UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

OR

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.

OR

OR

For the transition period from                   to

Commission file number: 001-39127

Canaan Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

30/F, Dicara Silver Tower

29 Jiefang East Road

Jianggan District, Hangzhou, 310016

People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Quanfu Hong, Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: +86-571-8999-5063
Email: IR@canaan-creative.com
30/F, Dicara Silver Tower
29 Jiefang East Road
Jianggan District, Hangzhou, 310016

People’s Republic of China

* (Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person) Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

 

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act. None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act. None

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

☐ Yes ☒ No

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

☐ Yes ☒ No

Note — Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

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, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, 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. ☐

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

☐ Yes☒ No

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.

☐ Yes☐ No

 

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CANAAN INC.

FORM 20-F ANNUAL REPORT
FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2019

 

 

 

 

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Conventions that Apply to this Annual Report on Form 20-F

In this annual report, unless otherwise indicated:

The translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Renminbi in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB6.9618 to US$1.00, the exchange rates set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on December 31, 2019. We make no representation that the Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this annual report could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

Our ADSs are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “CAN.”

Glossary of Technical Terms

This glossary contains explanations of certain terms used in this annual report in connection with our company and our business. In this annual report, unless otherwise indicated:

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Forward-Looking Information

This annual report contains statements of a forward-looking nature. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made under the “safe harbor” provision under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements relate to, among others:

We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs.

You should read these statements in conjunction with the risks disclosed in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” of this annual report and other risks outlined in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Moreover, we operate in an emerging and evolving environment. New risks may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of such risks on our business or the extent to which any risk, or combination of risks, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this annual report relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this annual report. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this annual report and the documents that we have referred to in this annual report, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

 

 

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PART I

Not required.

Not required.

The following Summary Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and summary consolidated statements of financial position as of December 31, 2018 and 2019 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report.

You should read the selected consolidated financial data in conjunction with the financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this annual report and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.” Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate our results expected for any future periods.

Summary Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss):

 

 

Note:

 

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Summary Consolidated Statements of Financial Position:

 

 

Summary Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow:

 

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In evaluating our business, we consider and use adjusted net income as a supplemental measure to review and assess our operating performance. The presentation of this non-GAAP financial measure is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We define adjusted net income as net income excluding share­based compensation expense.

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We believe that adjusted net income helps to identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of the expenses that we exclude in adjusted net income. We believe that adjusted net income provides useful information about our operating results, enhances the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allows for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making.

The non-GAAP financial measure “adjusted net income” is not defined under U.S. GAAP, is not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and has limitations as an analytical tool. One of the key limitations of using adjusted net income is that it does not reflect all of the items of income and expense that affect our operations. Share-based compensation has been and may continue to be incurred in our business and is not reflected in the presentation of adjusted net income. Further, the non-GAAP financial measure “adjusted net income” may differ from the non-GAAP information used by other companies, including peer companies, and therefore their comparability may be limited.

We compensate for these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance. We encourage you to review our financial information in its entirety and not to rely on a single financial measure.

The table below sets forth a reconciliation of our net income to adjusted net income (loss) for the period indicated:

 

 

Selected Operating Data

The following table sets forth the sales volume and average selling prices generated by our different Bitcoin mining machines for the periods indicated:

 

 

Notes:

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The following table sets forth the total computing power sold and average selling prices of our Bitcoin mining machines expressed in terms of computing power for the periods indicated:

 

 

Notes:

The table below sets forth the sales cost, per unit costs and the selling cost in terms of computing power of our Bitcoin mining machines for the periods indicated:

 

 

Notes:

B.Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not required.

C.Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not required.

D.Risk Factors

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Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

Our results of operations have been and are expected to continue to be negatively impacted by sharp Bitcoin price decreases.

The demand for, and pricing of, our Bitcoin mining machines is determined primarily by the expected economic return of Bitcoin mining activities, which in turn is significantly affected by expectations with respect to the Bitcoin price, among other factors. The price of Bitcoin has experienced significant fluctuations over its relatively short existence and may continue to fluctuate significantly in the future. Bitcoin prices ranged from approximately US$14,166 per coin as of December 31, 2017, US$3,792 per coin as of December 31, 2018 to US$7,220 per coin as of December 31, 2019, according to Blockchain.info. According to the same source, from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, the highest Bitcoin price was approximately US$12,933 per coin and the lowest was US$3,395 per coin. The decrease in the Bitcoin price in 2018 resulted in a material decrease in our sales volume and in the average selling price of our Bitcoin mining machines. As the Bitcoin price remained relatively low throughout the first quarter of 2019 and only started to recover in the second quarter of 2019, we continued to experience low demand of our Bitcoin mining machines despite a low selling price in the first half of 2019. The price of Bitcoin gradually decreased in the second half of 2019. As a result, our revenue for 2019 decreased by 47.4% from 2018. In the first quarter of 2020, the decreasing trend of Bitcoin price continued. On March 13, 2020, the Bitcoin price saw a significant drop and has been turbulent since then.

We expect our results of operations to continue to be affected by the Bitcoin price, as 99.6%, 99.7% and 97.7% of our revenue were from sales of our Bitcoin mining machines and other Bitcoin mining machine parts and accessories in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. Any future significant reductions in the price of Bitcoin will likely have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We cannot assure you that the Bitcoin price will remain high enough to sustain the demand for our Bitcoin mining machines or that the Bitcoin price will not decline significantly in the future. Furthermore, fluctuations in the Bitcoin price can have an immediate impact on the trading price of the ADSs even before our financial performance is affected, if at all.

Various factors, mostly beyond our control, could impact the Bitcoin price. For example, the usage of Bitcoins in the retail and commercial marketplace is relatively low in comparison with the usage for speculation, which contributes to Bitcoin price volatility. Additionally, the reward for Bitcoin mining will decline over time, with the next halving event to occur in May 2020, which may further contribute to Bitcoin price volatility and make our products less productive and therefore decrease the demand for and pricing our Bitcoin mining machines.

If the Bitcoin price or Bitcoin network transaction fees drop, the expected economic return of Bitcoin mining activities will diminish, thereby resulting in a decrease in demand for our Bitcoin mining machines. As a result, we may need to reduce the price of our Bitcoin mining machines. At the same time, if transaction fees increase to such an extent as to discourage users from using Bitcoins as a medium of exchange, it may decrease the transaction volume of the Bitcoin network and may affect the demand for our Bitcoin mining machines. In addition, any shortage of power supply due to government control measures or other reasons, and any increase in energy costs, would raise the costs of Bitcoin mining. This in turn could affect our customers’ expected economic return for mining activities and the demand for and pricing of our current Bitcoin mining machines.

Furthermore, fluctuations in Bitcoin price may affect the value of inventories as well as the provision we make to the inventory as we manage our inventories based on, among others, the sales forecast of our Bitcoin mining machines. As we generally increase our procurement volume and stock up finished goods for the launch of new products or we expect a surge of demand of Bitcoin mining machine, a significant drop in the Bitcoin price can lead to a lower expected sales price and excessive inventories, which in turn will lead to impairment losses with respect to such inventories. For example, in 2018 and 2019, as a result of the significant drop in the Bitcoin price, we recorded inventories and prepayments write downs of RMB786.0 million and RMB729.0 million (US$104.7 million), respectively, which in turn had a significant negative impact on our profitability. If the Bitcoin price drops significantly in the future, we may need to make similar write-downs again. To the extent we are able to sell such inventories above its carrying value, our gross profit may also be inflated by such write down.

The Bitcoin price drop in 2018 and the fourth quarter of 2019 also caused our customers who purchased our Bitcoin mining products on credit to be less willing to make payment. We consider the portion of the contract price on credit and not yet collected as implicit price concession and we recognize revenue based on subsequent information regarding our collection of such portion of the contract price. In 2018 and 2019, we recognized such price concessions of RMB152.8 million and RMB22.4 million (US$3.2 million), respectively. We may continue to offer sales on credit to

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some of our customers, and if the Bitcoin price drops significantly in the future, we will need to recognize such as implicit price concession.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from our Bitcoin mining machines. If the market for Bitcoin mining machines ceases to exist or diminishes significantly, our business and results of operations would be materially harmed.

Sales of our Bitcoin mining machines, which incorporate our proprietary ASICs, historically generated substantially all of our revenue, and are expected to continue to generate a significant portion of our revenue in the foreseeable future. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, sales of our Bitcoin mining machines and other Bitcoin mining machine parts and accessories accounted for 99.6%, 99.7% and 97.7% of our revenues, respectively. If the market for Bitcoin mining machines ceases to exist or diminishes significantly, we would experience a significant loss of sales, cancelation of orders, or loss of customers for our Bitcoin mining machines. Adverse factors that may affect the market for Bitcoin mining machines include:

If we cannot maintain the scale and profitability of our Bitcoin mining machines and, at the same time, successfully expand our business in the AI market, our business, results of operations and ability to continue to grow will suffer. Furthermore, excess inventories, inventory markdowns, brand image deterioration and margin squeeze caused by declining economic returns for miners or pricing competition for our Bitcoin mining machines could all have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to succeed in the AI market or other new application markets we seek to penetrate into, our revenues, growth prospects and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Until 2018, we have been offering a single line of Bitcoin mining machines, which historically accounted for substantially all of our total revenue and continues to account for substantially all of our total revenue in 2019. As of December 31, 2019, we shipped about 70,000 AI chips and development kits. Our future revenue growth will depend largely on our ability to successfully expand our business in the AI market and penetrate into new application markets. We cannot predict how or to what extent the demand for our products in the AI market will develop going forward. Furthermore, as ASICs may not develop into mainstream solutions for AI technologies and applications, we might not be able to capitalize on the growth in the market for AI technologies and applications with our ASICs. If the AI market does not develop as we currently anticipate and we are unable to penetrate into new application markets, our future revenue and profits could be materially and adversely affected.

We plan to work closely with our partners in product development to enhance our visibility in new market trends and meet customer demand by devoting more resources to research and development. We may also need to recruit more employees for research and development and product development, such as software engineers. We intend to continue to capitalize on market opportunities for introducing new product applications and conduct advance planning for our next-generation products in a timely manner. However, if we fail to penetrate into any of these or other new markets to which we devote our resources, we may not be able to generate returns on our investments and our financial condition could suffer.

