ODII Odyssey Semiconductor Technologies Inc (CE)

 NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 AND 2022

Note 1 – Nature of Operations and Liquidity

Organization and Operations

Odyssey Semiconductor Technologies, Inc. (“Odyssey Technologies”) was incorporated on April 12, 2019 under the laws of the State of Delaware. Odyssey Technologies, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Odyssey Semiconductor, Inc. (“Odyssey Semiconductor”) and Odyssey Semiconductor’s wholly owned subsidiary, JR2J, LLC (“JR2J”) (collectively, the “Company”), is a semiconductor device company developing high-voltage power switching components and systems based on proprietary Gallium Nitride (“GaN”) processing technology.

Liquidity and Financial Condition

As of March 31, 2023, the Company had a cash balance, working capital and accumulated deficit of approximately $1,500,000, $960,000, and $13,900,000, respectively. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company generated a net loss of approximately $1,550,000.

The Company believes its current cash on hand will not be sufficient to meet its operating obligations and capital requirements for the next twelve months from the issuance of these financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. Therefore, the Company will need to raise further capital through the sale of additional equity or debt securities or other debt instruments to support its future operations.  

The Company requires funding for operating needs and capital expenditures. The Company’s future capital requirements and the adequacy of its available funds will depend on many factors, including the Company’s ability to successfully commercialize its products and services, competing technological and market developments, and the need to enter into collaborations with other companies or acquire other companies or technologies to enhance or complement its product and service offerings. There is also no assurance that the amount of funds the Company might raise will enable the Company to complete its development initiatives or attain profitable operations. If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing on a timely basis, it may have to curtail its development, marketing and promotional activities. Reduction in these efforts would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations, and ultimately, the Company could be forced to discontinue its operations and liquidate.

Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, such statements include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring items) which are considered necessary for a fair presentation of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company as of March 31, 2023 and for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full year ending December 31, 2023 or any other period. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related disclosures as of December 31, 2022 and for the year then ended which have been previously filed.

Use of Estimates

Preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and the amounts disclosed in the related notes to the financial statements. The Company’s significant estimates used in these financial statements include, but are not limited to, fair value calculations for equity securities, stock-based compensation, the collectability of receivables, the recoverability and useful lives of long-lived assets, and the valuation allowance related to the Company’s deferred tax assets. Certain of the Company’s estimates could be affected by external conditions, including those unique to the Company and general economic conditions. It is reasonably possible that these external factors could have an effect on the Company’s estimates and could cause actual results to differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents in the financial statements. As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had no cash equivalents. The Company has cash on deposits in several financial institutions which, at times, may be in excess of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. The Company has not experienced losses in such accounts and periodically evaluates the creditworthiness of its financial institutions. The Company reduces its credit risk by placing its cash and cash equivalents with major financial institutions.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash was comprised of cash held as a security deposit in connection with the Company’s operating lease. See Note 9 – Right of Use Asset and Operating Lease Liability for additional details.

Deferred Expenses

Deferred expenses consist of labor, materials and other costs that are attributable to customer contracts that the Company has not completed its performance obligation under the contract and, as a result, has not recognized revenue. As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, deferred expenses were approximately $10,000 and $0, respectively.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives once the asset is placed in service. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs, which do not extend the economic useful life of the related assets, are charged to operations as incurred, and expenditures which extend the economic life are capitalized. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the lesser of their estimated useful lives or the remaining term of their respective lease. When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the costs and related accumulated depreciation or amortization are removed from the accounts and any gain or loss on disposal is recognized in the statement of operations for the respective period.

The Company’s long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. An impairment loss would be recognized when estimated future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition are less than its carrying amount.

