UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ______ to ______

Commission file number 001-40729

DATCHAT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

Nevada		47-2502264
(State or jurisdiction of Incorporation or organization)		I.R.S. Employer Identification No.

204 Neilson Street

New Brunswick, NJ

08901

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip code)

(732) 374-3529

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

Title of Each Class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share	DATS	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Series A Warrants, each warrant exercisable for one share of Common Stock at an exercise price of $4.98	DATSW	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange 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 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 definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 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 by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act) Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2023, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $1,797,613 based upon the closing price reported for such date on The Nasdaq Capital Market as of that date.

Number of shares of common stock outstanding as of March 28, 2024 was 3,009,329.

Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.

Table of Contents

Part I		1
Item 1.	Business	1
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	6
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	22
Item 1C.	Cybersecurity	23
Item 2.	Properties	23
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	23
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	23

Part II		24
Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	24
Item 6.	[Reserved]	24
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	25
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	31
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	31
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	31
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	32
Item 9B.	Other Information	32
Item 9C.	Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdiction that Prevent Inspections	32

Part III		33
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	33
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	36
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	38
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	39
Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	40

Part IV		41
Item 15.	Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules	41
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	42
Signatures		43

CAUTIONARY NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Any statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “believe,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan” and “would.” For example, statements concerning financial condition, possible or assumed future results of operations, growth opportunities, industry ranking, plans and objectives of management, markets for our common stock and future management and organizational structure are all forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement.

Any forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the risk factors discussed throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Some of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

●

our business strategies;

●

the timing of regulatory submissions;

●

our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our existing product candidates and any other product candidates we may develop, and the labeling under any approval we may obtain;

●

risks relating to the timing and costs of clinical trials and the timing and costs of other expenses;

●

risks related to market acceptance of products;

●

intellectual property risks;

●

risks associated to our reliance on third party organizations;

●

our competitive position;

●

our industry environment;

●

our anticipated financial and operating results, including anticipated sources of revenues;

●

assumptions regarding the size of the available market, benefits of our products, product pricing and timing of product launches;

●

management’s expectation with respect to future acquisitions;

●

statements regarding our goals, intentions, plans and expectations, including the introduction of new products and markets; and

●

our cash needs and financing plans.

The foregoing list sets forth some, but not all, of the factors that could affect our ability to achieve results described in any forward-looking statements. You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents that we reference herein and have filed as exhibits to the Annual Report on Form 10-K, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. You should assume that the information appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is accurate as of the date hereof. Because the risk factors referred to on page 6 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which factors will arise. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of the information presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and particularly our forward-looking statements, by these cautionary statements.

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Our business is subject to significant risks and uncertainties that make an investment in us speculative and risky. Below we summarize what we believe are the principal risk factors but these risks are not the only ones we face, and you should carefully review and consider the full discussion of our risk factors in the section titled “Risk Factors,” together with the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. If any of the following risks actually occurs (or if any of those listed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K occur), our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, revenue, and future prospects could be seriously harmed. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which factors will arise. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of the information presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and particularly our forward-looking statements, by these cautionary statements.

Risks Related to our Business and Industry

●

We have a limited operating history

●

We are dependent on the services of certain key management personnel, employees and advisors.

●

The mobile application industry is subject to rapid technological change and, to compete, we must continually enhance our application.

Risks Related to Information Technology Systems, Intellectual Property and Privacy Laws

●

Major network failures could have an adverse effect on our business.

●

We may not be able to adequately protect our proprietary technology, and our competitors may be able to offer similar products and services which would harm our competitive position.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock and Series A Warrants

●

The price of our common stock and our Series A Warrants may fluctuate substantially.

●

We may acquire other companies or technologies, which could divert our management’s attention, result in dilution to our stockholders and otherwise disrupt our operations and adversely affect our operating results.

