UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

Commission file number 000-21129

AWARE, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

76 Blanchard Road, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(Zip Code)

(781) 687-0300

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

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_X_ Smaller Reporting Company_X_ 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 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b).

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of June 30, 2023, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing sale price as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market, was approximately $22,549,368.

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of March 1, 2024 was 21,084,964.

AWARE, INC.

FORM 10-K

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Company Overview

Aware, Inc. (“Aware”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company”) is a leading, biometric identity platform company that validates and secures identities using proven and trusted adaptive biometrics. Aware’s software offerings address the growing challenges that government and commercial enterprises face in knowing, authenticating and securing individuals through frictionless and highly secure user experiences. Aware’s algorithms are based on diverse data sets from around the world and can be tailored to the unique security and requirements of each customer. Our portfolio enables government agencies and commercial entities to enroll, identify, authenticate and enable using biometrics, which comprise physiological characteristics, such as fingerprints, faces, irises and voices.

We have been engaged in this business since 1993. Our comprehensive portfolio of biometric solutions is based on innovative, robust products designed explicitly for ease of integration, including customer-managed and integration ready biometric frameworks, platforms, software development kits (“SDKs”) and services. Principal government applications of biometrics systems include border control, visa applicant screening, law enforcement, national defense, intelligence, secure credentialing, access control, and background checks. Principal commercial applications include mobile enrollment, user authentication, identity proofing, and secure transaction enablement.

Our products span multiple biometric modalities, including fingerprint, face, iris and voice, and provide interoperable, standards-compliant, field-proven biometric functionality. Our products are used to capture, verify, format, compress and decompress biometric images as well as aggregate, analyze, process, match and transport those images and templates within biometric systems. For large deployments, we may provide project management and software engineering services. We sell our biometrics software products and services globally through a multifaceted distribution strategy using systems integrators, original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), value added resellers (“VARs”), partners, and directly to end user customers.

Aware was incorporated in Massachusetts in 1986. We are headquartered at 76 Blanchard Road in Burlington, Massachusetts, and our telephone number at this address is (781) 687-0300. Our website address is www.aware.com. The information on our website is not part of this Form 10-K, unless expressly noted. Our stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol AWRE.

Principal Products & Services

We sell a broad range of biometrics software products and solutions that perform functions to address our customers’ desired use cases where they are addressing improved security, data protection, compliance and improved ROI and efficiencies including:

Our biometrics software solutions are built upon robust componentized products that are customer configurable to give them control so they can uniquely address their specific customers’ expectations. These solutions and services facilitate customers with an opportunity for a faster go-to-market process to help reduce their development times and exposure to software support and maintenance risks. Our solutions and services are described below.

Integrated Framework and Platform Solutions and Services

Knomi® Mobile Framework

The Knomi mobile biometric authentication framework is built on our hardened biometric SDK components, which are optimized to operate on mobile devices, and a server that together enable strong, multi-factor, password-free authentication from a mobile device using biometrics. Knomi offers multiple biometric modality options, including facial recognition, and voice authentication as means to enroll, onboard or authenticate. Knomi software components can be used in different combinations and configurations to enable either a server-centric architecture, a web-based or a device-centric implementation. Knomi has primarily been sold as a fixed term license that is priced on a subscription-based model and is also available as a perpetual license. Going forward we plan to transition the Knomi offering to within the AwareID offering.

AwareABIS™

AwareABIS is an automated biometric identification system (“ABIS”) used for large-scale biometric identification and deduplication using fingerprint, face, and iris recognition. AwareABIS is a highly scalable platform that performs one-to-many ("1:N") search or one-to-one ("1:1") match against large stores of biometrics and other identity data. Utilizing distributed computing, AwareABIS also enables complex filtering, and linking operations critical to data preparation and quality assurance functions, such as identity resolution and data deduplication of massive biometric databases (tens of millions of records). The platform is built upon several mature, high-performance, field-proven applications and algorithms from Aware. AwareABIS has primarily been sold as a fixed term license that is priced based on the size of the biometric system or on a subscription-based model.

AFIX Suite of Products

Aware’s AFIX suite of products is used for small-scale law enforcement focused biometric identification. AFIX Tracker™ supports fingerprint, palmprint and latent print identification, designed to serve between 15,000 and 2 million identities. AFIX Tracker has several function-specific variants: Entry Only (LE), Latent Workstation (LW), Remote Workstation (RW), Facial Recognition (FR), and View & Print (VP). In addition to AFIX Tracker we also sell and offer AFIX Face, AFIX Verifier, AFIX Identifier, AFIX Comparator, AFIX Engine, and ANTE (AFIX NIST Transaction Engine). AFIX Tracker is ideal for crime scene investigation applications in low to moderate sized community populations. The product provides minutiae-based search capability and can be configured as either a standalone system, or for use with centralized, server-based data stores. AFIX Tracker has primarily been sold as a perpetual license and is also available as a fixed term license that is priced on a subscription-based model or the size of the biometric system.

BioSP™ - Biometric Services Platform

BioSP is a biometric integration platform-as-a-service ("iPaaS") used to enable biometric data processing and management functionality in a web services architecture. It provides workflow, data management and formatting, and other important utilities for large-scale fingerprint recognition, face recognition, and iris recognition systems. BioSP is well suited for applications that require the collection of biometrics throughout a distributed network, and subsequent aggregation, analysis, processing, distribution, matching, and sharing of data with other system components. BioSP is modular, programmable, scalable, and secure, capable of managing all aspects of transaction workflow, including messaging, submissions, responses, and logging. BioSP has primarily been sold as a perpetual license and is also available as a fixed term license that is priced on users, transactions, or enterprise wide.

WebEnroll

WebEnroll is a browser-based biometric enrollment and data management solution available as an enhanced version of BioSP™ that utilizes BioComponents™ for capture of biographic data, fingerprints and facial images in a browser. Each BioComponent performs advanced biometric image autocapture as well as capture device hardware abstraction. Once images are captured, they are submitted to BioSP, where configurable workflows and modular software applications are used for processing, routing, and storage of each transaction. WebEnroll has primarily been sold as a perpetual license and is also available as a fixed term license that is priced on users, transactions, or enterprise wide.

AwareID™

AwareID™ is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering that provides advanced identity verification and continuous authentication capabilities. Its modular design ensures flexibility and extensibility across various industries. AwareID continues to leverage Knomi to provide biometric face and voice matching (1:1 and 1:N), liveness-verification (presentation attack detection), and document validation. The platform uses proprietary Adaptive Authentication technology in cloud-based bundles which can be pre-configured and/or configured by the customer to provide comprehensive authentication functionality with situational awareness for onboarding, access control/management, and authentication of transactions. These services can be used discretely to enhance investments already in place or combined to provide higher functionality. The AwareID solution is built on open architecture and interfaces to maximize interoperability and connection to other biometric and/or digital identity applications and platforms. AwareID is typically provided as a SaaS offering with usage-based or transaction-based pricing, however it is also available on-premises when leveraging Knomi SDKs.

Software products

We sell a broad range of software components, or “building blocks”, such as SDKs, APIs, and applications that customers use to streamline or develop their systems into more effective solutions. These building blocks enable important functions including:

BioComponents™ bundles our offerings as applications with a user interface. We also license our software unbundled as building blocks and have primarily sold these offerings as a perpetual license.