The estimated useful lives of property and equipment are as follows:

Offering Costs

Deferred offering costs, which primarily consist of direct, incremental professional fees incurred in connection with a debt or equity financing, are capitalized as non-current assets on the consolidated balance sheets. Once the financing closes, the Company reclassifies such costs as either discounts to notes payable or as a reduction of proceeds received from equity transactions so that such costs are recorded as a reduction of additional paid-in capital. If the completion of a contemplated financing was deemed to be no longer probable, the related deferred offering costs would be charged to general and administrative expense in the consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue under ASC Topic 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” (“ASC 606”). The Company determines revenue recognition through the following steps:

A majority of the Company’s revenues are generated from contracts with customers that require it to design, develop, manufacture, test and integrate complex equipment and to provide engineering and technical services according to customer specifications. These contracts are often priced on a time and material type basis. Revenues on time and material type contracts are generally recognized in each period based on the amount billable to the customer which is based on direct labor hours expended multiplied by the contractual fixed rate per hour, plus the actual costs of materials and other direct non-labor costs.

The timing of the Company’s revenue recognition may differ from the timing of payment by its customers. A receivable is recorded when revenue is recognized prior to payment and the Company has an unconditional right to payment. Alternatively, when payment precedes the provision of the related services, the Company records deferred revenue until the performance obligations are satisfied. Contract assets are comprised of unbilled contract receivables related to revenues earned but not yet invoiced to customers.

During the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, there was no revenue recognized from performance obligations satisfied (or partially satisfied) in previous periods.

The Company generated revenue from government contracts that reimburse the Company for certain allowable costs for funded projects. For contracts with government agencies, when the Company has concluded that it is the principal in conducting the research and development expenses and where the funding arrangement is considered central to the Company’s ongoing operations, the Company classifies the recognized funding received as revenue. The Company has determined that revenue generated from government grants is outside the scope of ASC 606 and, as a result, the Company recognizes revenue upon incurring qualifying, reimbursable expenses. No grant revenue was recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses are charged to operations as incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company measures the cost of services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the fair value of the award. The fair value of the award is measured on the grant date. The fair value amount is then recognized over the period during which services are required to be provided in exchange for the award, usually the vesting period. Upon the exercise of an award, the Company issues new shares of common stock out of its authorized shares.

 The risk-free interest rate was determined from the implied yields from U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds with a remaining term consistent with the expected term of the instrument being valued. Option forfeitures are accounted for at the time of occurrence. The expected term used is the estimated period of time that warrants or options are expected to be outstanding. The Company utilizes the “simplified” method to develop an estimate of the expected term of “plain vanilla” employee options. For investor warrants and non-employee options, the expected term used is the contractual life of the instrument being valued. The Company uses its trading history to support its historical volatility calculations.

Net (Loss) Income per share of Common Stock

Basic net (loss) income per share of common stock is computed by dividing net (loss) income by the weighted average number of vested shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share of common stock is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common and dilutive common-equivalent shares outstanding during each period.

The following shares were excluded from the calculation of weighted average dilutive shares of common stock because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive:

Income Taxes

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of items that have been included or excluded in the financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the difference between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their respective financial reporting amounts (“temporary differences”) at enacted tax rates in effect for the years in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. The Company has recorded a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets for all periods, due to the uncertainty of future utilization.

The Company utilizes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. Management has evaluated and concluded that there were no material uncertain tax positions requiring recognition in the Company’s financial statements as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. The Company does not expect any significant changes in its unrecognized tax benefits within twelve months of the reporting date. The Company’s policy is to classify assessments, if any, for tax related interest as interest expense and penalties as selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience, current economic and industry conditions and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. This forms the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We believe that full consideration has been given to all relevant circumstances that we may be subject to, and the consolidated financial statements accurately reflect our best estimate of the results of operations, financial position and cash flows for the periods presented.

On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments for all assets and liabilities, including those related to the fair value of stock options for determination of the stock-based compensation expense. The amount of stock based compensation has been a significant expense over the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022. The assumptions that go into the Black-Scholes calculation are the major driver of the calculation of the fair value of the stock options at the date of grant. The major assumption of volatility is based upon historical data, and the majority of the other assumptions used in the Black Scholes computation is based upon the terms of the specific stock option grant.