●

We are an “emerging growth company” and are able to avail ourselves of reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies, which could make our common stock less attractive to investors.

iii

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

We are a blockchain, cybersecurity, and social media company that not only focuses on protecting privacy on personal devices, but also protects user information after it is shared with others. We believe that one’s right to privacy should not end the moment they click “send”, and that we all deserve the same right to privacy online that we enjoy in our own living rooms. Our flagship product, DatChat Messenger & Private Social Network, is a privacy platform and mobile application that gives users the ability to communicate with the privacy and protection they deserve. Recently, we have expanded our business and product offerings to include the co-development of a mobile-based social and gaming metaverse, known as “Habytat”, as well as the development of Museum, an a social network and multi-media storage platform for consumers and enterprises.

DatChat Messenger & Private Social Network

Our platform allows users to exercise control over their messages and posts, even after they are sent. Through our application, users can delete messages that they have sent, on their own device and the recipient’s device as well. There is no set time limit within which they must exercise this choice. A user can elect at any time to delete a message that they previously sent to a recipient’s device.

The application also enables users to hide secret and encrypted messages behind a cover, which messages can only be unlocked by the recipient and which are automatically destroyed after a fixed number of views or fixed amount of time. Users can decide how long their messages last on the recipient’s device. The application also includes a screen shot protection system, which makes it virtually impossible for the recipient to screenshot a message or picture before it gets destroyed. In addition, users can delete entire conversations at any time, making it like the conversation never even happened.

In addition to the foregoing, the application also provides users with the ability to connect via an encrypted live video chat that also is designed to prevent screenshots or screen grabs. The application integrates with iMessage, making private messages potentially available to hundreds of millions of users.

Habytat

In June 2022, we formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Dragon Interactive, Inc. (formerly, SmarterVerse, Inc.) (“Dragon Interactive”). In July 2022, Dragon Interactive entered into a development agreement with MetaBizz, LLC, an infrastructure firm that creates and develops 4D experiences in the metaverse (“MetaBizz”). In August 2022, we launched the “Habytat”, a virtual space that blends real world and virtual realities into one, in real time, using emerging technology like virtual and augmented reality, to create a highly immersive 3D environment. Habytat is supported by proprietary artificial intelligence (“AI”) and utilizes a machine learning engine to develop more realistic looking content, daily rewards, games, and new utilities that are designed to further enhance the user experience in an engaging way. Our goal is to leverage our patents and develop new technology that leads to more people joining and seeing the value in the metaverse. The development agreement with MetaBizz is no longer active.

Each Habytat user is granted user rights to use a designated piece of virtual property in Geniuz City, the first world within Habytat, through the minting and issuance of a unique NFT. Geniuz City is designed to be a near photo-realistic world based on Miami’s Wynwood arts district and its surrounding areas. Geniuz City enables users to visit art galleries, explore the town, interact with other users, take selfies with famous landmarks, customize their properties and enjoy the culture of Geniuz City.

Users will be able to customize their virtual property to represent their personal style and taste. Users will then be able to accumulate reward points when they visit and interact with such virtual property or invite others to join Habytat, and such rewards can be used to enhance, expand, and improve their virtual property. The official in-world currency of Habytat is the “Nirad,” which can be earned through participation on the DatChat Social Network+ or the Habytat and used to upgrade properties and experiences in Habytat.

As of March 28, 2024, we had over 140,000 Habytat users.

Mobile Metaverse

In May 2023, we launched the open mobile metaverse, Habytat 1.0, as part of our mission to democratize access to the metaverse. We hope that by making Habytat available via mobile devices and offering free ownership of virtual land and homes, that Habytat will break down obstacles that previously limited participation, such as the necessity for expensive virtual reality (“VR”) gear or metaverse properties. We have assembled a team of over twenty game developers, graphic artists and back-end developers to create Habytat 1.0.