Historically, we sold our software products under perpetual or fixed-term licenses. With the introduction of AwareID, we have incorporated SaaS offerings into our product line-up. While we did not recognize material revenues from our SaaS offerings during 2022 and 2023, we continue to invest in and we expect SaaS to become a significant product offering moving forward.

Building Blocks: SDKs, APIs, Applications, and Subsystems

Biometric Search & Matching SDKs

Our SDKs consist of: i) multiple software libraries; ii) sample applications that show customers how to use the libraries; and iii) documentation. Customers use our SDKs to design and develop biometrics applications. Nexa™ is our line of biometric search and match SDKs, including Nexa|Fingerprint™, Nexa|Face™, Nexa|Iris™ and Nexa|Voice™. These products provide high-performance biometric algorithms for fingerprint, facial, iris and voice identification or authentication. The algorithms in these products convert images into biometric templates, which can then be compared to templates stored in databases to find matches.

In addition to the Nexa line, we also offer AwareXM™, an interoperable fingerprint matching SDK that provides MINEX-certified, INCITS 378-compliant fingerprint minutiae extraction, template generation, and fingerprint authentication.

Biometric Enrollment SDKs and APIs

Our suite of enrollment SDKs and APIs performs functions that are critical to biometric enrollment, including (i) image capture and hardware abstraction, (ii) image quality assurance, (iii) image compression, (iv) mobile enrollment, matching and liveness verification, and (v) fingerprint card processing.

Imaging products

In addition to our biometrics software products, we also sell products used in applications involving medical and advanced imaging. Our principal imaging product is Aware JPEG 2000, which is based on the JPEG2000 standard. The JPEG2000 standard is an image compression standard and coding system that was created by the Joint

Photographic Experts Group committee in 2000. Our JPEG2000 product is used to compress, store, and display images. Those images are typically medical images.

Software maintenance

We also provide and sell software maintenance to many of our customers who purchase our software products and solutions. Software maintenance has historically been made available by contracts that typically have a one-year term during which customers have the right to receive technical support and software updates for a fixed fee, if and when they become available. Software maintenance is also available as part of a subscription-based solution offering under which customers receive standard software maintenance plus access to upgrades and product enhancements.

Services

We provide a variety of program management and software engineering services, including: i) project planning and management; ii) system and architecture design; iii) software design, development, customization, configuration, and testing; and iv) software integration and installation. Services are sold in conjunction with our products and solutions and are provided for a fixed fee.

Service engagement deliverables may include: i) complete customer software solutions; ii) one or more subsystems comprised of software products that are integrated within a larger system; iii) custom-configured versions of existing software products; or iv) custom-designed software products. In some cases, the software resulting from service engagements may form the basis for new or improved Aware software solutions and/or products.

Our customers for services include: i) government agencies; ii) large multinational systems integrators; iii) smaller systems integrators with a particular market, technology or geographic focus; and iv) commercial partners or providers of products, solutions, and services for themselves or to their end customers. We provide services directly to end-users or indirectly to end-users through systems integrators or commercial entities or partners. When we provide services to systems integrators, they are often engaged with the end-user as a prime contractor and are responsible for delivery of a complete solution, in which case we typically serve as a subcontractor assigned a subset of the total scope of work.

The scope of our services projects varies. A small project might involve configuration and testing of a single software product, taking a small team one month or less. A large project might involve delivery of a more complex solution comprised of multiple products and subsystems, requiring a larger team to conduct program and project management, system design, software customization and integration, and taking up to one year or more. Some projects are followed by subsequent follow-on projects that serve to change or extend the features and functionality of the initial system.

Distribution Methods

We sell our products, solutions and services through three principal channels of distribution:

Major Customers

All of our revenue in 2023 and 2022 was derived from unaffiliated customers. One customer represented 17% of total revenue in 2023 and no customer represented 10% or more of total revenue in 2022. As of December 31, 2023, one customer represented 16% of our net accounts receivable and unbilled receivables and as of December 31, 2022, two customers combined for 37%, of our net accounts receivable and unbilled receivables.

Competitive Business Conditions

A significant number of established companies have developed or are developing and marketing software and hardware for biometrics products and applications that currently compete with or will compete directly with our offerings. We believe that additional competitors will enter the biometrics market and become significant long-term

competitors, and that, as a result, competition will increase. Companies competing with us may introduce solutions that are competitively priced, have increased performance or functionality or incorporate technological advances we have not yet developed or implemented. Our current principal competitors include:

We expect competition to intensify in the near term in the biometrics market. Many current and potential competitors have substantially greater financial, marketing, and research resources than we have. Moreover, low-cost foreign competitors have demonstrated a willingness to sell their products at significantly reduced prices. To compete effectively in this environment, we must continually develop and market new and enhanced solutions and technologies at competitive prices and must have the resources available to invest in significant research and development activities. Our failure to compete successfully could cause our revenues and market share to decline.

Intellectual Property

We rely on a combination of nondisclosure agreements and other contractual provisions, as well as patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright law to protect our proprietary rights. We have an active program to protect our proprietary technology through the filing of patents. As of December 31, 2023, we had 76 U.S. patents and 4 foreign patents and approximately 7 pending patent applications. Our patents and patent applications pertain primarily to biometrics and imaging compression. We have let certain patents expire that are not aligned with our business and are not relevant to our current or future activities. Our patents have expiration dates ranging from 2024 to 2041.

Although we have patented certain aspects of our technology, we rely primarily on trade secrets to protect our intellectual property. We attempt to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information through agreements with our customers, suppliers, employees and consultants, and through security measures. Each of our employees is required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Although we intend to protect our rights vigorously, we cannot guarantee that these measures will be successful. In addition, effective intellectual property protection may be unavailable or limited in certain foreign countries.

Third parties may assert exclusive patent, copyright and other intellectual property rights to technologies that are important to us. We may receive claims from third parties suggesting that we may be obligated to license such intellectual property rights. If we were found to have infringed any third party’s patents, we could be subject to substantial damages or an injunction preventing us from conducting our business.

Employees

As of December 31, 2023, we employed 73 people, all based in the U.S. including 39 in engineering and research, 22 in sales and marketing, and 12 in finance and administration. Of these employees, 54 were based in Massachusetts and 19 were based outside of Massachusetts. None of our employees are represented by a labor union. We consider our employee relations to be good.

We believe that our future success will depend in large part on the service of our technical, sales, marketing and senior management personnel and upon our ability to retain highly qualified technical, sales and marketing and managerial personnel. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to retain our key managers and employees or that we will be able to attract and retain additional highly qualified personnel in the future.

Available Information

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements, and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are made available free of charge on or through our website at www.aware.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“the SEC”). The SEC also maintains a website, www.sec.gov, that contains reports and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Copies of our (i) Corporate Governance Principles, (ii) charters for the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating Committee, and (iii) Code of Ethics are available in the Investor Relations section of our website at www.aware.com.

ITEM 1A. Risk Factors

Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from period-to-period and are difficult to predict.

Individual orders can represent a meaningful percentage of our revenues and operating results in any single period and the timing of the receipt of those orders is difficult to predict. The failure to close an order or the deferral or cancellation of an order can result in revenue and net income shortfalls for that quarter. We base our current and future expense levels on our internal operating plans and sales forecasts, and our operating costs are to a large extent fixed. As a result, we may not be able to sufficiently reduce our costs in any quarter to adequately compensate for an unexpected near-term shortfall in revenues, and even a small shortfall could disproportionately and adversely affect our financial results for that quarter.