Revenues and cost of sales are important metrics in demonstrating the completion of projects and shipment of products to customers, and the profitability of such revenues. Accordingly, revenue recognition is a critical accounting policy. The timing of the Company’s revenue recognition may differ from the timing of payment by its customers. A receivable is recorded when revenue is recognized prior to payment and the Company has an unconditional right to payment. Alternatively, when payment precedes the provision of the related services, the Company records deferred revenue until the performance obligations are satisfied. Contract assets are comprised of unbilled contract receivables related to revenues earned but not yet invoiced to customers. We review the status of each project at each period end and determine whether the earnings process is complete and the revenue and costs of sales should be recognized.

Leases

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) established Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 842, “Leases”, by issuing Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, which requires lessees to now recognize operating leases on the balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. ASC Topic 842 was subsequently amended by ASU No. 2018-01, Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842; ASU No. 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases; and ASU No. 2018-11, Targeted Improvements. The new standard establishes a right-of-use (“ROU”) model that requires a lessee to recognize a ROU asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern and classification of expense recognition in the income statement. Lessor accounting under the new standard is substantially unchanged. Additional qualitative and quantitative disclosures are also required. The Company adopted the new standard on January 1, 2022 using the modified retrospective transition method, which applies the provisions of the standard at the effective date without adjusting the comparative periods presented. The Company adopted the following practical expedients and accounting policies elections related to this standard:

Adoption of this standard resulted in the recognition of operating lease right-of-use assets and corresponding lease liabilities of approximately $694,000 on the consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2022. Disclosures related to the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases are included in Note 8, Leases.

Bridge Loan - Related Party

The Company accounts for convertible bridge loans under ASC 815. The Company has made the election under 815-15-25 to account for the notes under the fair value option. Using the fair value option, the convertible notes are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet thereafter. Differences between the face value of the note and fair value at issuance are recognized as either an expense in the statement of operations (if issued at a premium) or as a capital contribution (if issued at a discount). Changes in the estimated fair value of the notes are recognized as non-cash gains or losses in the statement of operations.

Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Standards

In August of 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, “Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40)”. ASU 2020-06 simplifies the process of evaluating certain financial instruments with both equity and debt characteristics. This update limits the number of models needed when evaluating embedded features of a debt instrument in order to improve transparency for the users of the financial statements. The Company has elected early adoption of this standard on January 1, 2022. Adoption of this standard allows the Company to measure the derivative liability at fair market value.

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses”. This update requires immediate recognition of management’s estimates of current expected credit losses (“CECL”). Under the prior model, losses were recognized only as they were incurred. The new model is applicable to all financial instruments that are not accounted for at fair value through net income. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022 for public entities qualifying as small reporting companies. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this update on our consolidated financial statements and do not anticipate a significant impact.

Tooling consists of engineering designs and build for packaging semiconductors for samples. Samples are scheduled to ship during the first quarter of 2023. This total amount is being amortized over 2 years, coinciding with the first shipment of samples.

Depreciation and amortization expense related to property and equipment was approximately $51,000 and $42,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Note 5 - Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses

Accounts payable and accrued expenses consisted of the following:

Accrued Interest is now included in Note 13 – Convertible Bridge Note as a long-term liability.

 Note 6 – Stockholders’ Equity

Authorized Capital

The Company is authorized to issue 45,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share. The holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote per share. No preferred shares have been issued as of the date hereof.

Common Stock Transactions

In March 2021, the Company sold 1,251,625 shares of common stock at $4.00 per share for gross proceeds of $5,006,500 in connection with a private placement of securities. The costs associated with such issuance were $407,445 in cash and warrants to purchase 89,730 shares of Common Stock of the Company with a term of 5 years and an exercise price of $4.00 per share. An aggregate of $480,000 of proceeds were raised from related parties (including an aggregate of $430,000 from officers and directors of the Company), representing approximately 10% of the total gross proceeds.