-1-

HabyPets

In August 2023, we launched a series of novel AI-powered pets called “HabyPets.” HabyPets provides an interactive experience within the Habytat world, creating a more immersive and personal experience for users. Supported by Habytat’s proprietary AI and machine learning engine, HabyPets grow over time from playful companions to mature adult pets. Similar to real-life pets, these AI pets can be trained by users via a range of behavioral commands, replicating the natural progression of real pets over time. These include, but are not limited to, catching frisbees, playing with toys, engaging in tug of war, and even participating in thrilling races with other pets at the park. By actively engaging with their pets, users can establish a connection and provide proper care for their virtual companions, fostering a realistic experience within the Habytat metaverse.

Myseum

We are currently developing “Myseum,” a platform that will allow users to create a personal museum designed to easily share pictures, videos and documents utilizing planned features, such as creating instant sharing spaces at family gatherings, time released video messages, multi-tiered social media, and secure family document storage and sharing. Currently, Myseum is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2024 and will encompass features and social networking technology designed to unlock and share digital media.

Spin-off and Name Change

In January 2024, we announced plans to spin-off the Habytat platform business into a new standalone public company pursuant to a distribution as further discussed below. As of the date of this Annual Report, we currently own approximately 71.5% of Dragon Interactive, the entity that owns and operates the Habytat Platform business. This marked a significant step forward in our corporate strategy to reposition the Company as a pureplay social media ecosystem centered around our Myseum assets.

In February 2024, Darin Myman was appointed as President of SmarterVerse.

In February 2024, SmarterVerse changed its name to Dragon Interactive Corporation.

If the distribution proceeds, our shareholders will maintain their current shares in the Company and receive a pro-rata distribution of a portion of our shares of Dragon Interactive. The proposed distribution remains subject to approval by our board of directors as well as other customary conditions, including the filing and effectiveness of either a Form S-1 or Form 10 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and obtaining of any other required regulatory approvals. Upon consummation of the proposed distribution, Dragon Interactive would become a standalone public company with plans seek a listing on a national stock exchange. No assurance can be given that the spin-off and/or the distribution will occur as anticipated or at all.

Competition

DatChat Messenger & Private Social Network

The current market for mobile messenger applications is highly competitive, and we expect that it will remain competitive. There are currently several large companies that provide mobile messenger applications and we expect several more competitors to enter into this market in the next few years. Well-established competitors include Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, Telegram, MeWe, Confide and Apple iMessage. We believe that it is the range of privacy and security features that we offer that sets us apart from our competitors.

Our flagship applications are the DatChat Privacy Platform and Private Encrypted Social Network, which address the needs of consumers and businesses to communicate with increased levels of privacy and control over messages and social posts, even after they are sent or shared. In addition, we are developing a blockchain-based, decentralized communications platform that is being designed to allow consumers and businesses to connect directly with each other.

-2-

Observing that mobile messaging and social media users are drawn to several different messaging platforms by specific capabilities, we set out to create the application to consolidate popular messaging and social media features such as group chats, emoticons and video sharing, offer new and unique features such as being able to “nuke” a conversation to remove all traces of it from all parties involved, and deliver increased levels of privacy and security. As public concerns over privacy in an ever-expanding digital society grow, the application offers comfort to its users with extensive control over their messages and posts, even after they are sent or shared. The application allows users to not only control how long or how many times a message or post may be viewed by the recipient, but also allows the sender to erase the message or entire conversation after it is sent. Our goal is to make the application a leader in the mobile secure messaging and social media market based upon our proprietary technology and enhanced privacy and security features. We intend to roll out additional features including video chat, attachments, unique social posts and other features to enhance the messaging and social media experience.

Software and Development

DatChat Messenger & Private Social Network

Our ability to compete depends in large part on our continuous commitment to research and development, our ability to rapidly introduce new features and functionality and our ability to improve proven applications for established markets in which we have competitive advantages. We intend to work closely with our customers to continuously enhance the performance, functionality, usability, reliability and flexibility of the application.

Our software and development team is responsible for the design enhancements, development, testing and certification of the application. In addition, we may, in the future, utilize third parties for our automated testing, managed upgrades, software development and other technology services. We are also developing video messages and video messages containing hidden messages embedded in the video stream. We anticipate that the video messaging currently under development will allow users to change the number of views allowed or destruct the message after being sent, in addition to setting the message to auto-self-destruct. We are also in the process of developing a private and encrypted social wall/network.