Our financial results may be negatively affected by a number of factors as well, including the following:

As a result of these factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our revenue levels and operating results are not necessarily meaningful. You should not rely on our quarterly or annual revenue and operating results to predict our future performance.

We derive a significant portion of our revenue directly or indirectly from government customers, and our business may be adversely affected by changes in the contracting or fiscal policies of those governmental entities.

We derive a significant portion of our revenue directly or indirectly from federal, international, state and local governments. We believe that the success and growth of our business will continue to depend on government customers purchasing our products and services either directly from us or indirectly through our channel partners. Changes in government contracting policies or government budgetary constraints may adversely affect our financial performance. Among the factors that could adversely affect our business are:

These and other factors could cause government customers or our channel partners to reduce purchases of products and services from us, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

We derive a significant portion of our revenue from third party channel partners.

Our future results depend upon the continued successful distribution of our products through a channel of systems integrators and OEM partners. Systems integrators, including VARs, use our software products as a component of the biometrics systems they deliver to their customers. OEMs embed our software products in their technology devices or software products. These channel partners typically sell their products and services to government customers.

Our failure to effectively manage our relationships with these third parties could impair the success of our sales, marketing and support activities. Moreover, the activities of these third parties are not within our direct control. The occurrence of any of the following events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results:

A significant commercial market for biometrics technology may not develop, and, even if it does, there can be no assurance our biometrics technology will be successful.

A component of our strategy to grow our revenue includes expansion into commercial markets. To date, biometrics technology has received only limited acceptance and slow adoption in these markets. Although the recent appearance of biometric readers on popular consumer products, such as smartphones, has increased interest in biometrics as a means of authenticating and/or identifying individuals, commercial markets for biometrics technology are still developing and evolving. Biometrics-based solutions compete with more traditional security methods including keys, cards, personal identification numbers, passwords and security personnel. Acceptance of biometrics as an alternative to such traditional methods depends upon a number of factors including: i) the performance and reliability of biometric solutions; ii) costs involved in adopting and integrating biometric solutions; iii) public concerns regarding privacy; and iv) potential privacy legislation.

For these reasons, we are uncertain whether there will be significant demand for biometrics technology from commercial markets. Moreover, even if there is significant demand, there can be no assurance that our biometrics products will achieve market acceptance.

If the biometrics market does not experience significant growth or if our products do not achieve broad acceptance both domestically and internationally, we may not be able to grow our business.

Our revenues are derived primarily from sales of biometrics products and services. Our expectations regarding the future growth rate or the size of the biometrics market may not be accurate. The expansion of the biometrics market and the market for our biometrics products and services depends on a number of factors, such as:

Even if biometrics solutions gain wide market acceptance, our solutions may not adequately address market requirements and may not continue to gain market acceptance. If biometrics solutions generally or our solutions specifically do not gain wide market acceptance, we may not be able to achieve our anticipated level of growth and our revenues, and our results of operations would be adversely affected.

We face intense competition from other biometrics solutions providers.

A significant number of established companies have developed or are developing and marketing software and hardware for biometrics products and applications that currently compete with or will compete directly with our offerings. We believe that additional competitors will enter the biometrics market and become significant long-term competitors, and that, as a result, competition will increase. Companies competing with us may introduce solutions that are competitively priced, have increased performance or functionality or incorporate technological advances we have not yet developed or implemented. Our current principal competitors include:

We expect competition to intensify in the near term in the biometrics market. Many current and potential competitors have substantially greater financial, marketing, and research resources than we have. Moreover, low-cost foreign competitors from developing economies and other countries have demonstrated a willingness to sell their products at significantly reduced prices. To compete effectively in this environment, we must continually develop and market new and enhanced solutions and technologies at competitive prices and must have the resources available to invest in significant research and development activities. Our failure to compete successfully could cause our revenues and market share to decline.

The biometrics industry is characterized by rapid technological change and evolving industry standards, which could render our existing products obsolete.

Our future success will depend upon our ability to develop and introduce a variety of new capabilities and enhancements to our existing products in order to address the changing and sophisticated needs of the marketplace. Frequently, technical development programs in the biometrics industry require assessments to be made of the future direction of technology, which is inherently difficult to predict. Delays in introducing new products and enhancements, the failure to choose correctly among technical alternatives or the failure to offer innovative products or enhancements at competitive prices may cause customers to forego purchases of our products and purchase our competitors’ products. We may not have adequate resources available to us or may not adequately keep pace with appropriate requirements in order to effectively compete in the marketplace.

Our software products may have errors, defects or bugs, which could result in delayed or lost revenue, expensive correction, liability to our customers, and claims against us.

Despite testing, complex software products such as ours may contain errors, defects, or bugs, which may only be discovered after they have been installed and used by our customers. Defects in the products that we develop and sell to our customers could require expensive corrections and result in delayed or lost revenue, adverse customer reaction and negative publicity about us or our products and services. Customers who are not satisfied with any of our products may also bring claims against us for damages, which, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time-consuming to defend, and could result in costly litigation and payment of damages. Such claims could harm our reputation, financial results and competitive position.

Our business may be adversely affected by our use of open-source software.

The software industry is making increasing use of open-source software in the development of products. We also license and integrate certain open-source software components from third parties into our software. Open-source software license agreements may require that the software code in these components or the software into which they are integrated be freely accessible under open-source terms. Many features we may wish to add to our products in the future may be available as open-source software and our development team may wish to make use of this software to reduce development costs and speed up the development process. While we carefully monitor the use of all open-source software and try to ensure that no open-source software is used in such a way as to require us to disclose the source code to the related product, such use could inadvertently occur. If we were required to make our software freely available, our business could be seriously harmed.

We rely on third-party software to develop and provide our solutions and significant defects in third-party software could harm our business.

We rely on software licensed from third parties to develop and offer some of our solutions. In addition, we may need to obtain future licenses from third parties to use software or other intellectual property associated with our solutions. We cannot assure you that these licenses will be available to us on acceptable terms, without significant price increases or at all. Any loss of the right to use any such software or other intellectual property required for the development and maintenance of our solutions could result in delays in the provision of our solutions until equivalent technology is either developed by us or, if available from others, is identified, obtained, and integrated, which could harm our business. Any errors or defects in third-party software could result in errors or a failure of our solutions, which could harm our business.

We rely on third-party relationships.

We have a number of relationships with third parties that are significant to our sales, marketing, support, and product development efforts, including hosting facilities for our cloud-based services. We rely on software and hardware vendors, large system integrators, and technology consulting firms to supply marketing and sales opportunities for our direct sales force and to strengthen our offerings using industry-standard tools and utilities. We also have relationships with third parties that distribute our products. There can be no assurance that these companies, many of which have far greater financial and marketing resources than us, will not develop or market offerings that compete with ours in the future or will not otherwise end or limit their relationships with us. Further, the use of third-party hosting facilities requires us to rely on the functionality and availability of the third parties’ services, as well as their data security, which despite our due diligence, may be or become inadequate.

Part of our future business is dependent on market demand for, and acceptance of, the cloud-based model for the use of software.

We expect to derive a growing percentage of our revenue from the sale of cloud-based services. As a result, widespread acceptance and use of the cloud-based business model is critical to our future growth and success. Under the perpetual or fixed term license model for software procurement, users of the software typically run applications on their hardware. Because companies are generally predisposed to maintaining control of their IT systems and infrastructure, there may be resistance to the concept of accessing the functionality that software provides as a service through a third party. If the market for cloud-based, software solutions ceases to grow or grows slower than we currently anticipate, demand for our services could be negatively affected.