The industries in which we operate are characterized by constant changes. If we fail to continuously innovate and to provide products that meet the expectations of our customers, we may be unable to attract new customers or retain existing customers, and hence our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The industries in which we operate are characterized by constant changes, including rapid technological evolution, continual shifts in customer demands, frequent introductions of new products and solutions and constant

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emergence of new industry standards and practices. Thus, our success will depend, in part, on our ability to respond to these changes in a cost-effective and timely manner. We need to anticipate the emergence of new technologies and assess their market acceptance. We also need to invest significant resources in research and development in order to keep our products competitive in the market.

However, research and development activities are inherently uncertain, and we might encounter practical difficulties in commercializing our research and development results, which could result in excessive research and development expenses or delays. Given the fast pace with which blockchain and AI technologies have been and will continue to be developed, we may not be able to timely upgrade our technologies in an efficient and cost-effective manner, or at all. In addition, new developments in AI, deep learning, IoT, computer vision, blockchain and cryptocurrency could render our products obsolete or unattractive. If we are unable to keep up with the technological developments and anticipate market trends, or if new technologies render our technologies or solutions obsolete, customers may no longer be attracted to our products. As a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected.

As our current mining machines are designed for Bitcoin mining, any limitation on the usage and adaptation of Bitcoin and any actual or perceived adverse development in the Bitcoin market, which is rapidly and continuously evolving, can impact our results of operations. As there is no wide consensus with respect to the value and application of Bitcoin, any future development may continue to affect the price of Bitcoin and hence affect the demand for our current Bitcoin mining machines. In addition, any event or rumor that generates negative publicity for the Bitcoin industry and market, such as allegations that Bitcoin is used for money laundering or other illicit activities, could result in harm to our reputation, which in turn may negatively affect our results of operations.

Decentralization, or the lack of control by a central authority, is a key reason that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have attracted many committed users. However, the decentralized nature of Bitcoin is subject to growing discussion and suspicion. Some claim that most of the actual services and businesses built within the Bitcoin ecosystem are in fact centralized since they are run by specific people, in specific locations, with specific computer systems, and that they are susceptible to specific regulations. Individuals, companies or groups, as well as Bitcoin exchanges that own vast amounts of Bitcoins, can affect the market price of Bitcoin. Furthermore, mining equipment production and mining pool locations are becoming centralized. Some argue that the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies is a fundamental flaw rather than a strength. The suspicion about the decentralized nature of Bitcoin may cause our customers to lose confidence in the prospect of the Bitcoin industry. This in turn could adversely affect the market demand for our Bitcoin mining machines and our business. For more details, see “—If any person, institution or a pool of them acting in concert obtains control of more than 50% of the processing power active on the Bitcoin network, such person, institution or a pool of them could prevent new transactions from gaining confirmations, halt payments between users, and reverse previously completed transactions, which would erode user confidence in Bitcoin.”

We are subject to risks associated with legal, political or other conditions or developments regarding holding, using or mining of Bitcoins, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial position.

Our customers are based globally. As such, changes in government policies, taxes, general economic and fiscal conditions, as well as political, diplomatic or social events, expose us to financial and business risks. In particular, changes in domestic or overseas policies and laws regarding holding, using and/or mining of Bitcoins could result in an adverse effect on our business operations and results of operations. Moreover, if any domestic or international jurisdiction where we operate or sell our Bitcoin mining machines prohibits or restricts Bitcoin mining activities, we may face legal and other liabilities and will experience a material loss of revenue.

There are significant uncertainties regarding future regulations pertaining to the holding, using or mining of Bitcoins, which may adversely affect our results of operations. While Bitcoin has gradually gained more market acceptance and attention, it is anonymous and may be used for black market transactions, money laundering, illegal activities or tax evasion. As a result, governments may seek to regulate, restrict, control or ban the mining, use and holding of Bitcoins. Our existing policies and procedures for the detection and prevention of money laundering and terrorism-funding activities through our business activities have only been adopted in recent years and may not completely eliminate instances in which we or our products may be used by other parties to engage in money laundering and other illegal or improper activities. We cannot assure you that there will not be a failure in detecting money laundering or other illegal or improper activities which may adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

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With advances in technology, cryptocurrencies are likely to undergo significant changes in the future. It remains uncertain whether Bitcoin will be able to cope with, or benefit from, those changes. In addition, as Bitcoin mining employs sophisticated and high computing power devices that need to consume a lot of electricity to operate, future developments in the regulation of energy consumption, including possible restrictions on energy usage in the jurisdictions where we sell our products, may also affect our business operations and the demand for our Bitcoin mining machines. There have been public backlashes surrounding the environmental impacts of Bitcoin mining, particularly the large consumption of electricity, and governments of various jurisdictions have responded.

The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) could have a material adverse effect on our business operations, results of operations, cash flows and financial position

We are closely monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of our business, including how it will impact our employees, customers, suppliers and business partners, as well as the cryptocurrency market generally. The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption, which will adversely affect our business operations and may materially and adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

For example, during the first several months of 2020, we experienced a decrease in product demand and pricing, which we believe is, as least to a certain extent, the result of the on-going spread of COVID-19 and resulting market disruption. We expect that many of our customers are facing or will face increasing disruptions to their business, including the maintenance or expansion of their Bitcoin mining sites. If the COVID-19 pandemic continues on its upward trajectory, we expect product demand and pricing to continue to decrease, which would also lead to significant inventory and prepayment write-downs and materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

The spread of pandemics or disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 may also disrupt logistics necessary to import, export, and deliver products to us or our customers. Ports and other channels of entry may be closed or operate at only a portion of capacity, as workers may be prohibited or otherwise unable to report to work, and means of transporting products within regions or countries may be limited for the same reason.

Our operations, or those of our suppliers and business partners may become limited in their ability produce our products because of transport restrictions related to quarantines or travel bans. We, our suppliers and business partners face workforce limitations and travel restrictions and related government actions which may impact many aspects of our business. If a significant percentage of our employees or the employees of our suppliers and business partners is unable to work, including because of illness or travel or government restrictions in connection with pandemics or disease outbreaks, our operations may be negatively impacted.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts us will depend on numerous evolving factors and future developments that we are not able to predict, including: the severity of the virus; the duration of the outbreak; governmental, business and other actions; the impacts on our supply chain; the impact of the pandemic on economic activity; the extent and duration of the effect on consumer confidence and spending; the health of and the effect on our workforce and our ability to meet staffing needs in our facilities, particularly if members of our work force are quarantined as a result of exposure; any impairment in value of our tangible or intangible assets which could be recorded as a result of a weaker economic conditions; and the potential effects on our internal controls including those over financial reporting as a result of changes in working environments such as shelter-in-place and similar orders that are applicable to our team members and business partners, among others. In addition, if the pandemic continues to create disruptions or turmoil in the credit or financial markets, it could adversely affect our ability to access capital on favorable terms and continue to meet our liquidity needs, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

In addition, we cannot predict the impact that COVID-19 will have on our customers, suppliers and other business partners, and each of their financial conditions; however, any material effect on these parties could adversely impact us. This situation is changing rapidly and additional impacts may arise that we are not aware of currently. Given the dynamic circumstances and significant uncertainty associated with the pandemic and resulting market disruption, which has had an impact to our operations for the first quarter in 2020, we are unable to estimate the adverse impact of these events on the results of operations, financial position and cash flows for the year-ended December 31, 2020, although we expect these impacts to be adverse, and which may be material.

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A substantial majority of our revenues are generated from sales to customers in the PRC. Any adverse development in the regulatory environment in the PRC could have a negative impact on our business.

We primarily sell our Bitcoin mining machines to customers in the PRC. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, revenue from customers in the PRC accounted for 91.5%, 76.1% and 74.8%, respectively, of our total revenue. If there is any adverse development in the regulatory environment concerning Bitcoin mining or AI application in the PRC, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected and we will need to further strengthen our efforts in expanding our international sales. There is no assurance that we will be able to effectively respond to any changes in PRC industrial policies as well as their implementation and interpretation. To the extent we are not able to generate sufficient sales from overseas markets to offset any decrease in demand from our PRC customers, our business and results of operations will be negatively impacted. In particular, if the PRC government completely bans the mining, possession and use of Bitcoin, we will not be able to sell our products in the PRC, and we may not be able to generate sufficient sales overseas to make up for such loss of business in the PRC.

Changes in the Bitcoin algorithm or the mining mechanism may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our ASICs for Bitcoin mining machines are designed for the POW mechanism which the Bitcoin network uses to validate Bitcoin transactions. Another cryptocurrency that uses the POW mechanism is known as“Bitcoin cash,” developed in mid-2017, which our current Bitcoin mining machines can also mine. Many people within the Bitcoin community believe that POW is a foundation within Bitcoin’s code that should not be changed. However, there have been debates on mechanism change to avoid the “de facto control” by a great majority of the network computing power. With the possibility of a change in rule or protocol of the Bitcoin network, if our Bitcoin mining machines cannot be modified to accommodate any such changes, our Bitcoin mining machines will not be able to meet customer demand, and the results of our operations will be significantly affected. For more details, see “—The administrators of the Bitcoin network’s source code could propose amendments to the Bitcoin network’s protocols and software that, if accepted and authorized by the Bitcoin network’s community, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition” and “—The acceptance of Bitcoin network software patches or upgrades by a significant, but not overwhelming, percentage of the users and miners in the Bitcoin network could result in a “fork” in the blockchain, resulting in the operation of two separate networks that cannot be merged. The existence of forked blockchains could erode user confidence in Bitcoin and adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.”

Substantial increases in the supply of mining machines connected to the Bitcoin network would lead to an increase in network capacity, which in turn would increase mining difficulty. This development would negatively affect the economic returns of Bitcoin mining activities, which would decrease the demand for and/or pricing of our products.

