Organization and Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Organization and Business

Organization and Business

Note 1 – Organization and Business  

Company Overview

Inuvo is an advertising technology and services business selling information technology solutions to brands, agencies and large consolidators of advertising demand (“Platforms”). Inuvo’s revenue is derived from the placement of digital advertising throughout devices, websites, applications and browsers across social, search and programmatic advertising channels. Inuvo facilitates, and gets paid, to deliver millions of advertising messages monthly and counts among its client's numerous world-renowned companies across industries.

Inuvo’s primary mission is to disrupt the advertising industry with its proprietary and patented generative large language artificial intelligence (AI), a technology capable of identifying and targeting audiences without using a consumer’s identity or data. The AI was designed to replace the consumer data, analytics, segmentation and lookalike modeling technologies that have traditionally served the advertising industry as it transitions to a new paradigm where a consumer’s identity and data are no longer available for advertising decisions due to legislative and technological changes. Rather than targeting people, the AI targets the reasons behind why people are interested in products, services and brands.

Inuvo’s AI technology solves this challenge and can be consumed by clients both as a managed service and software-as-a-service. For certain clients, Inuvo has also developed various proprietary technology and assets that include digital content, websites, automated campaigns, ad fraud detection, performance reporting and predictive media mix modeling.

The Inuvo products and services use analytics, data and artificial intelligence in a manner that optimizes the purchase and placement of advertising in real time. These capabilities are typically sold with services both individually and in combination with each other based on client needs. These products and services include:

· IntentKey: An artificial intelligence-based consumer intent recognition system designed to reach highly targeted mobile and desktop In-Market audiences with precision; and

· Bonfire: A marketing and advertising solution which can be provided directly to brands and where a collection of data, analytics, software and publishing is used to align advertising messages with consumers across websites online.

There are many barriers to entry associated with the Inuvo business model, including a proficiency in large language model based artificial intelligence, large scale information processing, software development, consumer data products, analytics, IOT (internet of things) integration and the relationships required to execute within the IOT. Inuvo’s intellectual property is protected by 19 issued and eight pending patents.

Liquidity

Our principal sources of liquidity are the sale of our common stock and our credit facility with Hitachi described in Note 7 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. On January 19, 2021, we raised $8 million in gross proceeds, before expenses, through the sale of our common stock, and on January 22, 2021, we raised an additional $6.25 million in gross proceeds, before expenses, through sales of our common stock.

In March 2021, we contracted with an investment management company to manage our cash in excess of current operating needs. We placed $2 million in cash equivalent accounts and $10 million in an interest-bearing account. At December 31, 2022, our funds with the investment management company were approximately $2 million and were invested in cash equivalent accounts and marketable debt and equity securities. A detail of the activity is described in Note 3 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

On May 28, 2021, we entered into a Sales Agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, as sales agent (the "Sales Agent"), pursuant to which we may offer and sell through or to the Sales Agent shares of our common stock (the "ATM Program") up to an aggregate amount of gross proceeds of $35,000,000. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we sold 173,558 shares of common stock for gross proceeds totaling $63,136 under the ATM Program and paid the Sales Agent a commission of $1,902, all of which occurred during the second quarter of 2023. Any shares of common stock offered and sold in the ATM Program will be issued pursuant to our universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Shelf Registration Statement”). The ATM Program will terminate upon (a) the election of the Sales Agent upon the occurrence of certain adverse events, (b) 10 days’ advance notice from one party to the other, or (c) the sale of the balance available under our Shelf Registration Statement. Under the terms of the Sales Agreement, the Sales Agent is entitled to a commission at a fixed rate of 3.0% of the gross proceeds from each sale of shares under the Sales Agreement.

On May 30, 2023, we raised $4.0 million in gross proceeds in a registered direct offering, before expenses, through the sale of an aggregate of 16,000,000 shares of our common stock. The shares were offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Shelf Registration Statement”) and a prospectus supplement relating to the offering was filed with the SEC on May 26, 2023.  

We have focused our resources behind a plan to market our collective multi-channel advertising capabilities differentiated by our AI technology, the IntentKey, where we have a technological advantage and higher margins. If we are successful in

implementing our plan, we expect to return to a positive cash flow from operations. However, there is no assurance that we will be able to achieve this objective.  

As of December 31, 2023, we have approximately $4.4 million in cash, and cash equivalents. Our net working capital was $211.1 thousand. We have encountered recurring losses and cash outflows from operations, which historically we have funded through equity offerings and debt facilities. For the year ended December 31, 2023 we had a net loss of $10.3 million and net cash outflows from operations of $2.6 million. In addition, our investment in internally developed software consists primarily of labor costs which are of a fixed nature and amounted to approximately $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Through December 31, 2023, our accumulated deficit was $167.4 million. 

Management plans to support the Company’s future operations and capital expenditures primarily through cash raised through the sale of stock in May 2023, cash generated from future operations and borrowings from the credit facility until reaching profitability. The credit facility is due upon demand and therefore there can be no assurances that sufficient borrowings will be available to support future operations until profitability is reached. Our collection period is less than 30 days and can also be used to meet accrued obligations. We believe our current cash position and credit facility will be sufficient to sustain operations for at least the twelve months from the date of this filing. If our plan to grow the IntentKey product is unsuccessful, we may need to fund operations through private or public sales of securities, debt financings or partnering/licensing transactions over the long term.