Our operational systems, networks and products are subject to continually evolving cybersecurity or other technological risks, which could result in the disclosure of our or our customers' confidential information, damage to our reputation, additional costs, regulatory penalties and financial losses.

Our products, services and systems may be used in critical company, customer or third-party operations, or involve the storage, processing and transmission of sensitive data, including valuable intellectual property, other proprietary or confidential data, regulated data, and personal information of employees, customers and others. Successful breaches, employee malfeasance, or human or technological error could result in, for example, unauthorized access to, disclosure, modification, misuse, loss, or destruction of company, customer, or other third party data or systems; theft of sensitive, regulated, or confidential data including personal information and intellectual property; the loss of access to critical data or systems through ransomware, destructive attacks or other means; and business delays, service or system disruptions or denials of service.

If we or third parties with which we do business were to fall victim to successful cyber-attacks or experience other cybersecurity incidents, including the loss of individually identifiable customer or other sensitive data, we may incur substantial costs and suffer other negative consequences, which may include remediation costs, such as liability for stolen assets or information, repairs of system damage, and incentives to customers or business partners in an effort to maintain relationships after an attack as well as litigation and legal risks, including regulatory actions by state and federal regulators.

Our intellectual property is subject to limited protection.

Because we are a technology provider, our ability to protect our intellectual property and to operate without infringing the intellectual property rights of others is critical to our success. We regard our technology as proprietary. We rely on a combination of U.S. and worldwide patent, trade secret, copyright, and trademark law as well as confidentiality agreements to protect our proprietary technology. We cannot assure you that we will be able to enforce the patents we own against third parties. Some foreign countries do not currently provide effective legal protection for intellectual property and our ability to prevent the unauthorized use of our products in those countries is therefore limited. Despite our efforts, these measures can only provide limited protection. Unauthorized third parties may try to copy or reverse engineer portions of our products or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property. If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights adequately, our competitors may gain access to our technology, and our business would thus be harmed.

In the future, we may be involved in legal action to enforce our intellectual property rights relating to our patents, copyrights or trade secrets. Any such litigation could be costly and time-consuming for us, even if we were to prevail. Moreover, even if we are successful in protecting our proprietary information, our competitors may independently develop technologies substantially equivalent or superior to our technology. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may be unable to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property or otherwise gaining access to our technology. The misappropriation of our technology or the development of competitive technology could seriously harm our business.

We may be sued by third parties for alleged infringement of their proprietary rights.

We may be subject to claims that our technology and products infringe the intellectual property rights of others. A large and increasing number of participants in the technology industry, including companies known as non-practicing entities, have applied for or obtained patents. Some of these patent holders have demonstrated a readiness to commence litigation based on allegations of patent infringement. Third parties have asserted against us in the past and may assert against us in the future patent, copyright and other intellectual property rights to technologies that are important to our business.

Intellectual property rights can be uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. Moreover, intellectual property claims, with or without merit, can be time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle, and could divert management attention away from the execution of our business plan. If we were found to have infringed the proprietary rights of others, we could be subject to substantial damages or an injunction preventing us from conducting our business.

If we are unable to attract and retain key personnel, our business could be harmed.

If any of our key employees were to leave, we could face substantial difficulty in hiring qualified successors and could experience a loss in productivity while any successor obtains the necessary training and experience. Our employment

relationships are at-will and we have had key employees leave in the past. We cannot assure you that one or more key employees will not leave in the future. We intend to continue to hire additional highly qualified personnel, including software engineers and sales personnel, but may not be able to attract, assimilate or retain qualified personnel in the future. Any failure to attract, integrate, motivate and retain these employees could harm our business.

Our business may be affected by government laws and regulations.

Extensive regulation under federal, state, and foreign law has adversely affected us and could further adversely affect us in ways that are difficult for us to predict. More specifically, we are subject to regulatory environment changes regarding privacy and data protection that could have a material impact on our results of operations. These regulatory changes may potentially involve new regulatory issues/requirements such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) and other comprehensive state privacy laws, the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act, Texas Statute on the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier, State of Washington H.B. 1493, Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (“LGPD”) and any other state, federal or foreign regulations governing the collection, use and storage of biometric data. The potential costs of compliance with or imposed by new/existing regulations and policies that are applicable to us, or fines and penalties to which we may become subject if we fail to comply with those regulations and polices, may affect the use of our products and services and could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.

In addition, our business may also be adversely affected by: i) the imposition of tariffs, duties and other import restrictions on goods and services we purchase from non-domestic suppliers; or ii) the imposition of economic sanctions on existing or potential customers or suppliers, or iii) by the imposition of export restrictions on products we sell internationally. Changes in current or future laws or regulations, in the United States or elsewhere, could seriously harm our business.

Adverse economic conditions could harm our business.

Unfavorable changes in economic conditions, including recessions, inflation, turmoil in financial markets, changes caused by global crisis such as a pandemic, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and resulting economic sanctions, conflicts in the Middle East, or other changes in economic conditions, could harm our business, results of operations, and financial conditions as a result of:

We are unable to predict whether or when any such adverse economic conditions could occur in the U.S. or other countries; and if they do occur, we cannot predict the timing, duration, or severity.

We may not realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions or investments.

We may make acquisitions of or investments in companies that offer complementary products, services, and technologies, such as our acquisition of FortressID in December of 2021 and our investment in Omlis Limited. The ultimate success of our acquisitions depends, in part, on our ability to realize the anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities from integrating acquired businesses or assets into our existing businesses. However, the acquisition and successful integration of independent businesses or assets is a complex, costly and time-consuming process, and the benefits we realize may not exceed the costs of the acquisition. The risk and difficulties associated with acquiring and integrating companies and other assets include, among others, difficulties assimilating the operations and personnel of acquired companies, challenges in realizing the value of the acquired assets relative to the price paid, distraction of management from our ongoing businesses and potential product disruptions associated with

the sale of the acquired company’s products. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. Additionally, our acquisitions have provided, in the case of Fortress ID, and may in the future provide for future contingent acquisition payments, based on the achievement of performance targets or milestones. These arrangements can impact or restrict integration of acquired businesses and can result in disputes, including litigation. In addition, there is uncertainty regarding the realizability of investments in private companies. Additionally, regardless of the form of consideration we pay, acquisitions and investments could negatively impact our operations and earnings per share.

We may have additional tax liabilities.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States. Significant judgments are required in determining our provisions for income taxes. In the course of preparing our tax provisions and returns, we must make calculations where the ultimate tax determination may be uncertain. Our tax returns are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and state tax authorities. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these examinations. If the ultimate determination of taxes owed is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our operating results, cash flows, and financial condition could be adversely affected.

The market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be subject to wide fluctuations, and this may make it difficult for shareholders to resell the common stock when they want or at prices they find attractive.

The market price of our common stock, like that of other technology companies, is volatile and is subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, including:

Our stock price may also be affected by broader market trends unrelated to our performance. As a result, purchasers of our common stock may be unable at any given time to sell their shares at or above the price they paid for them. Moreover, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock often are subject to securities class action litigation. If we were the subject of such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and divert management's attention and resources.

If we are unable to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which could result in a decline in the price of our common stock.

As a public company, we are required to enhance and test our financial, internal and management control systems to meet obligations imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Consistent with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC, management's assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting is required in connection with our filing of our Annual Report on Form 10-K. If we are unable to identify, implement and conclude that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which could result in a decrease in the value of our common stock. Our assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting may also uncover weaknesses or other issues with these controls that could also result in adverse investor reaction.