The difficulty of Bitcoin mining, or the amount of computational resources required for a set amount of reward for recording a new block, directly affects the expected economic returns for Bitcoin miners, which in turn affects the demand for our Bitcoin mining machines. Bitcoin mining difficulty is a measure of how much computing power is required to record a new block and it is affected by the total amount of computing power in the Bitcoin network. The Bitcoin algorithm is designed so that one block is generated, on average, every ten minutes, no matter how much computing power is in the network. Thus, as more computing power joins the network, and assuming the rate of block creation does not change (remaining at one block generated every ten minutes), the amount of computing power required to generate each block and hence the mining difficulty increases. In other words, based on the current design of the Bitcoin network, Bitcoin mining difficulty would increase together with the total computing power available in the Bitcoin network, which is in turn affected by the number of Bitcoin mining machines in operation. Additionally, the amount of Bitcoin awarded for solving each block will decline, with the next halving event designed to occur in May 2020. As a result, a strong growth in sales of our Bitcoin mining machines can contribute to further growth in the total computing power in the network, thereby driving up the difficulty of Bitcoin mining and coupled with the decrease in Bitcoin reward, result in downward pressure on the expected economic return of Bitcoin mining and the demand for, and pricing of, our products.

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We may be unable to make the substantial research and development investments that are required to remain competitive in our business.

Advances in AI technology, Bitcoin mining technology and the semiconductor industry have led to increased demand for ICs of higher speed and power efficiency for solving computational problems of increasing complexity. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, we incurred research and development expense of RMB99.8 million, RMB189.7 million and RMB169.0 million (US$24.3 million), respectively. We are committed to investing in new product development in order to stay competitive in our markets. Driven by market demand, we intend to continue to broaden and enhance our product portfolio in order to deliver the most effective solutions to our customers. Nevertheless, if we are unable to generate enough revenue or raise enough capital to make adequate research and development investments going forward, our product development and relevant research and development initiatives may be restricted or delayed, or we may not be able to keep pace with the latest market trends and satisfy our customers’ needs, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations. Furthermore, our substantial research and development expenditures may not yield the expected results that enable us to roll out new products, which in turn will harm our prospects and results of operations.

We face intense competition and our competitors may employ aggressive pricing strategies, which can lead to a price reduction of our products and material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We operate in highly competitive industries for Bitcoin mining solutions and AI products, and we may look to enter into markets with very competitive landscapes. Our competitors include many well-known domestic and international players, and we face competitors that are larger than us and have advantages over us in terms of economies of scale and financial and other resources. We expect that competition in our markets will continue to be intense, as we compete not only with existing players that have been focusing on Bitcoin mining or AI, but also new entrants that include well-established players in the semiconductor industry, or players who have not been predisposed to this industry in the past. Some of these competitors may also have stronger brand names, greater access to capital, longer histories, longer relationships with their suppliers or customers and more resources than we do. Furthermore, these competitors may be able to adapt to changes in the industry more promptly and efficiently. Intense competition from existing and potential competitors could result in material price reductions in the products we sell or a decrease in our market share. Aggressive pricing strategies by our competitors and an abundant supply of Bitcoin mining machines or AI products in the market may cause us to reduce the prices of our products and also negatively affect the demand for our products or harm our profitability. If we fail to compete effectively and efficiently or fail to adapt to changes in the competitive landscape, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our Bitcoin mining machine business depends on supplies from a very few third-party foundries, and any failure to obtain sufficient foundry capacity from these foundries would significantly delay the shipment of our products.

As a fabless IC design company, we do not own any IC fabrication facilities and depend on very few third-party foundries. TSMC has historically been our major third-party foundry partner for our Bitcoin mining machine business, but we have also started to work with Samsung and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, the value of the ICs we purchased from TSMC accounted for 63.5%, 63.1% and 58.3%, respectively, of our total procurement for the respective periods. It is important for us to have a reliable relationship with TSMC and other current and future third-party foundry service providers to ensure adequate product supply to respond to customer demand.

We cannot guarantee that our very limited third-party foundry partners will be able to meet our manufacturing requirements. The ability of our third-party foundry partners to provide us with foundry services is limited by their technology migration, available capacity and existing obligations. If these third-party foundry partners fail to succeed in its technology migration, they will not be able to deliver to us qualified ICs, which will significantly affect our technological advancement and shipment of Bitcoin mining machines. This could in turn result in lost sales and have a material adverse effect on our relationships with our customers and on our business and financial condition.

In addition, we do not have a guaranteed level of production capacity from our third-party foundry partners. We do not have long-term contracts with them, and we source our supplies on a purchase order basis and prepay the purchase amount. As a result, we depend on our third-party foundry partners to allocate to us a portion of their manufacturing capacity sufficient to meet our needs, to produce products of acceptable quality and at acceptable final test yields and to deliver those products to us on a timely basis and at acceptable prices. If our third-party foundry partners raises their prices or is unable to meet our required capacity for any reason, such as shortages or delays in the shipment of semiconductor equipment or raw materials required to manufacture our ICs, or if our business relationships with them deteriorate, we may not be able to obtain the required capacity and would have to seek alternative foundries, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Moreover, it is possible that other customers of

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our third-party foundry partners that are larger and/or better financed than we are, or that have long-term contracts with them, may receive preferential treatment in terms of capacity allocation or pricing. In addition, if we do not accurately forecast our capacity needs, our third-party foundry partners may not have available capacity to meet our immediate needs or we may be required to pay higher costs to fulfill those needs, either of which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results or financial condition.

In particular, the production of our ASICs may require advanced IC fabrication technologies, and foundries other than our current third-party foundry partners might not have sufficient production capacity for such technologies, if at all, to meet our requirements. This may expose us to risks associated with engaging new foundries. For example, using foundries with which we have not established relationships could expose us to potentially unfavorable pricing, unsatisfactory quality or insufficient capacity allocation. We have historically contracted with a single foundry for a specific generation of our ASICs, which means that the failure, for whatever reason, of a single third-party foundry partner could materially and adversely affect a whole generation of our products.

Other risks associated with our dependence on a few third-party foundry partners include limited control over delivery schedules and quality assurance, lack of capacity in periods of excess demand, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and limited ability to manage inventory and parts. In particular, although we have entered into confidentiality agreements with our third-party foundry partners for the protection of our intellectual property, it may not protect our intellectual property with the same degree of care as we use to protect our intellectual property. See “—If we fail to adequately protect our IP rights, our ability to compete effectively or to defend ourselves from litigation could be impaired, which could reduce our total revenue and increase our costs.” If we fail to properly manage any of these risks, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Moreover, if any of our third-party foundry partners suffers any damage to its facilities, suspends manufacturing operations, loses benefits under material agreements, experiences power outages or computer virus attacks, lacks sufficient capacity to manufacture our products, encounters financial difficulties, is unable to secure necessary raw materials from its suppliers or suffers any other disruption or reduction in efficiency, we may encounter supply delays or disruptions. For example, in early August 2018, the operation of certain factories of TSMC in Taiwan was temporarily suspended as a result of a computer virus attack caused by an improper installment procedure administered by TSMC. The TSMC facilities affected by this computer virus included those that manufacture wafers for us, and TSMC’s operational suspension resulted in a delay in its shipment to us of 125 wafers for our 7nm ASICs for up to nine weeks.

Failure to maintain inventory levels in line with the approximate level of demand for our products could cause us to lose sales, expose us to increased inventory risks and subject us to increases in holding costs, risk of inventory obsolescence, increases in markdown allowances and write-offs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

To operate our business successfully and meet our customers’ demands and expectations, we must maintain a certain level of finished goods inventory to ensure immediate delivery when required. Furthermore, we are required to maintain an appropriate level of inventory of parts and components for our production. However, forecasts are inherently uncertain. If our forecasted demand is lower than actual demand, we may not be able to maintain an adequate inventory level of our finished goods or produce our products in a timely manner, and we may lose sales and market share to our competitors. On the other hand, we may also be exposed to increased inventory risks due to accumulated excess inventory of our products or raw materials, parts and components for our products. Excess inventory levels may lead to increases in inventory holding costs, risks of inventory obsolescence and provisions for write-downs. We recorded inventory and prepayment write down provision of nil, RMB786.0 million and RMB729.0 million (US$104.7 million) in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. The carrying value of our inventories were RMB259.8 million, RMB585.7 million and RMB196.1 million (US$28.2 million) as of December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The average selling prices of our products may decrease from time to time due to technological advancement and we may not be able to pass onto our suppliers such decreases, which may in turn adversely affect our profitability.

The IC design industry is characterized by rapid launches of new products, continuous technological advancements and changing market trends and customer preferences, all of which translate to a shorter life cycle and a gradual decrease in the average selling prices of products over time. For example, the average selling price per Thash for our Bitcoin mining machines decreased from RMB613 in 2017 to RMB369 in 2018 and further decreased to RMB131 (US$19) in 2019. Because we compete in the environment of rapidly-evolving technology advancement and market

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trends and developments of the IC design industry, there are no assurances that we will be able to pass on any decrease in average selling prices of our products to our suppliers. In the event that average selling prices of our products unusually or significantly decrease and such decreases cannot be offset by a corresponding decrease in the prices of the principal components of our products, our gross profit margins may be materially and adversely affected, which in turn, may adversely affect our profitability.

Our limited operating history and rapid revenue growth may make it difficult for us to forecast our business and assess the seasonality and volatility in our business.

As the markets for Bitcoin mining machines and AI applications are relatively young and still developing, we cannot forecast longer-term demand or order patterns for our products. Because of our limited operating history and historical data, as well as the limited visibility into future demand trends for our products, we may not be able to accurately forecast our future total revenue and budget our operating expenses accordingly. As most of our expenses are fixed in the short-term or incurred in advance of anticipated total revenue, we may not be able to adjust our expenses in a timely manner in order to offset any shortfall in revenue.

Our business is subject to the varying order patterns of the Bitcoin mining machine and AI products markets. In addition, many of the regions in which our products are purchased have varying holiday seasons that differ from traditional patterns observed by other semiconductor suppliers and these seasonal buying patterns can impact our sales. We have experienced fluctuations in orders during our limited operating history, and we expect such volatility to occur in the future. Our recent significant growth in revenue also makes it difficult to assess the impact of seasonal factors on our business. If we or any of our third-party manufacturing service providers are unable to increase production of new or existing products to meet any increases in demand due to seasonality or other factors, our total revenue would be adversely affected and our reputation with our customers may be damaged. Conversely, if we overestimate customer demand, we may reduce our orders or delay shipments of our products from units forecasted, and our total revenue in a particular period could be lower than expected.