Habytat and HabyPets

Our software and development is led by SmarterVerse’s Chief Technology Officer, Rene J. Palacio Mongui, and Chief Operating Officer, Ingrith Gartner Salazar. The software and development team is responsible for the engineering, development, design, integration and testing of the Habytat metaverse and the HabyPets AI platform.

Marketing and Monetization

DatChat Messenger & Private Social Network

The application is currently offered for free on Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Initial marketing is expected to consist of public relations, “cost-per-install” campaigns, social media marketing using the Facebook’s ad platform and other readily available advertising platforms.

We anticipate utilizing social influencers and additional public relations strategies to promote the application on a global basis, which also includes making the application available for use in other languages.

We also plan to add in-app purchases such as user customization features, unique emoticons, stickers and long form video messages to monetize the application.

We anticipate monetizing the application with a subscription-based service for small and medium size businesses. In the future, we may develop other mobile applications and services for consumers once our user base reaches a level at which we deem it to be economically feasible. No assurance can be given that we will successfully develop new or future applications that will be embraced by users or generate revenue.

-3-

Intellectual Property Portfolio

DatChat Messenger & Private Social Network

We strive to protect and enhance the proprietary technology and inventions that are commercially important to our business, including seeking, maintaining and defending patent rights. Our policy is to seek to protect our proprietary position through a combination of intellectual property rights in the United States, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secret laws and internal procedures. Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technologies.

As of March 28, 2024, we had 11 issued patents, no notices of allowance and 3 filed patent applications in the United States relating to our encryption technologies, blockchain platform and digital assets. Our issued patents will expire in 2036. In addition, we plan to continue expanding and strengthening our IP portfolio with additional patent applications in the future. We may not be able to obtain protection for our intellectual property, and our existing and future patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights may not provide us with competitive advantages or distinguish our products and services from those of our competitors. Our pending patent application and future applications may not result in the issuance of patents, and any resulting issued patents may have claims narrower than those in our patent applications. Additionally, our current and future patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights may be contested, circumvented, or found unenforceable or invalid, and we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing them. Our internal controls may not always be effective at preventing unauthorized parties from obtaining our intellectual property and proprietary technologies.

Other companies that own patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and other intellectual property rights related to the mobile, encryption, blockchain, communication, privacy, internet, and other technology-related industries frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation, and other violations of intellectual property or other rights. Third parties, including our competitors, may make claims from time to time that we have infringed their patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights. As our business grows and competition rises, the risk of facing claims related to intellectual property and litigation matters will likely increase.

Our Privacy Policy

Privacy and security are the foundations of our Company. We recognize that this is why users are drawn to the application and that our users care deeply about how their personal information is collected, used and shared. When you read our Privacy Policy, we hope that you notice that it has been written to advance our core principles and protect the integrity of the application.

When users sign up for the application, they are required to provide us with certain personal information such as their name, email address and phone number. We take commercially reasonable and appropriate measures to protect this personal information from accidental loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction, taking into account the risks involved in processing and the nature of such data, and comply with applicable laws and regulations. We do not currently transfer any personal information to third-parties that do not act on our behalf, and we will not do so without users’ opt-in consent. Similarly, we do not currently collect sensitive personal information from users without opt-in consent. We may disclose personal information to certain types of third-party companies, but only to the extent needed to enable them to provide such services. The types of companies that may receive personal information and their functions are: marketing assistance, analytics and reporting, customer support, email and SMS delivery, cloud infrastructure, and systems monitoring. All such third parties function as our agents, performing services at our instruction and on our behalf pursuant to contracts which require them to provide at least the same level of privacy protection as is required by our Privacy Policy. In addition, we may be required to disclose personal information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including for the purpose of meeting national security or law enforcement requirements. We may also disclose personal information to other third parties when compelled to do so by government authorities or required by law or regulation including, but not limited to, in response to court orders and subpoenas.