We must make judgments in the process of preparing our financial statements.

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and certain critical accounting policies that are relevant to our business. The application of these principles and policies requires us to make significant judgments and estimates. The most significant estimates included in the financial statements pertain to revenue recognition, allowance for credit losses, valuation of acquired assets and assumed liabilities in business

combinations, valuation of contingent acquisition payments, valuation of investment in note receivable, goodwill and long-lived asset impairment and valuation allowance for deferred income tax assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates. In the event that our judgments and estimates differ from actual results, we may have to change them, which could materially affect our financial position and results of operations.

Moreover, accounting standards have been subject to rapid change and evolving interpretations by accounting standards setting organizations over the past few years. The implementation of new accounting standards requires us to interpret and apply them appropriately. If our current interpretations or applications are later found to be incorrect, we may have to restate our financial statements and the price of our stock could decline.

Our officers, directors and holders of 5% of outstanding shares together beneficially own a significant portion of our common stock and, as a result, can exercise control over stockholder and corporate actions.

Our officers and directors and the holders of at least 5% of our outstanding shares currently beneficially own approximately 48% of our outstanding common stock, and 60% on a fully diluted basis assuming the exercise of both vested and unvested options. As such, they have a significant influence over most matters requiring approval by stockholders, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock or prevent stockholders from realizing a premium over the market price for their shares.

ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

ITEM 1C. CYBERSECUTIY

Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

To help protect the Company from a major cybersecurity incident that could have a material impact on operations or the Company’s financial results, the Company has implemented policies, programs and controls, including technology investments that focus on cybersecurity incident prevention, identification and mitigation. The steps the Company takes to reduce its vulnerability to cyberattacks and to mitigate impacts from cybersecurity incidents include, but are not limited to: establishing information security policies and standards, implementing information protection processes and technologies, monitoring its information technology systems for cybersecurity threats, assessing cybersecurity risk profiles of key third-parties, implementing cybersecurity training and collaborating with public and private organizations on cyber threat information and best practices.

The Company has implemented a Cybersecurity Policy (the “Policy”) that provides a framework for responding to cybersecurity incidents. The Policy includes requirements for incident disclosure and reporting, protocols for incident evaluation, including the use of third-party service providers and partners, and processes for notification and internal escalation of information to the Company’s senior management, incident response team, and Board of Directors (the "Board") and appropriate Board committees. The Policy also addresses requirements for the Company’s external reporting obligations. The Plan is reviewed and updated, as necessary but no less frequently than once a year, under the leadership of the Company’s Chief Security Officer (“CSO”).

Although the Company did not experience a material cybersecurity incident during the year ended December 31, 2023, the scope and impact of any future incident cannot be predicted. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for more information on the Company’s cybersecurity-related risks.

Governance

The Board of Directors, primarily through its Audit Committee, oversees the Company’s cybersecurity program. Management regularly reports to the Audit Committee on the current state of the Company’s cybersecurity program, including the current threat landscape, cybersecurity risks, and any significant incidents. The Audit

Committee may provide updates to the Board on the substance of these reports and any recommendations for improvements that the Audit Committee deems appropriate.

At the management level, the Company has established written policies and procedures to ensure that significant cybersecurity incidents are immediately investigated, addressed through the coordination of various internal departments, and publicly reported, to the extent required by applicable law.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

We lease approximately 20,730 rentable square feet in Burlington, Massachusetts, which we use as our headquarters. We believe that this facility is adequate for our current needs and for the foreseeable future. See Note 9 to our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information regarding our leases.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are involved in litigation incidental to the conduct of our business. We are not party to any lawsuit or proceeding that, in our opinion, is likely to materially impact us or our business.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock is the only class of stock we have outstanding, and it trades on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol AWRE.

As of March 1, 2024, we had approximately 64 shareholders of record. This number does not include shareholders who hold our shares in a “nominee” or “street” name. We paid no dividends in 2023 or 2022. We anticipate that we will continue to reinvest any earnings to finance our future operations although we may also pay special cash dividends if our Board of Directors deems it appropriate.

Share repurchase activity during the three months ended December 31, 2023 was as follows:

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

On November 30, 2023, we announced that our Board of Directors had approved the extension of the 2022 Repurchase Plan through December 31, 2025.

ITEM 6. [RESERVED]

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following table sets forth, for the years indicated, certain line items from our consolidated statements of operations stated as a percentage of total revenue:

Summary of Operations

We are primarily engaged in the development and sale of biometrics products, solutions and services. Our software products are used in government and commercial systems and applications and fulfill a broad range of functions critical to secure biometric enrollment, authentication, identification and transactions. Principal government applications of biometrics systems include border control, visa applicant screening, law enforcement, national defense, intelligence, secure credentialing, access control, and background checks. Principal commercial applications include: i) user enrollment and authentication used for login to mobile devices, computers, networks, and software programs; ii) user authentication for financial transactions and purchases (online and in-person); iii) physical access control to buildings; and iv) identity proofing of prospective employees and customers. We sell our biometrics software products and services globally through a multifaceted distribution strategy using systems integrators, OEMs, VARs, partners, and directly to end user customers. We also derive a portion of our revenue from the sale of imaging software licenses to OEMs and systems integrators that incorporate our software into medical imaging products and medical systems.

Summary of Financial Results

We used revenue and operating loss to summarize financial results over the past two years as we believe these measurements are the most meaningful way to understand our operating performance.

2023 compared to 2022

Revenue and operating loss in 2023 were $18.2 million and $8.5 million, respectively, which compared to revenue and operating loss in 2022 of $16.0 million and $2.2 million, respectively.

Higher revenue in 2023 as compared to 2022 was primarily due to increases in revenue from our perpetual software licenses of $1.4 million, software subscriptions of $0.7 million and software maintenance of $0.6 million, which was partially offset by a decrease in services and other revenue of $0.5 million. Higher operating loss in 2023 as compared 2022 was primarily due to a $5.7 million gain we recorded related to the sale of our corporate office in 2022, a negative

adjustment of $2.7 million to a note receivable, and year over year increase in sales and marketing expense of $1.0 million, which was partially offset by increased revenue of $2.2 million and a 2023 fair value adjustment to contingent consideration of $0.8 million.

Software License Revenue

Software license revenue consists of revenue from the sale of biometrics and imaging software products. Sales of software products depend on our ability to win proposals to supply software for biometrics systems projects either directly to end user customers or indirectly through channel partners.

Software license revenue increased 30% from $7.4 million in 2022 to $9.5 million in 2023. As a percentage of total revenue, software license revenue increased from 46% in 2022 to 52% in 2023. The $2.1 million increase in software license revenue was due primarily to an increase of $1.5 million in perpetual licenses sales and $0.7 million in subscription-based license sales. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we generated a de minimis amount of revenue from SaaS contracts. With the introduction of AwareID, we have incorporated SaaS offerings into our product line-up. While we did not recognize material revenues from our SaaS offerings during 2023 or 2022, we expect SaaS to become a significant product offering moving forward.

Software Maintenance Revenue

Software maintenance revenue consists of revenue from the sale of software maintenance contracts. Software maintenance contracts entitle customers to receive software support and software updates, if and when they become available, during the term of the contract.