We may be unable to execute our growth strategies or effectively maintain our rapid growth trends.

We have experienced rapid growth and significantly expanded our business in recent years. Our total net revenue grew by 106.8% from RMB1,308.1 million in 2017 to RMB2,705.3 million in 2018, but decreased to RMB1,422.6 million (US$204.3 million) in 2019. We may not be able to grow our revenue in the future if we are not able to successfully execute our product development and diversification, geographic expansion and other growth plans. In addition, our rapid growth has placed and will continue to place significant demands on our management and our administrative, operational, research and development and financial resources.

To accomplish our growth strategies and manage the future growth of our operations, we will be required to enhance our research and development capabilities, improve our operational and financial systems, and expand, train and manage our growing employee base. Furthermore, we need to maintain and expand our relationships with our customers, suppliers, research institutions, third-party manufacturers and other third parties. Moreover, as we introduce new products or enter new markets, we may face new market, technological, operational and regulatory risks and challenges with which we are unfamiliar.

Our current and planned operations, personnel, systems, internal procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our future growth and expansion. In addition, the success of our growth strategies depends on a number of external factors, such as the growth of the semiconductor market and the demand for Bitcoin, the level of competition we face and evolving customer behavior and preferences. If we are unable to execute our growth strategies or manage our growth effectively, we may not be able to capture market opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, which may materially and adversely affect our business prospects and results of operations.

We rely on a limited number of third parties to package and test our products.

In addition to IC fabrication, we rely on a limited number of production partners for the testing and packaging of our ASICs. Reliance on these third parties for the testing and packaging of our ASICs presents significant risks to us, including the following:

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The ability and willingness of our production partners to adequately and timely perform is largely beyond our control. If one or more of these production partners fails to perform its obligations in a timely manner or at satisfactory quality levels, our ability to bring products to market and our reputation could suffer. If these production partners fail to deliver quality products and components to us on time and at reasonable prices, we could face difficulties in fulfilling our customers’ orders, our total revenue could decline and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.

Bitcoin exchanges and wallets, and to a lesser extent, the Bitcoin network itself, may suffer from hacking and fraud risks, which may adversely erode user confidence in Bitcoin which would decrease the demand for our Bitcoin mining machines.

Bitcoin transactions are entirely digital and, as with any virtual system, are at risk from hackers, malware and operational glitches. Hackers can target Bitcoin exchanges and Bitcoin transactions, to gain access to thousands of accounts and digital wallets where Bitcoins are stored. Bitcoin transactions and accounts are not insured by any type of government program and all Bitcoin transactions are permanent because there is no third party or payment processor. Bitcoin has suffered from hacking and cyber-theft as such incidents have been reported by several cryptocurrency exchanges and miners, highlighting concerns about the security of Bitcoin and therefore affecting its demand and price. Also, the price and exchange of Bitcoin may be affected due to fraud risk. While Bitcoin uses private key encryption to verify owners and register transactions, fraudsters and scammers may attempt to sell false Bitcoins. All of the above may adversely affect the operation of the Bitcoin network which would erode user confidence in Bitcoin, which would negatively affect demand for our products.

We face risks associated with the expansion of our scale of operations globally, and if we are unable to effectively manage these risks, they could impair our ability to expand our business abroad.

As part of our growth strategy, we plan to further expand our sales both inside and outside of the PRC. As we continue to grow our business and expand our operations globally, we will continue to sell our products into new jurisdictions in which we have limited or no experience and in which our brands may be less recognized. The expansion exposes us to a number of risks, including:

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If we are unable to effectively manage these risks, our ability to expand our business will be impaired, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We have incurred negative cash flows from operating activities and net losses in the past and can provide no assurance of our future operating results.

We have experienced negative cash flows from operating activities in the amount of RMB12.7 million and RMB280.1 million (US$40.2 million) for 2018 and 2019, respectively, and we incurred a net loss in the amount of RMB1,034.5 million (US$148.6 million) for 2019. We will need to generate and sustain increased revenue and net income levels in future periods in order to increase profitability, and, even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase our level of profitability over the long term. We cannot assure you that we will be able to generate positive cash flow from operating activities in the future or that we will be able to continue to obtain financing on acceptable terms or at all. Our ability to achieve profitability and positive cash flow from operating activities will depend on a mix of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including the price of Bitcoin, our ability to grow our AI business and manage our product mix and our ability to secure favorable commercial terms from suppliers.

Shortages in, or increases in the prices of, the components of our products may adversely affect our business.

In addition to our proprietary ASICs, the components we use for our Bitcoin mining machines include printed circuit board, other electronic components, fans and aluminum casings. The use of our Bitcoin mining machines also requires certain ancillary equipment and components such as controllers, power adaptors and connectors. The production of our current Bitcoin mining machines depends on obtaining adequate supplies of these components on a timely basis and at competitive prices. We do not typically maintain large inventories of components, but rather we purchase them on a just-in-time basis from various third-party component manufacturers that satisfy our quality standards and meet our volume requirements. Given the long lead times that may be required to manufacture, assemble and deliver certain components and products, problems could arise in planning production and managing inventory levels that could

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seriously interrupt our operations, including the possibility of defective parts, an increase in component costs, delays in delivery schedules, and shortages of components. Furthermore, we may have to turn to less reputable suppliers if we cannot source adequate components from our regular suppliers. Under such circumstances, the quality of the components may suffer and could cause performance issues in our Bitcoin mining machines.

Shortages of components could result in reduced production or delays in production, as well as an increase in production costs, which may negatively affect our abilities to fulfill orders or make timely shipments to customers, as well as our customer relationships and profitability. Component shortages may also increase our costs of revenue because we may be required to pay higher prices for components in short supply, not being able to pass such costs to customers, and redesign or reconfigure products to accommodate substitute components.

Our prepayments to suppliers may subject us to counterparty risk associated with such suppliers and negatively affect our liquidity and cash position.

We may incur net cash outflows at an early stage of our production because we are required to prepay our foundry service providers before the service is provided in order to secure the foundry service provider’s production capacity. As of December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, the outstanding balance of prepayments we made to our foundry service provider amounted to RMB606.0 million, RMB62.3 million and RMB18.4 million (US$2.6 million), respectively. The amount of our prepayments can significantly increase at the beginning of our launch of advanced products in the future. We are subject to counterparty risk exposure to our suppliers. Any failure by our suppliers to perform their contractual obligations in a timely manner and/or in accordance with our requested quality may result in us not being able to fulfill customers’ orders accordingly. In such event, we may not be able to receive back the prepayments in a timely manner or in full, notwithstanding that our suppliers are obligated to return such prepayments upon meeting certain conditions. Furthermore, such prepayments also put cash pressure on us and if the cash outflows for the prepayments significantly exceed the cash inflows during any period, our future liquidity and cash position will be adversely affected.

If we experience difficulty in collecting our trade receivables, our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations would be negatively impacted.

We derive our revenues from the sale of products and are subject to counterparty risks such as our customer’s inability to pay. As of December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, our trade receivables amounted to RMB7.2 million, RMB27.5 million and RMB2.9 million (US$0.4 million), respectively. There can be no assurance that we will be able to collect our trade receivables on a timely basis, and our trade receivable turnover days may increase, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

Failure at tape-out or failure to achieve the expected final test yields for our ASICs could negatively impact our operating results.

The tape-out process is a critical milestone in our business. A successful tape-out means all the stages in the design and verification process of our ASICs have been completed, and the product is ready to be sent for manufacturing. A tape-out is either a success or a failure, and in the latter case design modifications are needed. The tape-out process is very costly, and repeated failures can significantly increase our costs, lengthen our product development period and delay our product launch. While we have consistently achieved successful tape-out in the initial batch historically, we cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to have a high tape-out success rate in the future.

Once tape-out is successful, the ASIC design is sent for manufacturing, and the final test yield is a measurement of the production success rate. The final test yield is a function of both product design, which is developed by us, and process technology, which typically belongs to a third-party foundry. While we have historically achieved high final test yields, we cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain such yields in the future. Low final test yields can result from either a product design deficiency or a process technology failure or a combination of both. As such, we may not be able to identify problems causing low final test yields until our product designs go to the manufacturing stage, which may substantially increase our per unit costs and delay the launch of new products.

For example, if our third-party foundry partner experiences manufacturing inefficiencies or encounters disruptions, errors or difficulties during production, we may fail to achieve acceptable final test yields or experience product delivery delays. We cannot be certain that our third-party foundry partner will be able to develop, obtain or

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successfully implement process technologies needed to manufacture future generations of our products on a timely basis. Moreover, during the periods in which foundries are implementing new process technologies, their manufacturing facilities may not be fully productive. A substantial delay in the technology transitions to smaller geometry process technologies could have a material and adverse effect on us, particularly if our competitors transition to such technologies before us.

In addition, resolution of yield problems requires cooperation among us, our third-party foundry partner and package and test partners. We cannot assure you that the cooperation will be successful and that any yield problems can be fixed.

If any person, institution or a pool of them acting in concert obtains control of more than 50% of the processing power active on the Bitcoin network, such person, institution or a pool of them could prevent new transactions from gaining confirmations, halt payments between users, and reverse previously completed transactions, which would erode user confidence in Bitcoin.

If the award of Bitcoins for solving blocks and transaction fees for recording transactions are not sufficiently high to incentivize miners, miners may cease expending processing power to solve blocks. Miners ceasing operations would reduce the collective processing power on the Bitcoin network, which would adversely affect the confirmation process for transactions and make the Bitcoin network more vulnerable to any person, institution or a pool of them which has obtained over 50% control over the computing power on the Bitcoin network. In such event, such person, institution or a pool of them could prevent new transactions from gaining confirmation, halt payments between users, and reverse previously completed transactions. Such changes or any reduction in confidence in the confirmation process or processing power of the Bitcoin network may erode user confidence in Bitcoin, which would decrease the demand for our products.