2022 Private Placement

On August 8, 2022 and December 23, 2022, the Company issued secured convertible promissory notes in the amounts of $1,250,000 and $2,350,000, respectively, to the Nina and John Edmunds 1998 Family Trust dated January 27, 1998, of which the Company’s Chairman, John Edmunds, is the trustee. The two promissory notes were issued as part of the same private placement. The timing of conversion in unknown. If conversion occurs at a qualified financing event, the two promissory notes will have a 15% and 20% discount on the offering price, respectively. Refer to Note 13 for details.

Note 7 – Equity Compensation Plan

On June 18, 2019, the Board of Directors and a majority of the Company’s shareholders approved the 2019 Equity Compensation Plan (the “2019 Plan”). The 2019 Plan provides for the issuance of incentive stock options, non-statutory stock options, rights to purchase common stock, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock, performance shares and performance units to employees, directors and consultants of the Company and its affiliates. The 2019 Plan requires the exercise price of stock options to be not less than the fair value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, or 110% of fair value in the case of incentive options granted to a ten-percent stockholder.

On March 11, 2020, the Company granted the following ten-year options to purchase shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per share to the Company’s then newly appointed Executive Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer under the 2019 Plan: (i) an option to purchase 965,850 shares of common stock that vests ratably on a monthly basis over two years and (ii) an option to purchase 321,950 shares of common stock that vests based on performance criteria to be mutually agreed to by the Board and the executive. The grant was reduced to 500,000 options, including 375,000 options and 125,000 options respectively under the two categories, due to limitations under the 2019 Plan. The terms of the 125,000 performance-based options were established in the quarter ended December 31, 2020. The terms of the performance-based options were met during the quarter ended March 31, 2021.

From June 1 to June 22, 2021, the Company granted five and ten-year options to purchase 388,246 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.90 to $3.93 per share to employees, an advisory board member and board members under the 2019 Plan that vest over two to five years.

On September 22, 2021, upon the resignation of our then Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, a total of 1,911,160 unvested options that he previously received were forfeited as of such date. On such date, the Company also provided the acceleration of 25,000 unvested stock options previously issued which were to vest as of September 25, 2021. The impact of the modification of the stock option was not material.

On December 30, 2021, the Company granted five and ten-10year options to purchase 445,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.77 per share to employees, an advisory board member and board members under the 2019 Plan that vest over one to four years.

On February 9, 2022, subject to the shareholders’ approval, the Board of Directors approved that the aggregate number of shares authorized for issuance as awards under the 2019 Plan shall be 4,600,000 shares plus an annual increase on the first day of each fiscal year for the rest of the term of the Plan in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) 5% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company on the last day of the immediately preceding year or (iii) an amount determined by the Board of Directors.

On April 26, 2022, the Company granted to Mr. Davidson an option to purchase 650,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $1.66 per share. The option will vest at the rate of 25% per year on the anniversary date from the first day of his employment starting from April 1, 2023. The option will be subject to acceleration in vesting in connection with the occurrence of a change of control event during the term of Mr. Davidson’s employment.

On November 4, 2022 the Company granted to Laura Krauss an option to purchase 75,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $0.85 per share. The option will vest over a period of four years in equal annual installments from November 2023.

On January 26, 2023 the Company granted five-5year options to purchase 862,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.96 per share to employees and an independent contractor under the 2019 Plan that vest over four years. Included in this issuance is 142,500 options granted to the CEO as payment for his 2022 performance bonus.

The stock option activity from January 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023 is as follows:

The following table summarizes the outstanding options at March 31, 2023 by exercise price:

At March 31, 2023, the Company had 1,368,629 shares of common stock available to grant under the 2019 Plan.

