competency requirements and deliver and maintain a tiered number of satisfied customers. In 2020, we launched the UiPath Services Network, or USN, program to recognize an elite network of partners accredited with advanced delivery skills, and over 50 partners have earned USN certification. We also offer a professional services capability that augments our partners’ efforts where necessary. Our ability to grow our partnership base depends on the competitiveness of our platform and the profitability of our relationship for our partners and potential partners.

Sustaining Innovation and Automation Leadership

Our success is dependent on our ability to sustain innovation and automation leadership in order to maintain our competitive advantage. We believe that we have built a differentiated automation platform and intend to continually increase the value we provide to our customers by investing in extending the capabilities of our platform. We have made and will continue to make significant investments in research and development to bolster our existing technology and enhance usability to improve our customers’ productivity. We also collaborate with other leading technology companies to develop integrations that simplify the interoperability of our platform with their technology. Examples of integrations available to our customers include integrations with offerings from Amazon Web Services Inc., Adobe Inc., Alteryx Inc., Box, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Salesforce.com, inc., SAP SE, ServiceNow, Inc., and Workday, Inc. These pre-built integrations can accelerate the adoption of our platform within our customers’ environment and speed the creation of automations that span multiple technologies. We also maintain partnerships with leading cloud vendors, such as Amazon Web Services Inc., Google Inc., and Microsoft Corporation, to both simplify the deployment of our platform and extend our platform to offer customers the benefits of cloud-based AI capabilities. We are focused on maintaining and growing our ecosystem of partners to continue to expand our market presence and drive greater sales efficiencies. We also intend to continue to evaluate strategic acquisitions and investments in businesses and technologies to drive product and market expansion. For example, in March 2021, we acquired Cloud Elements Inc., a provider of a leading API integration platform for SaaS application providers and the digital enterprise. This acquisition brings technology and an experienced team, which we believe will accelerate our technology roadmap in areas such as native integrations and system event automation triggers. Our future success is dependent on our ability to successfully develop, market, and sell existing and new products to both new and existing customers and maintain and expand our relationships with leading technology partners.

 

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Continuing to Invest to Grow and Scale Our Business

We are focused on driving our long-term ARR potential. We believe that our market opportunity is substantial. We intend to continue to invest significantly in scaling across all organizational functions in order to grow our operations both domestically and internationally. We have a history of introducing successful new products and capabilities on our platform, and we intend to continue to invest heavily to grow our business to take advantage of our substantial market opportunity rather than optimize for profitability or cash flow in the near future. Although these investments may adversely affect our operating results in the near term, we believe that they will contribute to our long-term growth.

Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

We derive revenue from the sale of software licenses for use of our proprietary software, maintenance and support for our licenses, right to access certain products that are hosted by us (i.e., SaaS), and other services, including professional services. We offer a comprehensive range of automation solutions via a suite of interrelated software offerings. Customers can license our software and deploy our platform on-premises, in a public or private cloud, or in a hybrid environment. In addition, we offer a managed, multi-tenant, SaaS version, which enables our customers to begin automating without the need to provision infrastructure, install applications or perform additional configurations. We also offer maintenance and support, training, and implementation services to our customers to facilitate their adoption of our platform.

In fiscal year 2021, we started offering hybrid and cloud solutions. Hybrid solutions are comprised of three performance obligations, license, maintenance and support, and right to access certain products that are hosted by us (SaaS). Revenue from license and revenue from maintenance and support are accounted for pursuant to the paragraphs below. The performance obligation under the cloud component of the hybrid solution and SaaS arrangements is a stand-ready obligation to provide access to our products. Revenue from the cloud component of the hybrid solution and SaaS arrangements is recognized on a ratable basis over the contractual period of the arrangement beginning when or as control of the promised good or services is transferred to the customer. The revenue related to the cloud component of the hybrid arrangement together with the revenue related to the cloud-based arrangements are presented as Revenue, maintenance and support in our results of operations, as such revenue was not material to total revenue for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021.

Licenses

We sell term licenses which provide customers the right to use software for a specified period of time. From time to time, we also sell perpetual licenses that provide customers the right to use software for an indefinite period of time. For each respective type of license, revenue is recognized at the point-in-time when the customer is able to use and benefit from the software, which is generally upon delivery to the customer or upon the commencement of the renewal term.