The administrators of the Bitcoin network’s source code could propose amendments to the Bitcoin network’s protocols and software that, if accepted and authorized by the Bitcoin network’s community, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The Bitcoin network is based on a cryptographic, algorithmic protocol that governs the end-user-to-end-user interactions between computers connected to the Bitcoin network. A loosely organized group can propose amendments to the Bitcoin network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that alter the protocols and software that govern the Bitcoin network and the properties of Bitcoins, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new Bitcoins. To the extent that a significant majority of the users and miners on the Bitcoin network install such software upgrade(s), the Bitcoin network would be subject to new protocols and software that may render our products less desirable, which in turn may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. If less than a significant majority of the users and miners on the Bitcoin network install such software upgrade(s), the Bitcoin network could “fork.”

The acceptance of Bitcoin network software patches or upgrades by a significant, but not overwhelming, percentage of the users and miners in the Bitcoin network could result in a “fork” in the blockchain, resulting in the operation of two separate networks that cannot be merged. The existence of forked blockchains could erode user confidence in Bitcoin and could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Bitcoin is based on open source software and has no official developer or group of developers that formally controls the Bitcoin network. Any individual can download the Bitcoin network software and make any desired modifications, which are proposed to users and miners on the Bitcoin network through software downloads and upgrades. However, miners and users must consent to those software modifications by downloading the altered software or upgrade implementing the changes; otherwise, the changes do not become part of the Bitcoin network. Since the Bitcoin network’s inception, changes to the Bitcoin network have been accepted by the vast majority of users and miners, ensuring that the Bitcoin network remains a coherent economic system. However, a developer or group of developers could potentially propose a modification to the Bitcoin network that is not accepted by a vast majority of miners and users, but that is nonetheless accepted by a substantial population of participants in the Bitcoin network. In such a case, a fork in the blockchain could develop and two separate Bitcoin networks could result, one running the pre-modification software program and the other running the modified version. An example is the introduction of a cryptocurrency known as “Bitcoin cash” in mid-2017. This kind of split in the Bitcoin network could erode user confidence in the stability of the Bitcoin network, which could negatively affect the demand for our products.

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AI technologies are constantly evolving, and any flaws in or misuse of AI, even if committed by other third parties, could have a negative impact on our business, reputation, brands and the general acceptance of AI solutions by society.

AI technologies are still in a preliminary stage of development and are constantly evolving. As with many disruptive innovations, AI presents risks and challenges that could affect user perception and its adoption. Any flaws in or insufficiencies of AI, and any inappropriate or premature usage thereof, whether actual or perceived, and whether by us or by other third parties, may dissuade prospective customers from adopting AI solutions, and may impair the general acceptance of AI by society. Moreover, AI is covered extensively, and in many instances critically, by various news media across the world. There is no assurance that our AI products will not be misused or applied in a way that is inconsistent with public expectations. Any misuse of our AI technologies, whether actual or perceived, and whether by us or by other third parties, could negatively impact our brands and reputation, and in turn our business, financial condition and results of operation.

Any failure of our products to meet the necessary quality standards could adversely affect our reputation, business and results of operation.

The quality of our products is critical to the success of our business and depends significantly on the effectiveness of our and our manufacturing service providers’ quality control systems. In our efforts to quickly meet new market trends and demand and adopt new technologies, our products may not have adequate time to go through our normal rigorous testing procedures and final inspection, which could result in instances where our products cannot reach the required performance standard, or our products are found to be defective. These instances could result in our customers suffering losses. Defects detected before product delivery to our customers may result in additional costs for remediation and rework. Defects detected after the delivery and installation of our products may result in our incurring further costs relating to inspection, installation, remediation or product return, which may result in damages to our reputation, loss of customers, government fines and disputes and litigation.

In addition, we outsourced to certain production partners a portion of our product manufacturing process, which require them to purchase parts and components from other third-party suppliers. Although we carry out quality inspections for the manufacturing process and the parts and components purchased, we cannot assure you that we will always be able to detect defects in the manufacturing process or the parts and components purchased. Any defect in such manufacturing process or parts and components purchased may lead to defects in our finished products, which may in turn increase our costs as well as damage our reputation and market share. We may not be able to procure contractual or other indemnities from the suppliers of the defective parts and components adequately, or at all. We may be subject to product liability claims and litigation for compensation which could result in substantial and unexpected expenditures and could materially and adversely affect our cash flow and operating results.

Our Bitcoin mining machines use open source software and hardware as their basic controller system, which may subject us to certain risks.

We use open source software and hardware in our Bitcoin mining machines. For example, the AvalonMiner controller open source software needs to be installed on open source Raspberry Pi hardware, which serves as the basic controller system for the AvalonMiner, and we expect to continue to use Raspberry Pi and other open source software and hardware in the future. We may face claims from others claiming ownership of, or seeking to enforce the terms of, an open source license, including by demanding the release of the open source software, derivative works or our proprietary source code that was developed using such software. These claims could also result in litigation, requiring us to purchase a costly license or to devote additional research and development resources to change our technologies, either of which would have a negative effect on our business and operating results. In addition, if the license terms for the open source software we utilize change, we may be forced to re-engineer or discontinue our solutions or incur additional costs.

If we are unable to maintain or enhance our brand recognition, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Maintaining and enhancing the recognition, image and acceptance of our brand are important to our ability to differentiate our products from and to compete effectively with our peers. Our brand image, however, could be jeopardized if we fail to maintain high product quality, pioneer and keep pace with evolving technology trends, or timely fulfill the orders for our products. If we fail to promote our brand or to maintain or enhance our brand recognition and awareness among our customers, or if we are subject to events or negative allegations affecting our brand image or the publicly perceived position of our brand, our business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

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Power shortages, labor disputes and other factors may result in constraints on our production activities.

Historically, we have not experienced constraints on our production activities, including at our assembly plant, due to power shortages, labor disputes or other factors. However, there can be no assurance that our operations will not be affected by power shortages, labor disputes or other factors in the future, thereby causing material production disruptions and delays in our delivery schedule. In such event, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to adequately protect our IP rights, our ability to compete effectively or to defend ourselves from litigation could be impaired, which could reduce our total revenue and increase our costs.

We rely primarily on a combination of protections provided by patent, IC layout and design rights, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality, non-compete and non-disclosure agreements and other means for protecting our proprietary technologies and know-how. However, we cannot assure you that the strategies and steps we are taking are sufficient to protect our intellectual property rights or that, notwithstanding legal protection, others do not or will not infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property rights. If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, or if changes in laws diminish or remove the current legal protections available to them, the competitiveness of our products may be eroded and our business could suffer. The rights granted to us under our patents, IC layout-design rights and copyrights, including prospective rights sought in our pending patent applications, may not be meaningful or provide us with any commercial advantage. In addition, they could be opposed, contested, circumvented or designed around by our competitors or be declared invalid or unenforceable in judicial or administrative proceedings. Any failure of our patents, IC layout-design rights and copyrights to adequately protect our technologies may allow our competitors to offer similar products or technologies. We may not be able to protect our IP rights in some countries where our products are sold or may be sold in the future. Even if IP rights are granted outside of the PRC, effective enforcement in those countries may not be available to us, primarily due to the relatively weak legal regime protecting IP rights in those countries and the difficulties to defend and enforce such rights. Accordingly, we may not be able to effectively protect our IP rights in those countries. Many companies have encountered substantial intellectual property infringement in countries where we sell or intend to sell our products.

Monitoring unauthorized use of our IP is difficult and costly. Unauthorized use of our IP may have occurred or may occur without our knowledge. Any failure by us to effectively protect our IP could reduce the value of our technologies and impair our ability to compete. We may in the future need to initiate infringement claims or litigation. Litigation can be expensive and time-consuming and may divert the efforts of our technical staff and managerial personnel, which could result in lower total revenue and higher expenses, whether or not such litigation results in a determination favorable to us.

We may face IP infringement claims or other related disputes, which could be time-consuming, costly to defend or settle and result in the loss of significant rights and lower sales.

As is typical in the semiconductor industry, we may be subject to infringement claims from time to time or otherwise become aware of potentially relevant patents or other IP rights held by other parties that may cover some of our technology, products and services. The semiconductor industry is characterized by companies that hold large numbers of patents and other IP rights and that vigorously pursue, protect and enforce these rights. Patent litigation has increased in recent years owing to increased assertions made by IP licensing entities and increasing competition and overlap of product functionality in our markets. Additionally, we have in the past entered and may continue in the future to enter into licensing agreements with third parties for the use of their proprietary technologies, primarily software development tools, in the development of our products. As with any business relationship, we may face disputes and lawsuits related to those IP licensing agreements. As our operations continue to grow in size and scale, the likelihood of us becoming involved in IP related lawsuits and disputes to protect or defend our IP rights and the use of third-party IP rights will increase.

In addition, it is extremely difficult for us to monitor all of the patent applications that have been filed in the PRC, the United States or in other countries or regions and whether, if such pending patents are granted, such patents would have a material and adverse effect on our business if our product and service offering were to infringe upon them.

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Other third parties may file claims against us or our customers alleging that our products, processes, or technologies infringe third-party patents or IP rights. Regardless of their merits or resolutions, such claims could be costly to defend or settle and could divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel. In addition, some of our customer agreements in the future may require us to indemnify and defend our customers from third-party infringement claims and to pay damages in the case of adverse rulings. As such, claims of this sort also could harm our relationships with our customers and may deter future customers from doing business with us. We do not know whether we could prevail in any such proceeding given the complex technical issues and inherent uncertainties involved in IP litigation. If any pending or future proceedings result in an adverse outcome, we could be required to:

Any of the foregoing results could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The loss of any member of our senior management team, or our failure to attract, train and retain qualified personnel, especially our design and technical personnel, could impair our ability to grow our business and effectively execute our business strategy.

Since our inception, the growth and expansion of our business operations have been dependent upon the business strategies and foresight of our senior management. Our future success depends, in large part, on the continued contributions of our senior management team, specifically Mr. Nangeng Zhang.

In addition, our future success depends on our ability to retain, attract and incentivize qualified personnel, including our management, sales, marketing, finance and especially research and development personnel. As the driver of our technological and product innovations, our research and development personnel represent a very significant asset of ours. As the technology in the semiconductor industry is advancing at a quick pace, there is an increasing need for skilled engineers. Many companies across the world are struggling to find suitable candidates for their research and development positions. The process of hiring employees with the combination of skills and characteristics required to implement our strategy can be extremely competitive and time-consuming. We cannot assure you that we will be able to attract adequate personnel as we continue to pursue our business strategies.