-4-

With respect to retention of personal information, we may only retain such users’ personal information in a form that identifies them only for as long as it serves the purpose(s) for which it was initially collected as stated in our Privacy Policy, or subsequently authorized. We may continue processing users’ personal information for longer periods, but only for the time and to the extent such processing reasonably serves the purposes of statistical analysis, and subject to the protection of our Privacy Policy. After such time periods have expired, we may either delete the personal information or retain it in a form such that it does not identify the user personally.

Most importantly, when users send an encrypted message through the application, we may only temporarily process and store the message in its encrypted form. We do not (and cannot) read our users’ encrypted messages and we delete our users’ messages as soon as they have been successfully self-destructed or deleted. Our end-to-end encryption ensures that we will never have access to the contents of our users’ messages. Moreover, we recognize the privacy rights of our users and are committed to complying with data protection laws to the extent they apply to us, and to assist our users in exercising their rights under applicable law. For example, users may exercise their rights pursuant to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) or Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, simply by submitting a request via email to privacy@DatChat.com.

Employees

As of March 28, 2024, we have a total of 12 full-time employees. We have established a network of external professionals and consultants to which we outsource various research and development and operational tasks in an effort to minimize administrative overhead. We are not a party to any collective bargaining agreements. We believe that we maintain good relations with our employees.

Our Corporate Information

DatChat, Inc. was initially incorporated in Nevada on December 4, 2014 under the name YssUp, Inc. On March 4, 2015, an amendment to our articles of incorporation was filed with the Nevada Secretary of State, changing YssUp, Inc.’s name to “DatChat, Inc.” On September 22, 2016, amended and restated articles of incorporation were filed with the Nevada Secretary of State in order to, among other things, authorize the Company to issue preferred stock.

Available Information

Our website address is www.datchat.com. The contents of, or information accessible through, our website are not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our website address is included in this document as an inactive textual reference only. We make our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports, available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such reports with, or furnish such reports to, the SEC. The public may read and copy the materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Additionally, the SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information. The address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov. The information contained in the SEC’s website is not intended to be a part of this filing.

-5-

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors and the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K before investing in our common stock. Our business and results of operations could be seriously harmed by any of the following risks. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In such case, the value and trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to our Business and Industry

We have a limited operating history and have not yet generated any revenues.

Our limited operating history makes evaluating the business and future prospects difficult and may increase the risk of your investment. We were incorporated in 2014, and since then there have been a limited amount of downloads of the application. To date, we have minimal revenues. As reflected in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we incurred a net loss of $8,404,970 and $12,138,572, respectively. Additionally, for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we used cash in operations of $6,529,277 and $7,258,765, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, we has an accumulated deficit of $48,134,088. We intend, in the long term, to derive revenues from advertisement sales, technology licensing, and other forms of revenue. The application is available for download on certain mobile platforms and we are developing compatibility with other platforms. We also continue to develop and refine functions of the application.

We have not developed a strong customer base, and we have not generated sustainable revenue since inception. We cannot assure you that we ever will. We will incur significant losses in launching products and we may not realize sufficient subscriptions or profits in order to sustain our business.

We have not yet developed a strong customer base and we have not generated sustainable revenue since inception. We are subject to the substantial risk of failure facing businesses seeking to develop and commercialize new products and technologies. Maintaining and improving our platform will require significant capital. We will also incur substantial accounting, legal and other overhead costs as a public company. If our offerings to customers are unsuccessful, result in insufficient revenue or result in us not being able to sustain revenue, we will be forced to reduce expenses, which may result in an inability to gain new customers.

We may fail to develop new products, or may incur unexpected expenses or delays.

Although the application is currently available for download, we may need to develop various new technologies, products and product features to remain competitive. Due to the risks inherent in developing new products and technologies, limited financing, loss of key personnel, and other factors, we may fail to develop these technologies and products, or may experience lengthy and costly delays in doing so. Although we are able to license some of our technologies in their current stage of development, we cannot assure that we will be able to develop new products or enhancements to our existing products in order to remain competitive.