Maintenance and Support

We generate maintenance and support revenue through technical support and the provision of unspecified updates and upgrades on a when-and-if-available basis for both term and perpetual license arrangements. Maintenance and support for perpetual licenses is renewable, generally on an annual basis, at the option of the customer. Maintenance and support represents stand-ready obligations for which revenue is recognized ratably over the term of the arrangement.

Services and Other

Services and other revenue consists of fees associated with process automation, customer education, and training services. A substantial majority of our professional service contracts are recognized on a time and materials basis and the related revenue is recognized as the service hours are rendered.

 

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Cost of Revenue

Licenses

Cost of licenses revenue consists of all direct costs to deliver our licenses to our customers, amortization of software development costs, direct costs related to third party software resales, and amortization of acquired developed technology.

Maintenance and Support

Cost of maintenance and support revenue primarily consists of personnel-related expenses of our customer support and technical support personnel, including salaries and bonuses, stock-based compensation expense, and employee benefit costs. Cost of maintenance and support revenue also includes third-party consulting services, hosting costs related to our hybrid and cloud-based arrangements, amortization of software development costs related to cloud products, and allocated overhead. Overhead is allocated to cost of maintenance and support revenue based on applicable headcount. We recognize these expenses as they are incurred. We expect cost of maintenance and support revenue to continue to increase in absolute dollars for the foreseeable future as our customer base grows.

Services and Other

Cost of services and other revenue primarily consists of personnel-related expenses of our professional service personnel, including salaries and bonuses, stock-based compensation expense, and employee benefit costs. Cost of services and other revenue also includes expenses related to third-party consulting services and allocated overhead. Overhead is allocated to cost of services and other revenue based on applicable headcount. We recognize these expenses as they are incurred. We expect cost of services and other revenue to continue to increase in absolute dollars for the foreseeable future as our customer base grows.

Operating Expenses

Our operating expenses consist of sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative expenses. Personnel-related expenses are the most significant component of operating expenses and consist of salaries and bonuses, stock-based compensation expense, and employee benefit costs. Operating expenses also include allocated overhead. During fiscal year 2021, certain operating expenses decreased, such as travel and entertainment, primarily as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the resumption of travel and entertainment and related expenses in the second half of fiscal year 2022, although the timing and magnitude of these expenses will depend on a number of factors including the trend of the pandemic and potential lifting of stay-at-home orders.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses associated with our sales and marketing personnel and related sales support teams, including salaries and bonuses, stock-based compensation expense, and employee benefit costs, sales and partner commissions, marketing events, advertising costs, travel, trade shows, other marketing materials, and allocated overhead. In addition to travel and entertainment, trade show expenses also decreased in fiscal year 2021, related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We currently expect trade show expenses to resume in the second half of fiscal year 2022, although the timing is uncertain and related to the trend of the pandemic. We plan to increase our investment in sales and marketing over the foreseeable future as we continue to hire additional personnel and invest in sales and marketing programs. However, we expect that our sales and marketing expense will decrease as a percentage of our total revenue over the long term, although our sales and marketing expenses may fluctuate as a percentage of our total revenue from period to period due to the timing and extent of these expenses.

 

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Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries and bonuses, stock-based compensation expense, and employee benefits costs for our research and development employees. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. We expect that our research and development expense will increase in absolute dollars for the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in research and development efforts to develop new technology and enhance the functionality and capabilities of our existing products and platform infrastructure. Our research and development expenses may fluctuate as a percentage of our total revenue from period to period due to the timing and extent of these expenses.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries and bonuses, stock-based compensation expense, and employee benefits costs associated with our finance, legal, human resources, compliance, and other administrative personnel, as well as accounting and legal professional services fees, other corporate-related expenses, and allocated overhead. Following the completion of this offering, we expect to incur additional general and administrative expenses as a result of operating as a public company. As a result, we expect the dollar amount of our general and administrative expenses to increase for the foreseeable future. However, we expect that our general and administrative expense will decrease as a percentage of our total revenue as our revenue grows over the longer term, although our general and administrative expenses may fluctuate as a percentage of our revenue from period to period due to the timing and extent of these expenses.