The Company has estimated the fair value of all stock option awards as of the date of grant by applying the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. In applying the Black-Scholes option pricing model, the Company used the following weighted average assumptions for issuances during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022:

During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense related to stock options of approximately $194,000, of which approximately $55,000 was recorded as part of research and development expenses and $138,000 was included within general and administrative expenses and $1,000 of which was included within cost of revenues on the consolidated statements of operations.

As of March 31, 2023, there was unamortized stock-based compensation of approximately $839,000 which the Company expects to recognize over approximately 3.5 years. As of March 31, 2023, the intrinsic value of outstanding and vested stock options was nil 0.

Note 8 - Commitments and Contingencies

Litigations, Claims, and Assessments

From time to time, the Company is involved in various disputes, claims, liens and litigation matters arising out of the normal course of business which could result in a material adverse effect on the Company’s combined financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Liabilities for loss contingencies arising from claims, assessments, litigation, fines and penalties and other sources are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the assessment can be reasonably estimated. As of March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022, the Company had no outstanding claims or litigation and had no liabilities recorded for loss contingencies.

Employment Agreement

On April 7, 2022, the Company entered into a letter agreement with Mark Davidson as Chief Executive Officer of the Company effective as of April 18, 2022. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company agreed to pay Mr. Davidson an annual base salary of $300,000, and an annual target bonus for 2022 of up to $150,000 that will be prorated for nine (9) months (i.e. $112,500) based on his achievements of performance goals to be finalized and approved by the Board within the first two months of his employment. Such annual bonus will be paid in stock compensation until such time that the Company has sufficient cash flow. On January 26, 2023, the Company issued 142,500 stock options to Mr. Davidson as payment for his 2022 performance bonus. His eligibility for future bonuses will be determined by the Board in accordance with the Company’s future bonus plans and programs. In addition, the Company agreed to grant to Mr. Davidson an option to purchase 650,000 shares of common stock of the Company at $1.66 per share, which will vest starting from April 26, 2023, in four annual equal installments. The option will be subject to acceleration in vesting in connection with the occurrence of a change of control event during the term of Mr. Davidson’s employment.

On September 2, 2022, the Company entered into a letter agreement with Laura Krauss as Controller of the company effective September 19, 2022. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company agreed to pay Ms. Krauss an annual base salary of $120,000. The Company has also agreed to pay Ms. Krauss a one-time signing bonus in the amount of $4,500, to be paid within 7 days of her start date, and a retention bonus of $4,500, to be paid after six months of employment. In the event of Company closure, the Company will reserve three months’ salary as severance to be available providing Ms. Krauss remains in good standing with the Company. In addition, the Company agreed to grant Ms. Krauss an option to purchase 75,000 shares of common stock of the Company at $0.85 per share, which will vest starting from November 15, 2023, in four annual equal installments. The option will be subject to acceleration in vesting in connection with the occurrence of a change of control event during the term of Ms. Krauss’ employment. Effective November 4, 2022, Ms. Krauss was appointed Chief Accounting Officer. The Company did not enter into a new agreement with Mr. Krauss.

Note 9 – Right of Use Asset and Operating Lease Liability

The assets and liabilities from operating leases are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of remaining lease payments over the lease term using the Company’s incremental borrowing rates or implicit rates, when readily determinable. Short-term leases, which have an initial term of 12 months or less, are not recorded on the balance sheet. The Company’s operating leases do not provide an implicit rate that can readily be determined. Therefore, the Company uses a discount rate based on its estimated incremental commercial borrowing rate.

Operating Lease

On August 21, 2019, the Company entered into a lease for a 10,000 square foot facility consisting of lab and office space. The lease requires monthly payments of $16,667 and expires on November 30, 2025. The Company has arranged for a $100,000 letter of credit in favor of the landlord in lieu of a security deposit, which is included as restricted cash on the consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022.

The following table presents information about the amount and timing of liabilities arising from the Company’s operating and finance leases as of March 31, 2023:

The Company incurred lease expense for its operating lease of approximately $50,000 and $50,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2021.

The Right of Use Asset at March 31, 2023 of $491,116 is being amortized over the lease term.