Moreover, we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain key existing employees. The loss of any of our co-founders, senior management or research and development team members could harm our ability to implement our business strategies and respond to the rapidly changing market conditions in which we operate, or could result in other operating risks. The loss of one or more of our key employees, especially our key design and technical personnel which includes our co-founders, or our inability to retain, attract and motivate qualified design and technical personnel, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Our corporate actions are significantly influenced by our principal shareholders, including Nangeng Zhang, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who have the ability to exert significant influence over important corporate matters that require approval of shareholders while their interests may differ from those of the other shareholders. This may deprive you of the opportunity to receive a premium for your ADSs and materially reduce the value of your investment.

Our share capital is designated into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to 15 votes at general meetings of our shareholders. Nangeng Zhang, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, beneficially own 100% of our Class B ordinary shares, representing approximately 72.6% of the aggregate voting power of our issued and outstanding share capital as of December 31, 2019. However, the interests of our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer may differ from the interests of other shareholders. This concentration of ownership and the protective provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the dual effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and reducing the price of the ADSs. We may not be able to enter into other transactions that could be beneficial to us without the consent of our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. As a result of the foregoing, the value of your investment could be materially reduced.

We are a “controlled company” under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules and, as a result, will rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.

We are a “controlled company” as defined under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules because Nangeng Zhang, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, holds more than 50% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding share capital. For so long as we remain a controlled company under that definition, we are permitted to elect to rely, and will rely, on certain exemptions from corporate governance rules, including an exemption from the rule that a majority of our board of directors must be independent directors. As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.

We may engage in acquisitions or strategic alliances that could disrupt our business, result in increased expenses, reduce our financial resources and cause dilution to our shareholders. We cannot assure you that such acquisitions or strategic alliances may be successfully implemented.

Although we have not engaged in acquisitions or strategic alliances in the past, we may look for potential acquisitions or strategic alliances in the future to expand our business. However, we may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all, or integrate any acquired business, products or technologies into our operations. If we do complete acquisitions, they may be viewed negatively by customers or investors and they may not enable us to strengthen our competitive position or achieve our goals. In addition, any acquisitions that we make could lead to difficulties in integrating personnel, technologies and operations from the acquired businesses and in retaining and motivating key personnel from these businesses. Moreover, acquisitions may disrupt our ongoing operations, divert management from day-to-day responsibilities and increase our expenses. Future acquisitions may reduce our cash available for operations and other uses, and could result in increases in amortization expenses related to identifiable intangible assets acquired, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt. We cannot predict the number, timing or size of future acquisitions, or the effect that any such acquisitions might have on our operating results.

Changes in international trade policies and international barriers to trade may have an adverse effect on our business and expansion plans.

We have exported our products to a number of countries outside of the PRC and derive sales from exporting to those countries, and we intend to continue to sell our current and future products to countries outside of the PRC. Sales to the United States accounted for 3.5%, 10.5% and 3.2% of our total sales in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively, while Japan accounted for 16.6% of our total sales in 2019. Further, we rely on certain overseas suppliers, including suppliers in the United States, for the supply of certain equipment and tools, such as our electronic design automation, a development tool. Changes to trade policies, treaties and tariffs in or affecting the jurisdictions in which we operate and to which we sell our products, or the perception that these changes could occur, could adversely affect the financial and economic conditions in those jurisdictions, as well as our international sales, financial condition and results of operations.

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The U.S. administration under President Donald Trump has advocated greater restrictions on trade generally and significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States, particularly from China, and has recently taken steps toward restricting trade in certain goods. On June 15, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative announced the imposition of an additional duty of 25% on approximately US$50 billion worth of Chinese imports, including those related to China’s “Made in China 2025” industrial policy. This list of products consists of two sets of U.S. tariff lines. The additional duty assessed on the first set, which includes photosensitive semiconductor devices, parts and accessories for measuring semiconductor devices, came into effect on July 6, 2018. These tariffs impact Chinese semiconductor companies that manufacture and export to the United States. The second set, which includes electronic integrated circuits, came into effect on August 23, 2018. On September 21, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative further announced the imposition of additional duties on approximately US$200 billion worth of Chinese imports. The additional duties came into effect on September 24, 2018. The products that we exported to the United States were not included in the tariff lists for the above additional duties. Additionally, we plan to sell our AI products to domestic manufacturers who will then incorporate our AI products into final products such as smart appliances and smart toys. Therefore, while our AI products are not currently subject to these tariffs directly, the products of our customers that incorporate our AI products may be subject to these tariffs. We cannot assure you that future restrictions on trade and tariffs implemented by the United States will not affect our products, which would negatively affect our expansion plans as well as our financial condition and results of operations.

In response to the additional tariffs by the United States that came into effect on July 6, 2018, China has imposed retaliatory tariffs on various goods imported from the United States. In the event that China adopts further retaliatory measures against the United States or any adverse trade policies of other countries that affect the importation of equipment and tools that we require, we may not be able to find alternative suppliers on comparable terms, or at all, which may lead to an increase in our costs or significant delays in our product releases. In addition, such policy retaliations could result in further trade policy responses by the United States and other countries, which would cause an adverse effect on manufacturing levels, trade levels and industries in the jurisdictions in which we operate and to which we sell our products and may result in a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our operations and those of our production partners and customers are vulnerable to natural disasters, pandemics and other events beyond our control, the occurrence of which may have an adverse effect on the supply chain of our suppliers and on our facilities, personnel and results of operations.

Our business operations and those of our production partners and customers are faced with numerous risks and dangers, including capacity constraints, labor strikes, fire, natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, typhoons), pandemics (e.g. COVID-19) and environmental or occupational disasters. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We have one assembly plant and one warehouse in the PRC which could suffer significant business disruption due to earthquakes or other natural disasters or pandemics. We are currently not covered by insurance against such business disruption. Similarly, the manufacturing facilities of our production partners and the mining facilities of our customers are principally located in Asia and their operations may be reduced or eliminated due to natural disasters or pandemics. The risk of earthquakes in these geographic regions is significant due to the proximity of major earthquake fault lines, and Taiwan in particular, where our IC foundry supplier is located, is also subject to typhoons and other Pacific storms. In addition, some of our customers may place their Bitcoin mining facilities near streams within mountainous regions to take advantage of hydroelectric power, which causes them to be at risk of flooding. For example, a flood in Sichuan in June 2018 caused significant damage to certain Bitcoin mining facilities in the area and to the mining equipment at these facilities.

Our business could also be adversely affected by epidemics or outbreaks or pandemics such as avian flu, or H1N1, also known as swine flu, as well as COVID-19. An outbreak of avian flu or H1N1 or COVID-19 in the human population, or another similar health crisis, could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of entire regions, particularly in Asia. Moreover, any related disruptions to transportation or the free movement of persons could hamper our operations and force us to close our offices temporarily.

The occurrence of any of the foregoing or other natural or man-made disasters could cause damage or disruption to us, our employees, operations, markets and customers, which could result in significant delays in deliveries or substantial shortages of our products and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

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Cyber-security incidents, including data security breaches or computer viruses, could harm our business by disrupting our delivery of services, damaging our reputation or exposing us to liability.

We receive, process, store and transmit, often electronically, the data of our customers and others, much of which is confidential. Unauthorized access to our computer systems or stored data could result in the theft, including cyber-theft, or improper disclosure of confidential information, and the deletion or modification of records could cause interruptions in our operations. These cyber-security risks increase when we transmit information from one location to another, including over the Internet or other electronic networks. Despite the security measures we have implemented, our facilities, systems and procedures, and those of our third-party service providers, may be vulnerable to security breaches, acts of vandalism, software viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming or human errors or other similar events which may disrupt our delivery of services or expose the confidential information of our customers and others. Any security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure or use of confidential information of our customers or others, whether by us or a third party, could (i) subject us to civil and criminal penalties, (ii) have a negative impact on our reputation, or (iii) expose us to liability to our customers, third parties or government authorities. We are not aware of such breaches to date. Any of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Preferential tax treatment currently available to us in the PRC could be discontinued or reduced.

As an enterprise selling self-developed software, Hangzhou Canaan Creative Information Technology Co., Limited, or Hangzhou Canaan, a subsidiary of ours, received VAT tax refunds of RMB38.8 million, RMB110.2 million and RMB1.3 million (US$180.0 thousand) in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. We cannot assure you that we will continue to qualify for the VAT tax refund, or that the policies providing for the VAT tax refund will continue to be effective.

Additionally, Hangzhou Canaan was accredited as a software enterprise, and was therefore entitled to preferential tax treatment, paying no income taxes in 2017 and subject to an enterprise income tax rate, or EIT rate, of 12.5% for 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, Hangzhou Canaan was accredited as a key software enterprise in 2018, and was subject to an EIT rate of 10.0% for that year. We took advantage of the lowest EIT rate available to us each year.

Following our accreditation as a key software enterprise falling within the State’s planning lay-out or high-tech enterprise, we will independently determine whether we meet the conditions required for EIT preferences annually. Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law (《中华人民共和国企业所得税法》), or the PRC EIT Law and its relevant regulations, PRC companies are typically subject to an income tax rate of 25% under the PRC EIT Law. Meanwhile, we shall, in accordance with the requirements of the tax authority and other relevant authorities, retain and submit our financial statements together with details of our research and development activities and other technological innovation activities for future reference to enjoy the preferential tax treatment. As advised by Commerce & Finance Law Offices, our PRC legal adviser, if we fail to provide materials retained for future reference, we will not be entitled to enjoy the preferential tax treatment, as well as other benefits conferred under the accreditations.