Interest Income

Interest income consists of interest income earned on our cash deposits, cash and cash equivalent balances, and marketable securities.

Other (Expense) Income, Net

Other (expense) income, net primarily consists of foreign exchange gains and losses, and gains and losses associated with foreign currency forward contracts.

Provision For (Benefit From) Income Taxes

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes consists of U.S. federal and state income taxes and income taxes in certain foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct business. We maintain a full valuation allowance on our U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets as we have concluded that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Our effective tax rate is affected by tax rates in foreign jurisdictions and the relative amounts of income we earn in those jurisdictions, as well as non-deductible expenses, such as stock-based compensation, and changes in our valuation allowance.

 

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Results of Operations

The following tables set forth selected consolidated statement of operations data and such data as a percentage of total revenue for each of the periods indicated:

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021
		(in thousands)
Revenue:
Licenses		$	201,648			$	346,035
Maintenance and support			119,612				232,542
Services and other			14,896				29,066
Total revenue			336,156				607,643
Cost of revenue:
Licenses			3,760				7,054
Maintenance and support(1)			16,503				24,215
Services and other(1)			39,142				34,588
Total cost of revenue			59,405				65,857
Gross profit			276,751				541,786
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing(1)			483,344				380,154
Research and development(1)			131,066				109,920
General and administrative(1)			179,624				162,035
Total operating expenses			794,034				652,109
Operating loss			(517,283	)			(110,323)
Interest income			6,741				1,152
Other (expense) income, net			(6,597	)			14,513
Loss before income taxes			(517,139	)			(94,658)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes			2,794				(2,265)
Net loss		$	(519,933	)		$	(92,393)

 

(1)

Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows:

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021
		(in thousands)
Cost of revenue		$	2,813			$	2,373
Sales and marketing			26,754				16,356
Research and development			45,235				11,435
General and administrative			63,060				56,003
Total stock-based compensation expense		$	137,862			$	86,167

 

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The following table sets forth our consolidated statement of operations data expressed as a percentage of revenue for the period indicated:

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021
		(as a percentage of revenue)
Revenue:
Licenses			60	%			57	%
Maintenance and support			36				38
Services and other			4				5
Total revenue			100				100
Cost of revenue:
Licenses			1				1
Maintenance and support			5				4
Services and other			12				6
Total cost of revenue			18				11
Gross profit			82				89
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing			144				62
Research and development			39				18
General and administrative			53				27
Total operating expenses			236				107
Operating loss			(154	)			(18	)
Interest income			2				—
Other (expense) income, net			(2	)			2
Loss before income taxes			(154	)			(16	)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes			(1	)			1
Net loss			(155	)%			(15	)%

Comparison of the Fiscal Years Ended January 31, 2020 and 2021

Revenue

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021				Change				% Change
		(dollars in thousands)
Licenses		$	201,648			$	346,035			$	144,387				72	%
Maintenance and support			119,612				232,542				112,930				94
Services and other			14,896				29,066				14,170				95
Total revenue		$	336,156			$	607,643			$	271,487				81	%

Total revenue increased by $271.5 million, or 81%, for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 compared to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020, primarily due to an increase in our licenses revenue of $144.4 million, an increase in our maintenance and support revenue of $112.9 million and an increase in services and other revenues of $14.2 million. Approximately 75% of the increase in revenue was attributable to growth from existing customers, and the remaining increase in revenue was attributable to new customers. As we continued to expand our sales efforts in the United States and internationally, our increase in total revenue was consistent across all regions.