Note 10 – Concentrations

During the three months ended March 31, 2023, revenues were generated primarily from one customer. No deferred revenues were recorded in the three months ending March 31, 2023.

During the three months ended March 31, 2022, revenues were generated primarily from two customers. On March 31, 2022, all deferred revenues are attributable to one customer contract.

Note 11 – Government Loans

Paycheck Protection Program Loans

On May 1, 2020, the Company received loan proceeds in the amount of approximately $211,000 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP, established as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, as amended (“CARES Act”), provides for loans to qualifying businesses for amounts up to 2.5 times of the average monthly payroll expenses of such qualifying business. The loans and accrued interest are forgivable after certain time periods further defined in the CARES Act (the “Covered Period”) as long as the borrower uses the loan proceeds for eligible purposes, including payroll, benefits, rent and utilities, and maintains its payroll levels. The amount of loan forgiveness will be reduced if the borrower terminates employees or reduces salaries during the Covered Period. The outstanding balance was included in long-term loans payable at December 31, 2021. On March 6, 2021, the entire loan balance was forgiven.

On February 24, 2021, the Company received $193,625 pursuant to a promissory note issued under the Paycheck Protection Program Part 2 (“PPP2”). Interest was to accrue at 1% per annum and the note is payable in 60 monthly installments of $3,300 commencing May 2022; however, on November 15, 2021, the entire loan balance was forgiven.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance

On May 1, 2020, the Company received an advance in the amount of $10,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program administered by the SBA, which program was expanded pursuant to the CARES Act. Such advance amount will reduce the Company’s PPP loan forgiveness amount described above. The Company received an additional $138,900 under this program on August 30, 2020. The loan is payable in monthly payments of $678 including interest at 3.75% payable over 30 years. Payments began one year after receipt of funds and were first applied to the accrued interest.

Tomkins County Area Development Loan

On May 27, 2020, the Company received loan proceeds in the amount of $50,000 from the Tomkins County Area Development (“TCAD”) Emergency Relief Loan Fund. The loan matures after four years and bears interest in the amount of 2.5% per annum, with one year of no interest or principal payments, followed by three years of monthly payments of principal and interest in the amount of $1,443 per month. The loan is collateralized by certain assets of the Company.

Equipment Loans

On August 20, 2020, the Company received a loan of $100,000 from Broome County Industrial Development Agency (5 year facility, 2.5% annual interest rate, monthly payment of $1,775); on September 1, 2020, the Company received a loan of $100,000 from Southern Tier Region Economic Development Corporation (5 year facility, 5.0% annual interest rate, monthly payment of $2,072) ; and on September 10, 2020, the Company received a loan of $75,000 from TCAD (5 year facility, 2.5% annual interest rate, monthly payment of $1,331). These loans were used to acquire equipment used in the laboratory, and are secured by the underlying assets of the Company.

The loans are summarized as follows:

Interest expense on the above debt instruments was approximately $3,000 and $4,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Note 12 – Revision of stock compensation expense

During the second quarter of 2022, the Company identified certain adjustments required to correct balances within stock-based compensation, which is included in operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations, related to employees, directors and consultants (see Note 7 – Equity Compensation Plan) recorded during the three-month periods from June 2021 to March 2022. The Company had incorrectly calculated the amortization of the stock-based compensation for the periods from June 2021 to March 2022. The error discovered resulted in an understatement of the stock-based compensation expense for the period of March 2022 summarized as follows:

Based upon an analysis of Accounting Standards Codification 250 “accounting Changes and Error Corrections (ASC 250), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 99, “Materiality” and SAB No. 108, “Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements” (“SAB 108”), the Company determined this error was immaterial to the previously-issued condensed consolidated financial statements, and as such no restatement was necessary. Correcting prior-period financial statements for such immaterial misstatements does not require previously filed reports to be amended. Accordingly, the misstatement was corrected in the period ended June 30, 2022.