We are dependent on the services of certain key management personnel, employees, and advisors. If we are unable to retain or motivate such individuals or hire qualified personnel, we may not be able to grow effectively.

We depend on the services of a number of key management personnel, employees, and advisors and our future performance will largely depend on the talents and efforts of such individuals. We do not currently maintain “key person” life insurance on any of our employees. The loss of one or more of such key individuals, or failure to find a suitable successor, could hamper our efforts to successfully operate our business and achieve our business objectives. Our future success will also depend on our ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain highly skilled personnel. Competition in our industry for qualified employees is intense, and our compensation arrangements may not always be successful in attracting new employees and/or retaining and motivating our existing employees. Future acquisitions by us may also cause uncertainty among our current employees and employees of the acquired entity, which could lead to the departure of key individuals. Such departures could have an adverse impact on the anticipated benefits of an acquisition.

We may face intense competition and expect competition to increase in the future, which could prohibit us from developing a customer base and generating revenue.

We are focused on the mobile application industry, specifically the mobile messaging market, which is already saturated with established companies. Many of these companies, including Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Facebook, Inc., and Snap Inc., already have an established market in our industry. Most of these companies have significantly greater financial and other resources than us and have been developing their products and services longer than we have been developing ours.

-6-

The application is based on new and unproven technologies and is subject to the risks of failure inherent in the development of new products and services.

Because the application is based on certain new technologies, it is subject to risks of failure that are particular to new technologies, including the possibility that:

●

the application may not gain market acceptance;

●

proprietary rights of third parties may preclude us from marketing a new product or service;

●

the application may not receive the exposure required to obtain new users; or

●

third parties may market superior products or services.

If we are unable to maintain a good relationship with the markets where the application is distributed, our business will suffer.

The Apple App Store is the primary distribution, marketing, promotion and payment platform for the application. Any deterioration in our relationship with Apple or any application marketplace we utilize in the future would harm our business and adversely affect the value of our common stock.

We are subject to Apple’s standard terms and conditions for application developers, which govern the promotion, distribution and operation of mobile applications on its platform. Our business would be harmed if:

●

Apple discontinues or limits access to its platform by us and other application developers;

●

Apple modifies its terms of service or other policies, including fees charged to, or other restrictions on, us or other application developers, or Apple changes how the personal information of its users is made available to application developers on their respective platforms or shared by users;

●

Apple establishes more favorable relationships with one or more of our competitors;

●

Apple limits our access to its application marketplace because our application provides mobile messaging services similar to Apple; or

●

Apple makes changes in its operating system or development platform that are incompatible with our technology.

We expect to benefit from Apple’s strong brand recognition and large user base. If Apple loses its market position or otherwise falls out of favor with mobile users, we would need to identify alternative channels for marketing, promoting and distributing our application, which would consume substantial resources and may not be effective. In addition, Apple has broad discretion to change their terms of service and other policies with respect to us and other developers, and those changes may be unfavorable to us. Any such changes in the future could significantly alter our users experience or how interact within our application, which may harm our business.

In the event that Apple’s standard terms and conditions become prohibitively costly or unduly burdensome, we plan to host our own servers in a co-location facility and create a web-based, desktop version of the application that does not require users to install the application from the App store.

The mobile application industry is subject to rapid technological change and, to compete, we must continually enhance the application.

We must continue to enhance and improve the performance, functionality and reliability of the application. The mobile application industry is characterized by rapid technological change, changes in user requirements and preferences, frequent new product and services introductions embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices that could render our product and services obsolete. We have discovered that some of our customers’ desire additional performance and functionality that the application, and the underlying technology, does not currently support. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to both internally develop leading technologies to enhance the application, develop new mobile applications and services that address the increasingly sophisticated and varied needs of our customers, and respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices on a cost-effective and timely basis. The development of our technology and other proprietary technology involves significant technical and business risks. We may fail to use new technologies effectively or to adapt our proprietary technology and systems to customer requirements or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt to changing market conditions, customer requirements or emerging industry standards, we may not be able to create revenue and expand our business.