Software maintenance revenue increased 8% from $7.1 million in 2022 to $7.7 million in 2023. As a percentage of total revenue, software maintenance revenue decreased from 44% in 2022 to 42% in 2023. The dollar increase in software maintenance revenue was primarily due to software maintenance related to perpetual license sales during the year ended December 31, 2023.

A majority of our customers purchase software maintenance contracts when they initially purchase software licenses. Since our software is used in active biometrics systems, many of our customers continue to renew their maintenance contracts in subsequent years while systems remain operational.

Services and Other Revenue

Services revenue consists of fees we charge to perform software development, integration, installation, and customization services. Similar to software license revenue, services revenue depends on our ability to win biometrics systems projects either directly with end user customers or in conjunction with channel partners. Other revenue consists of hardware fees that are included with some of our software licenses. Services and other revenue fluctuate when we commence new projects and/or when we complete projects that were started in previous periods.

Services and other revenue decreased 31% from $1.5 million in 2022 to $1.0 million in 2023. As a percentage of total revenue, services and other revenue decreased from 9% in 2022 to 6% in 2023. The dollar decrease in services and other revenue was primarily due to fewer active contracts with services during the period.

Cost of Services and Other Revenue

Cost of services and other revenue consists primarily of engineering costs to perform customer services projects. Such costs primarily include: i) engineering salaries, stock-based compensation, fringe benefits, and facilities; ii) engineering consultants and contractors; iii) software license fees; and iv) hardware costs.

Cost of services and other revenue was $1.3 million in 2023 and 2022. When compared to services and other revenue, cost of services and other revenue as a percentage increased from 83% in 2022 to 122% in 2023, which resulted in gross margins decreasing from 17% in 2022 to gross margin loss 22% in 2023. The decrease in cost of services gross margins was primarily due to the profitability mix of customer projects.

Gross margins on services and other revenue are a function of: i) the nature of the projects; ii) the level of engineering difficulty and labor hours required to complete project tasks; and iii) how much we were able to charge. Gross margins in these years reflect the profitability mix of customer projects. We expect that gross margins on services and other revenue will continue to fluctuate in future periods based on the nature, complexity, and pricing of future projects.

Research and Development Expense

Research and development expense consists of costs for: i) engineering personnel, including salaries, stock-based compensation, fringe benefits, and facilities; ii) engineering consultants and contractors, and iii) other engineering expenses such as supplies, equipment depreciation, dues and memberships and travel. Engineering costs incurred to develop our technology and products are classified as research and development expense. As described in the cost of services section, engineering costs incurred to provide engineering services for customer projects are classified as cost of services and are not included in research and development expense.

The classification of total engineering costs to research and development expense and cost of services for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was (in thousands):

Total engineering costs decreased 1% from $10.5 million in 2022 to $10.4 million in 2023. As a percentage of total revenue, total engineering costs decreased from 66% in 2022 to 57% in 2023.

Our engineering headcount decreased slightly from 46 in 2022 to 42 in 2023. In addition, we recently took additional actions that reduced engineering headcount by approximately 10%. We believe our engineering organization is adequately staffed.

As we described in the Part I—Business of this Form 10-K, we intend to introduce new products that will allow us to offer more complete biometrics solutions. We believe this strategy will allow us to sell more software into biometrics systems projects in order to grow our revenue. Our preference is to develop such products internally, however to the extent we are unable to do that, we may purchase or license technologies from third parties. We anticipate that we will continue to focus our future research and development activities on enhancing existing products and developing new products. We expect research and development expenses to decrease in absolute dollars and as a percentage of revenues in the next year and then to increase in absolute dollars in proceeding years.

Selling and Marketing Expense

Selling and marketing expense primarily consists of costs for: i) sales and marketing personnel, including salaries, sales commissions, stock-based compensation, fringe benefits, travel, and facilities; and ii) advertising and promotion expenses.

Selling and marketing expense increased 14% from $7.0 million in 2022 to $8.0 million in 2023. As a percentage of total revenue, selling and marketing expense was 43% in both 2023 and 2022. The dollar increase in selling and marketing expense was primarily due to increased bonus and commission expense of $0.6 million as a result of increased revenue, increased salary related expenses of $0.5 million, and increased software costs of $0.3 million, partially offset by a decrease in severance costs related to the termination of our Chief Commercial Officer position in 2022 of $0.2 million. We expect to be strategic in expanding our sales and marketing force to pursue future opportunities.

General and Administrative Expense

General and administrative expense consists primarily of costs for: i) officers, directors and administrative personnel, including salaries, bonuses, director compensation, stock-based compensation, fringe benefits, and facilities; ii) professional fees, including legal and audit fees; iii) public company expenses; and iv) other administrative expenses, such as insurance costs and bad debt provisions.

General and administrative expense was $6.5 million in 2023 and 2022. As a percentage of total revenue, general and administrative expense decreased from 41% in 2022 to 36% in 2023. Fluctuations of general and administrative expenses are expected depending on specific activities in a period. We expect general and administrative expenses to increase in absolute dollars, but to decrease as a percentage of total revenue.

Fair value adjustment to note receivable

In March 2022, we entered into a subscription agreement with Omlis Limited, a limited company incorporated and registered in England and Wales and the parent of MIRACL (“Omlis”). We purchased $2.5 million of Omlis’ Note Receivable (“Note”) that accrues interest at 5% annually with a maturity date of March 11, 2026.

We recorded the fair value of the Note as $0 and $2.6 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The significant decrease of $2.6 million to $0 reflects our evaluation of the impact of Omlis's liquidity issues as of December 31, 2023 along with the collectability of the Note. In addition, in January 2024, Omlis and MIRACL petitioned to enter the United Kingdom administration process, adding to our uncertainty regarding the recoverability of the Note's carrying value.

Fair value adjustment to contingent acquisition payment

In December 2021, we acquired 100% of the outstanding shares and acquired all of the assets and liabilities of FortressID for a purchase price of $3.4 million, which consisted of $2.5 million of cash consideration and contingent acquisition payments which was fair valued at $0.9 million at the acquisition date. The maximum contingent acquisition payments at the time of the acquisition were $4.0 million, which consisted of a cash payment of up to $2.0 million for the achievement of set revenue targets in 2022 and an additional $2.0 million cash payment for the achievement of set revenue targets in 2023. No revenue targets were achieved in 2023 or 2022 and the earnout period was closed as of December 31, 2023. We recorded fair value adjustments of $0.8 million and $0.1 million, for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Gain on sale of fixed assets

In July 2022, we sold our corporate headquarters in Bedford, MA for total proceeds of $8.9 million less a brokerage commission of $0.3 million. At the time of the sale, we disposed of all building and land related assets. The net book value of all assets disposed of was $2.9 million. We recorded a net gain on the sale of fixed assets of $5.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Interest Income

Interest income increased from $0.5 million in 2022 to $1.3 million in 2023. The dollar increase in interest income was primarily due to higher interest rates related to our marketable securities of U.S Treasury notes and bonds and corporate bonds as well as higher interest rates within our money market accounts.

Income Taxes

We are subject to income taxes in the United States, and we use estimates in determining our provisions for income taxes. We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method for accounting and reporting income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on temporary differences between the financial reporting and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using statutory rates.

Total income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $59 thousand and $49 thousand, respectively. The income tax expense for both years relates to limitations on the usage of net operating loss carryforwards generated in years beginning after December 31, 2017.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

In recent years, we have financed the company with our cash and cash equivalent balances. Cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities are described below.