For the year ended, December 31, 2022, correction of this error increased our stock-based compensation expense, total operating expenses by $262,523.

Note 13 – Convertible Bridge Notes – Related Party

The Company issued two secured convertible promissory notes on August 8, 2022 (“Promissory Note I”) and December 23, 2022 (“Promissory Note II”) in the amounts of $1,250,000 and $2,350,000, respectively, (collectively, the “Promissory Notes”) to a trust of which the Company’s Chairman, John Edmunds, is the trustee, pursuant to certain Subscription Agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”).

On December 23, 2022, the Company entered into a modification agreement on Promissory Note I which extended its maturity date to June 30, 2025, consistent with the maturity date of Promissory Note II. There were no other significant modifications to the terms of Promissory Note I.

The Promissory Notes were issued as part of a private placement (the “Offering”) for sale up to $3,750,000 of secured convertible promissory notes for a period until September 27, 2022.

The Promissory Notes bear interest at a rate of ten percent (10%) per annum, on a non-compounding basis, and are due and payable on the earlier of (i) the date upon which the Promissory Notes are converted into equity securities of the Company, or (ii) at their maturity date on June 30, 2025. All interest due shall be paid in shares of the Company’s common stock, which shall be valued at a price equal to the average of the last 20 trading days’ closing price of the Company’s common stock, commencing on the date immediately preceding the date of conversion for purposes of the interest computation. The Promissory Notes may be convertible anytime at the discretion of the holder into shares of common stock of the Company at a price equal to the average of the last 20 trading days’ closing price, or automatically converted upon the listing of the Company’s common stock on a National Securities Exchange or the closing of a public offering of the Company’s common stock with aggregate proceeds of at least $5 million at a 15% and a 20% discount to the per share public offering price for Promissory Note I and Promissory Note II, respectively. The Promissory Notes also contain a change of ownership clause. In the event a Corporate Transaction occurs prior to the conversion or repayment of Note 1, at the closing of the Corporate Transaction (in lieu of conversion) the Company shall redeem Note 1 at a price equal to 200% of the principal amount (in full satisfaction of principal and interest due). Accrued interest on the above debt instruments was approximately $140,000 as of March 31, 2023 and $52,000 as of December 31, 2022.

The Company accounts for convertible bridge loans under ASC 815. The Company has made the election under 815-15-25 to account for the notes under the fair value option. Using the fair value option, the convertible notes are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet thereafter. Differences between the face value of the note and fair value at issuance are recognized as either an expense in the statement of operations (if issued at a premium) or as a capital contribution (if issued at a discount). Changes in the estimated fair value of the notes are recognized as non-cash gains or losses in the statement of operations.

The related party convertible Promissory Notes were valued using the Probability-Weighted Expected Returns Method (PWERM), which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. The inputs used to determine fair market value of the notes are the following:

These assumptions are based on the judgment and experience of management and based on conversations with investment banks and interested investors.

The following table presents the changes in fair value of the Company’s Convertible Notes:

Note 14 – Fair Value Measurements

As of March 31, 2023, the convertible Promissory Notes are the only liabilities measured at fair value. The Promissory Notes are classified as level 3 financial instruments.

The Company applies ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”), which establishes a framework for measuring fair value and clarifies the definition of fair value within that framework. ASC 820 defines fair value as an exit price, which is the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the Company’s principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy established in ASC 820 generally requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the entity’s own assumptions based on market data and the entity’s judgments about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are to be developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.

Level 1 — Assets and liabilities with unadjusted, quoted prices listed on active market exchanges. Inputs to the fair value measurement are observable inputs, such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 — Inputs to the fair value measurement are determined using prices for recently traded assets and liabilities with similar underlying terms, as well as direct or indirect observable inputs, such as interest rates and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals.

Level 3 — Inputs to the fair value measurement are unobservable inputs, such as estimates, assumptions, and valuation techniques when little or no market data exists for the assets or liabilities.