-7-

Defects in the application and the technology powering it may adversely affect our business.

Tools, code, subroutines and processes contained within the application may contain defects not yet discovered or contained in updates and new versions. Our introduction of new mobile applications or updates and new versions with defects or quality problems may result in adverse publicity, reduced downloads and use, product redevelopment costs, loss of or delay in market acceptance of our products or claims by customers or others against us. Such problems or claims may have a material and adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to retain current users or add new users, or if our users engage less with the application, our business would be seriously harmed.

Adding, maintaining, and engaging daily monthly users will be essential to attaining our growth targets and sustaining operations. If current and potential users do not perceive our products to be effective and useful, we may not be able to attract new users, retain existing users, or maintain or increase the frequency and duration of their engagement. In addition, our products typically require high bandwidth data capabilities, high-end mobile device penetration and high bandwidth capacity cellular networks with large coverage areas. We therefore do not expect to experience rapid user growth or engagement in countries with low smartphone penetration even if such countries have well-established and high bandwidth capacity cellular networks. We may also not experience rapid user growth or engagement in regions where, even though smartphone penetration is high, due to the lack of sufficient cellular based data networks, consumers rely heavily on Wi-Fi and may not access our products regularly.

There are many factors that could negatively affect user retention, growth, and engagement, including if:

●

users increasingly engage with competing products instead of ours;

●

our competitors may mimic our products and therefore harm our user engagement and growth;

●

we fail to introduce new and exciting products and services or those we introduce are poorly received;

●

our products fail to operate effectively on the iOS and Android mobile operating systems;

●

we are unable to continue to develop products that work with a variety of mobile operating systems, networks, and smartphones;

●

we are unable to combat hostile or inappropriate usage on our products;

●

there are changes in user sentiment about the quality or usefulness of the application;

●

there are concerns about the privacy implications, safety, or security of our products;

●

there are changes in our products that are mandated by legislation, regulatory authorities, or litigation, including settlements or consent decrees that adversely affect the user experience;

●

technical or other problems frustrate the user experience, particularly if those problems prevent us from delivering our products in a fast and reliable manner;

●

we fail to provide adequate service to users;

●

we are the subject of adverse media reports or other negative publicity; and

●

we do not maintain our brand image or our reputation is damaged.

Any decrease to user retention, growth, or engagement could render our products less attractive to users, advertisers, or partners, and would seriously harm our business.

-8-

There is a risk that the public will not perceive the privacy protections that we offer to be necessary or useful and therefore would not be interested in our services.

No matter how effective our products might be in affording users control over their privacy, the general public may not perceive our products to be necessary or useful. In general, although people are more aware than in the past of the amount of personal data that is tracked on a daily basis with the advent of social media and targeted advertising, mere awareness does not necessarily translate into a desire to take affirmative action with respect to one’s privacy. For us, this could mean that the average person might not feel the need to have the ability to delete messages that they have sent. While we believe that the general public will recognize the value of our products and feel empowered to take control of their privacy, it is possible that a great number of people have come to believe that their personal information cannot be protected and that any attempt to do so would be ineffective. As such, regardless of how effective our products might be, there is a risk that the general public might deem our products to be unnecessary and will not be drawn to download and use the application.

Users may not want to change the way that they send messages and therefore would not be interested in our products.

Our success is dependent in part on users altering their behavior and changing the way that they send text messages. Although the application is fully integrated with iMessage, the application requires the user to send the message through a separate text bar, which is located below the ordinary iMessage bar. Even if users have downloaded the application, it is possible that users will bypass this option when they go to send a text message. In addition, our user experience may not be received positively, as some users might find it inconvenient to have two text bars appearing on the screen at the same time when they go to send a text message. The iMessage integration figure does not currently allow a user to remove the iMessage bar so that only the application’s bar appears and it is doubtful that Apple would ever allow such a feature. Moreover, because both text bars are displayed on the screen at the same time, users may inadvertently send a private message through iMessage that they intended to send through the application, thereby defeating the data protection and privacy benefits that the application offers. If users do not adapt to seeing and typing messages with two texts bars displayed, our user retention may suffer.