Cash flows from operating activities

A discussion of cash flow from operating activities for each of the last two years is as follows:

Year ended December 31, 2023. Cash provided by operating activities was $1.8 million in 2023. Cash provided by operations was primarily the result of a $2.4 million decrease in unbilled and accounts receivables, a $1.8 million increase in deferred revenue, add back of $1.5 million of non-cash stock-based compensation, $2.7 million write-off

of Note, and $1.4 million related to a tax refund received as a result of our federal income tax carryback claim, which was partially offset by our $7.3 million net loss and a $0.8 million change in the fair value of contingent acquisition payments.

Year ended December 31, 2022. Cash used in operating activities was $5.0 million in 2022. Cash used by operations was primarily the result of $1.7 million of net loss plus the impact of a $5.7 million gain on the sale of fixed assets, which was partially offset by the add back of $1.7 million of non-cash stock-based compensation and $0.8 million for non-cash depreciation and amortization.

Cash flows from investing activities

A discussion of cash flow from investing activities for each of the last two years is as follows:

Year ended December 31, 2023. Investing activity cash used of $3.1 million was primarily the result of net purchases of marketable securities.

Year ended December 31, 2022. Investing activity cash used of $12.0 million was primarily the result of $17.3 million of net purchases of marketable securities, a $2.5 million investment in the Note, and $0.7 million of purchases of property and equipment, which was partially offset by $8.5 million in proceeds from the sale of our former corporate headquarters.

Cash flows from financing activities

A discussion of cash flow from financing activities for each of the last two years is as follows:

Year ended December 31, 2023. Financing activity cash used of $0.4 million was primarily the result of $0.5 million used to buy back stock under our stock repurchase program, which was partially offset by $0.1 million of proceeds from the issuance of common stock from stock grants.

Year ended December 31, 2022. Financing activity cash used of $1.2 million was primarily the result of $1.3 million used to buy back stock under our stock repurchase program and $26 thousand used to pay income taxes for employees who surrendered shares of common stock in connection with stock grants, which were partially offset by $0.2 million of proceeds from the issuance of common stock from stock grants.

At December 31, 2023, we had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $30.9 million. While we cannot assure you that we will not require additional financing, or that if needed such financing will be available to us, we believe that our cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next twelve months from the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and to meet our known long-term cash requirements. Whether these resources are adequate to meet our liquidity needs beyond that period will depend on our future growth, operating results, and the investments needed to support our operations. If we require additional capital resources, we may utilize available funds or seek additional external financing.

As of December 31, 2023, our material cash requirements from known contractual and other obligations consisted of payments under the operating lease for our corporate headquarters, which we estimate will be approximately $0.7 million in each of 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027, $0.8 million in 2028, and $3.5 million thereafter. See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information on our operating lease.

We enter into agreements in the ordinary course of business that require us: i) to perform under the terms of the contracts, ii) to protect the confidentiality of our customers’ intellectual property, and iii) to indemnify customers, including indemnification against third party claims alleging infringement of intellectual property rights. We also have agreements with each of our directors and executive officers to indemnify such directors or executive officers, to the extent legally permissible, against all liabilities reasonably incurred in connection with any action in which such individual may be involved by reason of such individual being or having been a director or officer of the Company.

Given the nature of the above obligations and agreements, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate of the maximum potential amount that we could be required to pay. Historically, we have not made any significant payments on the above guarantees and indemnifications and no amount has been accrued in the audited financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K with respect to these guarantees and indemnifications.

To date, inflation has not had a material impact on our financial results. There can be no assurance, however, that inflation will not adversely affect our financial results in the future.

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

We do not currently have any arrangements with unconsolidated entities, such as entities often referred to as structured finance, special purpose entities, or variable interest entities which are often established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. Accordingly, we are not exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

Our significant accounting policies are discussed in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to our financial statements, included elsewhere in this Annual Report. We have identified the following as our significant accounting policies and estimates, which are defined as those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties, are the most pervasive and important to the presentation of our financial condition and results of operations and could potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions, judgments or conditions.

Revenue recognition. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”), revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods and services. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled to receive in exchange for these goods and services. In addition, ASC 606 requires disclosures of the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers.

The core principle of the standard is that we should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve that core principle, we apply the following five step model:

We categorize revenue as software licenses, software maintenance, or services and other revenue. Revenue from software licenses is recognized at a point in time upon delivery, provided all other revenue recognition criteria are met. We recognize software maintenance revenue over time on a straight-line basis over the contract period. Services revenue is recognized over time as the services are delivered using an input method (i.e., labor hours incurred as a percentage of total labor hours budgeted), provided all other revenue recognition criteria are met.

In addition to selling software licenses, software maintenance and software services on a standalone basis, a significant portion of our contracts include multiple performance obligations, which require an allocation of the transaction price to each distinct performance obligation based on a relative standalone selling price (“SSP”) basis. The SSP is the price at which we would sell a promised good or service separately to a customer. The best estimate of SSP is the observable price of a good or service when we sell that good or service separately. A contractually stated price or a list price for a good or service may be the SSP of that good or service. We use a range of amounts to estimate SSP when we sell each of the goods and services separately and need to determine whether there is a discount that needs to be allocated based on the relative SSP of the various goods and services. In instances where SSP is not directly observable, such as when we do not sell the product or service separately, we typically determine the SSP using an adjusted market assessment approach using information that may include market conditions and other observable inputs. We typically have more than one SSP for individual goods and services due to the stratification of those goods and services by customers and circumstances. In these instances, we may use information such as the nature of the customer and distribution channel in determining the SSP.

When software licenses and significant customization engineering services are sold together, they are accounted for as a combined performance obligation, as the software licenses are generally highly dependent on, and interrelated with, the associated customization services and therefore are not distinct performance obligations. Revenue for the

combined performance obligation is recognized over time as the services are delivered using an input method (i.e., labor hours incurred as a percentage of total labor hours budgeted).

When subscription-based software is sold, the software license and software maintenance are generally considered distinct performance obligations. The transaction price is allocated to the software license and the software maintenance based on relative SSP. We sell our software subscription license for a fixed fee or a subscription-based royalty fee, sometimes subject to a minimum guarantee. When the amount is in the form of a fixed fee, including the guaranteed minimum usage-based royalty, revenue allocated to the software license is recognized at a point in time upon delivery, provided all other revenue recognition criteria are met. Any royalties not subject to the guaranteed minimum or earned in excess of the minimum amount are recognized as revenue when the subsequent usage occurs. Revenue allocated to the software maintenance is recognized over the contract term.

Also, with the delivery of our current products in a hosted environment with AwareID, we recognize revenue from our SaaS arrangements ratably over the subscription period.

Our arrangements can include variable fees, such as the option to purchase additional usage of a previously delivered software license. We may also provide pricing concessions to clients, a business practice that also gives rise to variable fees in contracts. For variable fees arising from the client’s purchase of additional usage of a previously delivered software license, we apply the sales and usage-based royalties guidance related to a license of intellectual property and recognizes the revenue in the period the underlying sale or usage occurs. We include variable fees in the determination of total transaction price if it is not probable that a future significant reversal of revenue will occur. We use the expected value or most likely value amount, whichever is more appropriate for specific circumstances, to estimate variable consideration, and the estimates are based on the level of historical price concessions offered to clients.

The amount of consideration is not adjusted for a significant financing component if the time between payment and the transfer of the related good or service is expected to be one year or less under the practical expedient in ASC 606-10-32-18. Our revenue arrangements are typically accounted for under such expedient, as payment is typically due within 30 to 60 days. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, none of our contracts contained a significant financing component.