We require various approvals, licenses, permits and certifications to operate our business. Any failure to obtain or renew any of these approvals, licenses, permits or certifications could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

In accordance with the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate, we are required to maintain various approvals, licenses, permits and certifications in order to operate our business. Complying with such laws and regulations may require substantial expense, and any non-compliance may expose us to liability. In the event of non-compliance, we may have to incur significant expenses and divert substantial management time to rectify the incidents. In the future, if we fail to obtain all the necessary approvals, licenses, permits and certifications, we may be subject to fines or the suspension of operations at the production facilities and research and development facilities that do not have all the requisite approvals, licenses, permits and certifications, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. See “Regulation” for further details on the requisite approvals, licenses, permits and certifications necessary for our business operations. We may also experience adverse publicity arising from non-compliance with government regulations, which would negatively impact our reputation.

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We cannot assure you that we will be able to fulfill all the conditions necessary to obtain the required government approvals, or that relevant government officials will always, if ever, exercise their discretion in our favor, or that we will be able to adapt to any new laws, regulations and policies. There may also be delays on the part of government authorities in reviewing our applications and granting approvals, whether due to the lack of human resources or the imposition of new rules, regulations, government policies or their implementation, interpretation and enforcement. If we are unable to obtain, or experience material delays in obtaining, necessary government approvals, our operations may be substantially disrupted, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our assembly plant is located on property whose owner has not obtained the approval of relevant authorities, and we may be ordered to relocate from that property.

Our assembly plant for Bitcoin mining machines in Hebei province with a gross floor area of 7,538.5 square meters was constructed by our landlord without the approval of housing use planning authorities. As advised by Commerce & Finance Law Offices, our PRC legal adviser, such buildings may be considered to be in violation of relevant zoning laws and the government may order the demolition or relocation of such building.

If we are evicted from such property, we may need to find alternative properties and relocate our assembly plant. Unless we are able to make timely alternative arrangements for relocating our assembly plant, we may not be able to fulfill purchase orders received, which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may be involved in legal and other disputes from time to time, whether arising out of our operations, including disputes with our raw material or component suppliers, production partners, customers or employees, or class action lawsuits from our shareholders.

We may from time to time be involved in disputes with various parties arising out of our operations, including raw material or electronic components suppliers, production partners, customers or employees. These disputes may lead to protests or legal or other proceedings and may result in damage to our reputation, substantial costs and diversion of resources and management’s attention from our core business activities. In addition, we may encounter compliance issues with regulatory bodies in the course of our operations, in respect of which we may face administrative proceedings or unfavorable decisions that may result in liabilities and cause delays to our production and delivery. We may be involved in other proceedings or disputes in the future that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against those companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities, or after the publication of third-party research reports. For example, a negative research report was published about us by Marcus Aurelius Value on February 20, 2020. Additionally, on March 4, 2020, a putative class action was filed in the United States District Court of Oregon against us and certain of our officers and directors, among others. The complaint alleges that the Form F-1 registration statement for our IPO contained material misstatements and omissions in violation of federal securities laws. On March 6, 2020, a putative class action making substantially similar allegations was filed in New York County Supreme Court against us and certain of our officers and directors. As of the date of this annual report, the lawsuits are in the preliminary stages and no responses have been filed on our behalf. We have retained counsel and will vigorously defend against the allegations.

The class action suits that we are aware of and if we were involved in a class action suit in the future, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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Our insurance coverage is limited and may not be adequate to cover potential losses and liabilities. A significant uninsured loss or a loss in excess of our insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

The insurance products available to us are limited, and the insurance policies we have obtained may not cover all risks associated with our business. The occurrence of certain incidents including severe weather, earthquake, fire, war, power outages, flooding and the consequences resulting from them may not be covered by our insurance policies adequately, or at all. If we were subject to substantial liabilities that were not covered by our insurance, we could incur costs and losses that could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We may need additional capital but may not be able to obtain it in a timely manner and on favorable terms or at all.

Our operations may require additional capital or financing from time to time in order to achieve further growth. We had outstanding borrowings of RMB99.9 million (US$14.3 million) as of December 31, 2019, incurred primarily to support our operation. We may require additional cash resources due to the future growth and development of our business. Our future capital requirements may be substantial as we seek to expand our operations, diversify our product offering, and pursue acquisitions and equity investments. If our cash resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to issue additional equity or debt securities or obtain new or expanded credit facilities or enter into additional factoring arrangements.

Our ability to obtain external financing in the future is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including our future financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and the liquidity of international capital and lending markets. In addition, our loan agreements may contain financial covenants that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness or to distribute dividends. Any indebtedness that we may incur in the future may also contain operating and financial covenants that could further restrict our operations. There can be no assurance that financing will be available in a timely manner or in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, or at all. A large amount of bank borrowings and other debt may result in a significant increase in interest expense while at the same time exposing us to increased interest rate risks. Equity financings could result in dilution to our shareholders, and the securities issued in future financings may have rights, preferences and privileges that are senior to those of our ordinary shares or ADSs. Any failure to raise needed funds on terms favorable to us, or at all, could severely restrict our liquidity as well as have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on third-party logistics service providers to deliver our products. Disruption in logistics may prevent us from meeting customer demand and our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer as a result.

We engage independent third-party logistics service providers to deliver the ICs from our production partners to our assembly plant and our products from our warehouses to our customers. Disputes with or termination of our contractual relationships with one or more of our logistics service providers could result in delayed delivery of products or increased costs. There can be no assurance that we can continue or extend relationships with our current logistics service providers on terms acceptable to us, or that we will be able to establish relationships with new logistics service providers to ensure accurate, timely and cost-efficient delivery services. If we are unable to maintain or develop good relationships with our preferred logistics service providers, it may inhibit our ability to offer products in sufficient quantities, on a timely basis, or at prices acceptable to our consumers. If there is any breakdown in our relationships with our preferred logistics service providers, we cannot assure you that no interruptions in our product delivery would occur or that they would not materially and adversely affect our business, prospects and results of operations.

As we do not have any direct control over these logistics service providers, we cannot guarantee their quality of service. In addition, services provided by these logistics service providers could be interrupted by unforeseen events beyond our control, such as poor handling provided by these logistics service providers, natural disasters, pandemics, adverse weather conditions, riots and labor strikes. If there is any delay in delivery, damage to products or any other issue, we may lose customers and sales and our brand image may be tarnished.

Bitcoin mining activities are energy-intensive, which may restrict the geographic locations of miners and have a negative environmental impact.

Bitcoin mining activities are inherently energy-intensive and electricity costs account for a significant portion of the overall mining costs. The availability and cost of electricity will restrict the geographic locations of mining activities.

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Any shortage of electricity supply or increase in electricity cost in a jurisdiction may negatively impact the viability and the expected economic return for Bitcoin mining activities in that jurisdiction, which may in turn decrease the sales of our Bitcoin mining machines in that jurisdiction.

In addition, the significant consumption of electricity may have a negative environmental impact, including contribution to climate change, which may give rise to public opinion against allowing the use of electricity for Bitcoin mining activities or government measures restricting or prohibiting the use of electricity for Bitcoin mining activities. Any such development in the jurisdictions where we sell our Bitcoin mining machines could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business operation and international expansion is subject to geopolitical risks.

Our business operation and international expansion is subject to geopolitical risks. We rely on our production partners in Taiwan for the fabrication, testing and packaging of our ASICs. Any significant deterioration in the cross-strait relationship may have a negative impact on the ability of our production partners in Taiwan to fulfill their contractual obligations and ship the ASICs to us, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, there might be significant changes to United States trade policies, treaties and tariffs, including trade policies and tariffs regarding the PRC. China may respond by imposing retaliatory trade measures against the United States. We rely on suppliers in the United States for the supply of certain equipment and tools, such as our electronic design automation, a development tool. If the United States restricts or prohibits the importation of ASICs or related products from China, our international expansion may be negatively affected. If China imposes retaliatory trade measures that affect the importation of the equipment and tools we require, we may face difficulty in our production. In both cases, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We may be subject to fines and other administrative penalties resulting from the operation of our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.

We are subject to regulation by the PRC government authorities. These relevant regulatory authorities have broad powers to adopt regulations and other requirements affecting or restricting our operations, including tax policies. Moreover, these relevant regulatory authorities possess significant powers to enforce applicable regulatory requirements in the event of our non-compliance, including the imposition of fines, sanctions or the revocation of licenses or permits to operate our business. Any of these events could have a material adverse impact on our results of operation.

Any global systemic economic and financial crisis could negatively affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese or global economy may have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The global financial markets have experienced significant disruptions since 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies have experienced periods of recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 has been uneven and there are new challenges, including the escalation of the European sovereign debt crisis from 2011 and the slowdown of the PRC’s economic growth since 2012, which may continue. There is also the prospect of a brewing global recession as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and the PRC. There have also been concerns over unrest in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa, which have resulted in volatility in financial and other markets. There have also been concerns over the United Kingdom leaving the European Union as well as the significant potential changes to United States trade policies, treaties and tariffs, including trade policies and tariffs regarding the PRC. There have also been concerns about the economic effect of the tensions in the relationship between the PRC and surrounding Asian countries. There were and could be in the future a number of domino effects from such turmoil on our business, including significant decreases in orders from our customers; insolvency of key suppliers resulting in product delays; inability of customers to obtain credit to finance purchases of our products and/or customer insolvencies; and counterparty failures negatively impacting our operations. Any systemic economic or financial crisis could cause revenues for the semiconductor industry as a whole to decline dramatically and could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

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If counterfeit products are sold under our brand names and trademarks, our reputation and financial results could be materially and adversely affected.

Third-party merchants and dealers are separately responsible for sourcing counterfeit products that are sold under our brand names and trademarks. Counterfeit products may be defective or inferior in quality as compared to authentic products. If our customers are not satisfied by counterfeit products sold under our brand names and trademarks, we may be subject to reputational damage. We believe our brand and reputation are important to our success and our competitive position. The discovery of counterfeit products sold under our brand names and trademarks may severally damage our reputation and cause customers to refrain from making future purchases from us, which would materially and adversely affect our business operations and financial results.

Risks Relating to Doing Business in the PRC

Economic, political and social conditions as well as governmental policies in the PRC could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and financial results.

A majority of our business operations is currently conducted in the PRC and we derive a majority of our revenue from the PRC. The PRC economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many aspects, including:

The PRC economy has been transitioning from a centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy for approximately four decades as the PRC government has implemented economic reform measures to utilize market forces in the development of the PRC economy. We cannot predict whether changes in the economic, political and social conditions of the PRC and in its laws, regulations and policies will have any adverse effect on our current or future business, financial condition or results of operations.