The characteristics of the application, including but not limited to privacy and encryption, may be exploited to facilitate illegal activity; if any of our users do so or are alleged to have done so, it could adversely affect us and generate negative perception of our products in the marketplace.

For all of the same reasons that our products are attractive to the general public, the privacy, data protection and encryption features could appeal to persons and groups engaged in illegal activities due to the ability of the application to delete messages from a recipient’s phone. In this context, the application may be used to facilitate both illegal activity and the destruction of evidence, which could potentially draw scrutiny from regulators. In addition, the application could develop a stigma that it is associated with illegal activity and deter certain people from communicating through the application.

Negative publicity could adversely affect our reputation, our business, and our operating results.

Negative publicity about our company, including about the quality and reliability of our products, content shared by users through the application, changes to our products, policies and services, our privacy and security practices, litigation, regulatory activity, the actions of users on the application, or user experience with our products, even if inaccurate, could adversely affect our reputation and the confidence in and the use of our product. Such negative publicity could also have an adverse effect on the size, engagement, and loyalty of our user base and, in turn, adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We expect to derive substantially all of our revenue from a limited number of products.

Currently, we expect to derive substantially all of our revenue from a limited number of products and applications. As such, the continued growth in market demand for and market acceptance of the product or application is critical to our continued success. Demand for our products or the applications is affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, such as continued market acceptance; the timing of development and release of competing new products; consumer preferences; the development and acceptance of new features, integrations, and capabilities; price or product changes by us or our competitors; technological changes and developments within the markets we serve; growth, contraction, and rapid evolution of our market; and general economic conditions and trends. If we are unable to continue to meet demands of our users or trends in preferences or to achieve more widespread market acceptance of our products and applications, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be harmed. Changes in preferences of users may have a disproportionately greater impact on us than if we offered multiple products. In addition, competitors may develop or acquire their own tools or software and people may continue to rely on traditional tools and software, such as text message and email, which would reduce or eliminate the demand for our products and applications. If demand declines for any of these or other reasons, our business could be adversely affected.

-9-

The application depends on effectively operating with mobile operating systems, hardware, networks, regulations, and standards that we do not control. Changes in our products or to those operating systems, hardware, networks, regulations, or standards may seriously harm our user growth, retention, and engagement.

Because the application is used primarily on mobile devices, the application must remain interoperable with popular mobile operating systems, Android and iOS. The owners of such operating systems, Google and Apple, respectively, each provide consumers with products that compete with ours. We have no control over these operating systems or hardware, and any changes to these systems or hardware that degrade our products’ functionality, or give preferential treatment to competitive products, could seriously harm DatChat usage on mobile devices. Our competitors that control the operating systems and related hardware the application runs on could make interoperability of our products with those mobile operating systems more difficult or display their competitive offerings more prominently than ours. When introducing new products, it takes time to optimize such products to function with these operating systems and hardware, impacting the popularity of such products, and we expect this trend to continue. Moreover, our products require high-bandwidth data capabilities. If the costs of data usage increase, our user growth, retention, and engagement may be seriously harmed.

We may not successfully cultivate relationships with key industry participants or develop products that operate effectively with these technologies, systems, networks, regulations, or standards. If it becomes more difficult for our users to access and use the application on their mobile devices, if our users choose not to access or use the application on their mobile devices, or if our users choose to use mobile products that do not offer access to the application, our user growth, retention, and engagement could be seriously harmed.

Moreover, the adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect the popularity or growth in use of the internet or mobile applications, including laws or regulations that undermine open and neutrally administered internet access, could decrease user demand for the application and increase our cost of doing business. For example, in December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission adopted an order reversin

SEC Form 10-K filed by DatChat Inc.