Goodwill and intangible assets impairment. Our goodwill and intangible assets result from our previous business acquisitions. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are tested for impairment at least annually or as circumstances indicate their value may no longer be recoverable. We do not carry any intangible assets with indefinite useful lives other than goodwill. We perform our annual goodwill impairment test in the fourth quarter. To assess if goodwill is impaired, we first review qualitative factors to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary. If based on the qualitative assessment, we consider it more-likely-than-not that our reporting units fair value is less than its carrying amount, we perform a quantitative impairment test. An excess of carrying value over fair value would indicate that goodwill may be impaired.

We periodically reevaluate our business and have determined that we have one operating segment and one reporting unit. If our assumptions change in the future, we may be required to record impairment charges to reduce our goodwill carrying value.

If indicators of impairment are present, we compare the estimated undiscounted cash flows that the asset is expected to generate to the carrying value. The key assumptions of the cash flow model involve significant subjectivity. If such assets are impaired, an impairment is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $3.1 million of goodwill and $2.4 million of intangible assets. Impairment in the valuation of long-lived assets could materially impact our operating results and financial position. To date, there have been no impairments of goodwill or intangible assets.

Fair value of Note Receivable. We accounted for the Note at fair value under ASC 825 - Financial Instruments, whereby it was recorded at fair value at the time of purchase, as well as on an ongoing basis each reporting period until the Note is settled. The estimated fair value of the Note represents a Level 3 estimate in the fair value hierarchy due to the significant unobservable inputs used in determining the fair value.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had a fair value $0 and $2.6 million of the Note, respectively. The significant decrease of $2.6 million to $0 reflects our evaluation of the impact of Omlis's liquidity issues as of

December 31, 2023, along with the collectability of the Note. In addition, in January 2024, Omlis and MIRACL petitioned to enter the United Kingdom administration process, adding to our uncertainty regarding the recoverability of the Note's carrying value.

Fair value of Contingent Acquisition Payments. Our contingent acquisition payments are a result of our previous business acquisition of FortressID. We determined the fair value of contingent acquisition payments as part of the initial purchase price allocation and on an ongoing basis each reporting period until the contingent acquisition payments period was settled. The estimated contingent acquisition payments represent a Level 3 estimate in the fair value hierarchy due to the significant unobservable inputs used in determining the fair value.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the contingent acquisition payments was $0 and $0.8 million, respectively. The earnout period has closed as of December 31, 2023 with none of the targets being met.

Stock-Based Compensation. We grant stock and stock options to our employees and directors. We measure stock-based compensation cost at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and recognize it as expense over the applicable vesting period of the award on a straight-line basis.

For stock awards, we determine the fair value of the award by using the fair market value of our stock on the date of grant; provided the number of shares in the grant is fixed on the grant date.

For stock options, we use the Black-Scholes valuation model to estimate the fair value of the award. This valuation model takes into account the exercise price of the award, as well as a variety of significant assumptions. The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of stock options include the expected term, the expected volatility of our stock over the expected term, the risk-free interest rate over the expected term, and our expected annual dividend yield.

Income taxes. As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements we are required to estimate our actual current tax expense. We must also estimate temporary and permanent differences that result from differing treatment of certain items for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included in our consolidated balance sheet. We must then assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and to the extent we believe recovery is not likely, we must establish a valuation allowance.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The Act contained specific relief and stimulus measures including allowing net operating losses originating in 2018 through 2020 to be carried back five years to offset taxable income in the carryback period.

Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets, and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets. Our deferred tax assets primarily relate to: i) research and development tax credit carryforwards; ii) net operating loss carryforwards; and iii) temporary differences that result from differing treatment of certain items for tax and accounting purposes. As of December 31, 2023, we had a total of $13.0 million of deferred tax assets and $0.5 million of deferred tax liabilities for which we have recorded a $12.5 million valuation allowance.

We will continue to assess the level of valuation allowance required in future periods. Should evidence regarding the realizability of tax assets change at a future point in time, the valuation allowance will be adjusted accordingly.

Allowance for credit losses. We make judgments as to our ability to collect outstanding and unbilled receivables to reflect any estimated credit losses. The allowance is evaluated each quarter on a customer by customer basis and considers historical write-off experience with each customer, the number of days that any delinquent invoices are past due, and an evaluation of the potential risk of loss associated with any delinquent accounts. If the judgments we make to determine the allowance for credit losses do not reflect the future ability to collect outstanding receivables, additional provisions for credit losses may be required.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

Recent Accounting Pronouncements. In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which requires retrospective disclosure of significant segment expenses and other

segment items on an annual and interim basis. Additionally, it requires disclosure of the title and position of the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”). This ASU will be effective for the Company’s fiscal December 31, 2024 year-end and interim periods beginning in fiscal 2025, with early adoption permitted. We are assessing the impact of the standard on our consolidated financial statements.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which requires an annual tabular effective tax rate reconciliation disclosure including information for specified categories and jurisdiction levels, as well as, disclosure of income taxes paid, net of refunds received, disaggregated by federal, state/local, and significant foreign jurisdiction. This ASU will be effective for the Company’s fiscal December 31, 2025 year-end, with early adoption permitted. We are assessing the impact of the standard on our consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (ASC 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which amends the guidance on the impairment of financial instruments. The amendments in this update remove the thresholds that entities apply to measure credit losses on financial instruments measured at amortized cost, such as loans, trade receivables, reinsurance recoverables, off-balance-sheet credit exposures, and held-to-maturity securities. Under current U.S. GAAP, entities generally recognize credit losses when it is probable that the loss has been incurred. The guidance removes all current recognition thresholds and introduces the new current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model which will require entities to recognize an allowance for credit losses for the difference between the amortized cost basis of a financial instrument and the amount of amortized cost that an entity expects to collect over the instrument’s contractual life. The new CECL model is based upon expected losses rather than incurred losses. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company adopted this standard as of January 1, 2023 and the adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Aware, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Aware, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (collectively, the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the auditing standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) related to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Revenue Recognition

As described in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company recognizes revenue when a customer obtains control of promised goods and services. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration which the Company expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for these goods and services. The Company offers customers the ability to purchase combinations of software licenses, software maintenance, and related professional services together in one arrangement. The Company must determine which promises are distinct performance obligations and allocate the revenue to the performance obligations that are considered distinct based upon their relative Stand-alone Selling Price (SSP). Revenue allocated to software licenses is typically recognized at a point in time upon delivery and revenue allocated to the software maintenance and professional services is recognized over time, provided all other revenue recognition criteria are met. Management applies significant judgment in determining the revenue recognition for these contracts including the identification of and accounting for all performance obligations and the calculation of the SSP for each identified performance obligation. The Company’s identification of performance

obligations and estimate of SSP for each performance obligation identified within these customer contracts requires management to consider many factors, including:

Given these factors, the related audit effort in evaluating management's judgments in identifying performance obligations and estimating SSP’s for these customer agreements was extensive and required a high degree of auditor judgment.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the financial statements. Our procedures related to the Company's identification of performance obligations and estimation of SSP’s for these customer agreements included, among others:

/s/ RSM US LLP

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2012.

Boston, Massachusetts

March 15, 2024

AWARE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

AWARE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS and COMPREHNSIVE LOSS

(in thousands, except per share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

AWARE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

AWARE, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(in thousands)