 

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Cost of Revenue and Gross Margin

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021				Change				% Change
		(dollars in thousands)
Licenses		$	3,760			$	7,054			$	3,294				88	%
Maintenance and support			16,503				24,215				7,712				47
Services and other			39,142				34,588				(4,554	)			(12	)
Total cost of revenue		$	59,405			$	65,857			$	6,452				11	%
Gross margin			82	%			89	%

Total cost of revenue increased by $6.5 million, or 11%, for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 compared to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020. Cost of licenses revenue increased primarily due to an increase in amortization of acquired developed technology and capitalized software expenses of $2.8 million. Cost of maintenance and support revenue increased primarily due to increases of $6.4 million in personnel-related expenses, mainly driven by increased headcount, and $3.0 million in hosting costs and professional services, which were partially offset by a decrease of $1.3 million in travel-related expenses due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Cost of services and other revenue decreased primarily due to a decrease of $4.8 million in personnel-related expenses as a result of our fiscal year 2020 workforce restructuring plan, and a decrease of $3.5 million in travel-related expenses due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of $4.2 million in external consulting fees during the fiscal year 2021. See Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for more information regarding the workforce restructuring plan.

Our gross margin increased to 89% for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 compared to 82% for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020, primarily as a result of higher revenue recognized period-over-period from increased adoption of our software offerings, as evidenced by the percentage of revenue attributable to growth of revenue from existing customers discussed above.

Operating Expenses

Sales and Marketing

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021				Change				% Change
		(dollars in thousands)
Sales and marketing		$	483,344			$	380,154			$	(103,190	)			(21	)%
Percentage of revenue			144	%			62	%

Sales and marketing expense decreased by $103.2 million, or 21%, for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 compared to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily attributable to decreases of $43.9 million in travel-related expenses associated with the reduction of travel and lodging costs, sales events or trade shows and other sales conferences, $43.0 million in personnel-related expenses as a result of our fiscal year 2020 workforce restructuring plan, which includes a $10.4 million decrease in stock-based compensation expenses primarily as a result of our fiscal year 2020 tender offer transactions, $15.1 million in marketing-related expenses, $5.8 million in rent expenses, and $3.0 million in recruitment expenses. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of $10.0 million in sales commissions driven by our improved revenue attainment. See Notes 11 and 12 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for more information regarding the workforce restructuring plan and the fiscal year 2020 tender offer transactions, respectively.

 

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Research and Development

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021				Change				% Change
		(dollars in thousands)
Research and development		$	131,066			$	109,920			$	(21,146	)			(16	)%
Percentage of revenue			39	%			18	%

Research and development expense decreased by $21.1 million, or 16%, for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 compared to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily attributable to decreases of $14.4 million in personnel-related expenses, and $6.0 million in travel-related expenses due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The net decrease in personnel-related expenses was a result of a decrease of $33.8 million in stock-based compensation expenses primarily as a result of our fiscal year 2020 tender offer transactions and common stock repurchases from certain employees, partially offset by an increase of $19.1 million in salaries, bonuses and employee benefit costs. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for more information regarding the fiscal year 2020 tender offer transactions and common stock repurchases.

General and Administrative

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021				Change				% Change
		(dollars in thousands)
General and administrative		$	179,624			$	162,035			$	(17,589	)			(10	)%
Percentage of revenue			53	%			27	%

General and administrative expense decreased by $17.6 million, or 10%, for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 compared to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020. This decrease was primarily attributable to decreases of $11.7 million in personnel-related expenses as a result of our fiscal year 2020 workforce restructuring plan, which includes a $7.1 million decrease in stock-based compensation expenses as a result of our fiscal year 2020 tender offer transactions and common stock repurchases from certain employees, as well as $6.5 million in travel-related expenses due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, $1.8 million in hosted business applications and professional services, $1.4 million in costs for corporate-related conferences due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, $1.1 million in depreciation and amortization and $1.0 million in recruitment expenses. These decreases were partially offset by increases of $2.5 million in rent expenses, $1.4 million in other indirect taxes and $1.3 million in bad debt expenses. See Notes 11 and 12 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for more information regarding the workforce restructuring plan and the fiscal year 2020 tender offer transactions and common stock repurchases, respectively.

Interest Income

 

		Fiscal Year Ended January 31,
		2020				2021				Change				% Change
		(dollars in thousands)
Interest income		$	6,741			$	1,152			$	(5,589	)			(83	)%
Percentage of revenue			2	%			0	%

Interest income decreased by $5.6 million, or 83%, for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 compared to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020. This decrease was primarily attributable to decreases in global interest rates during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021 compared to the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020.

 

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