More specifically, many of the economic reforms carried out by the PRC government are unprecedented or experimental and are expected to be refined and improved over time. This refining and adjustment process may not necessarily have a positive effect on our operations and business development. These actions, as well as other actions and policies of the government of the PRC, could cause a decrease in the overall level of economic activity in the PRC and the surrounding regions and, in turn, have an adverse impact on our business and financial condition.

Changes to and uncertainties in the legal system of the PRC may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Legal protections available to you under the legal system of the PRC may be limited.

The PRC is still in the process of developing a comprehensive statutory framework. Since 1979, the PRC government has established a commercial law system, and significant progress has been made in promulgating laws and regulations relating to economic affairs and matters such as corporate organization and governance, foreign investment, commerce, taxation and trade. However, many of these laws and regulations are relatively new, and the implementation and interpretation of these laws and regulations remain uncertain in many areas. It may be difficult to obtain swift and equitable enforcement or to obtain enforcement of a judgment by a court of another jurisdiction. Consequently, developments and changes in the PRC laws and regulations, including their interpretation and enforcement, may have a

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material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, the legal protections available to you under the PRC legal system may be limited.

You may experience difficulties enforcing judgments against us and our management in the PRC.

We were advised by Commerce & Finance Law Offices, our PRC legal adviser, that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are governed by the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between the PRC and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions, provided that the foreign judgments do not violate the basic principles of laws of the PRC or its sovereignty, security or social and public interest.

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose vehicles by PRC residents may subject our PRC-resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to liability or penalties, limit our ability to make capital contributions into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits to us, or otherwise adversely affect our financial position.

Under several regulations promulgated by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the People’s Republic of China, or SAFE, PRC residents and PRC corporate entities are required to register with and obtain approval from local branches of SAFE or designated qualified foreign exchange banks in China in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. In addition, any PRC resident who is a direct or indirect shareholder of an offshore company is required to update the previously filed registration with the local branch of SAFE, with respect to any material change involving that offshore company, such as an increase or decrease in capital, transfer or swap of shares, merger or division. These regulations apply to all direct and indirect shareholders and beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents, or PRC-Resident Shareholders, and may apply to any offshore acquisitions that we make in the future. To the best of our knowledge, as of the date of this annual report, each of our principal shareholders who is required to make the foreign exchange registration under SAFE Circular 37 had completed such registration. However, we may not at all times be fully aware or informed of the identities of all the PRC residents holding direct or indirect interests in our company, and we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders and beneficial owners who are PRC residents will comply with these foreign exchange regulations.

If any PRC-Resident Shareholder fails to make the required registration or update a previously filed registration, our PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may also be prohibited from injecting additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the various foreign exchange registration requirements described above could result in liability on the related PRC-Resident shareholder or our PRC subsidiaries under the PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.

Our auditor, like other independent registered public accounting firms operating in China, is not permitted to be subject to inspection by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and consequently investors may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issued the audit report included elsewhere in this registration statement, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with applicable professional standards. Our auditor is located in, and organized under the laws of, the PRC, which is a jurisdiction where the PCAOB, has been unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities. In May 2013, PCAOB announced that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Enforcement Cooperation with the CSRC and the PRC Ministry of Finance, which establishes a cooperative framework between the parties for the production and exchange of audit documents relevant to investigations undertaken by PCAOB, the CSRC or the PRC Ministry of Finance in the United States and the PRC, respectively. PCAOB continues to be in discussions with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, and the PRC Ministry of Finance to permit joint inspections in China of audit firms that are registered with PCAOB and audit Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges.

On December 7, 2018, the SEC and the PCAOB issued a joint statement highlighting continued challenges faced by the U.S. regulators in their oversight of financial statement audits of U.S.-listed companies with significant

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operations in China. However, it remains unclear what further actions, if any, the SEC and PCAOB will take to address the problem.

This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from fully evaluating audits and quality control procedures of our independent registered public accounting firm. As a result, we and investors in our ordinary shares are deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in our stock to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.

Proceedings instituted by the SEC against “big four” PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

Starting in 2011 “big four” PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, were affected by a conflict between U.S. and Chinese law. Specifically, for certain U.S.-listed companies operating and audited in mainland China, the SEC and the PCAOB sought to obtain from the Chinese firms access to their audit work papers and related documents. The firms were, however, advised and directed that under Chinese law, they could not respond directly to the U.S. regulators on those requests, and that requests by foreign regulators for access to such papers in China had to be channeled through the CSRC.

In late 2012, this impasse led the SEC to commence administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm. A first instance trial of the proceedings in July 2013 in the SEC’s internal administrative court resulted in an adverse judgment against the firms. The administrative law judge proposed penalties on the firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC, although that proposed penalty did not take effect pending review by the Commissioners of the SEC. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the Commissioner had taken place, the firms reached a settlement with the SEC. Under the settlement, the SEC accepted that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents will normally be made to the CSRC. The firms were to receive matching Section 106 requests, and were required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. If they failed to meet specified criteria, the SEC retained authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms depending on the nature of the failure.

Under the terms of the settlement, the underlying proceeding against the four China-based accounting firms was deemed dismissed with prejudice four years after entry of the settlement. The four-year mark occurred on February 6, 2019. While we cannot predict if the SEC will further challenge the four China-based accounting firms’ compliance with U.S. law in connection with U.S. regulatory requests for audit work papers or if the results of such a challenge would result in the SEC imposing penalties such as suspensions. If additional remedial measures are imposed on the “big four” PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act.

In the event the “big four” PRC-based accounting firms become subject to additional legal challenges by the SEC or PCAOB, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in China, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, U.S.-listed companies and the market price of our common stock may be adversely affected.

If our independent registered public accounting firm was denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delisting of the ADSs from the Nasdaq Global Market or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of the ADSs in the United States.

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Our corporate structure may restrict our ability to receive dividends from, and transfer funds to, our PRC operating subsidiaries, which could restrict our ability to act in response to changing market conditions in a timely manner.

We are a Cayman Islands holding company and a certain portion of our operations are conducted through our operating subsidiaries. The ability of our operating subsidiaries to make dividend and other payments to us may be restricted by factors that include changes in applicable foreign exchange and other laws and regulations.

In particular, under the PRC law, each of our PRC operating subsidiaries may only pay dividends after 10% of its net profit has been set aside as reserve funds, unless such reserves have reached at least 50% of its registered capital. In addition, the profit available for distribution from our PRC operating subsidiaries is determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the PRC. This calculation may differ if it were performed in accordance with U.S. GAAP. As a result, we may not have sufficient distributions from our PRC operating subsidiaries to enable necessary profit distributions to our shareholders in the future, which would be based upon our financial statements prepared under U.S. GAAP.

Distributions by our PRC operating subsidiaries to us other than as dividends may be subject to governmental approval and taxation. Any transfer of funds from our company to our PRC operating subsidiaries, either as a shareholder loan or as an increase in registered capital, is subject to registration or approval of PRC governmental authorities, including the relevant administration of foreign exchange and/or the relevant examining and approval authority. These limitations on the free flow of funds between us and our PRC subsidiaries could restrict our ability to act in response to changing market conditions in a timely manner.

Dividends payable by us to our foreign investors and gains on the sale of the ADSs may become subject to withholding taxes under the PRC tax laws.

Under the EIT Law and EIT Implementation Rules, our foreign corporate shareholders may be subject to a 10% income tax upon any gains realized from the transfer of their ADSs and dividends distributable to such foreign corporate shareholder, if such income is regarded as income from “sources within the PRC.” According to the EIT Implementation Rules, whether income generated from transferring equity investments is to be regarded as sources within the PRC or from foreign territory shall depend upon the locations in which the enterprises accepting the equity investment are located. However, it is unclear whether income received by our shareholders will be deemed to be income from sources within the PRC and whether there will be any exemption or reduction in taxation for our foreign corporate shareholders due to the promulgation of the EIT Law. If our foreign corporate shareholders are required to pay PRC income tax on the transfers of the ADSs that they hold or on the gains on the sale of the ADSs by them, the value of our foreign corporate shareholders’ investments in the ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

We may be classified as a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, which could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders.

The EIT Law provides that enterprises established outside of the PRC whose “de facto management bodies” are located in the PRC are considered “resident enterprises” and are generally subject to the uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate on their worldwide income. In addition, a circular issued by the State Administration of Taxation on April 22, 2009 regarding the standards used to classify certain Chinese-invested enterprises controlled by Chinese enterprises or Chinese group enterprises and established outside of the PRC as “resident enterprises” clarified that dividends and other income paid by such “resident enterprises” will be considered to be PRC source income, subject to PRC withholding tax, currently at a rate of 10%, when recognized by non-PRC enterprise shareholders. This circular also subjects such “resident enterprises” to various reporting requirements with the PRC tax authorities. Under the implementation regulations to the enterprise income tax, a “de facto management body” is defined as a body that has material and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel and human resources, finances and properties of an enterprise. In addition, the circular mentioned above sets out criteria for determining whether “de facto management bodies” are located in the PRC for overseas incorporated, domestically controlled enterprises. However, as this circular only applies to enterprises established outside of the PRC that are controlled by PRC enterprises or groups of PRC enterprises, it remains unclear how the tax authorities will determine the location of “de facto management bodies” for overseas incorporated enterprises that are controlled by individual PRC residents like us and some of our subsidiaries. Therefore, although substantially all of our management is currently located in the PRC, it remains unclear whether the PRC tax authorities would require or permit our overseas registered entities to be treated as PRC resident enterprises. We do not currently consider our company to be a PRC resident enterprise. However, if the PRC tax

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authorities disagree with our assessment and determine that we are a “resident enterprise” we may be subject to enterprise income tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide income and dividends paid by us to our non-PRC shareholders as well as capital gains recognized by them with respect to the sale of the ADSs may be subject to a PRC withholding tax.

This will have an impact on our effective tax rate, a material adverse effect on our net income and results of operations, and may require us to withhold tax on our non-PRC shareholders.

Government control of foreign currency conversion may affect the value of your investment.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the r