Form: S-8

Initial registration statement for securities to be offered to employees pursuant to employee benefit plans

June 21, 2023

 

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 20, 2023

Registration No. 333-

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

VERITONE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

47-1161641

(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

1615 Platte Street, 2nd Floor

Denver, Colorado

80202

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(Zip Code)

Veritone Inc. 2023 Equity Incentive Plan

(Full title of the plan)

Ryan Steelberg

Chief Executive Officer

Veritone, Inc.

1615 Platte Street, 2nd Floor

Denver, Colorado 80202

Tel: 888-507-1737

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

 

Michael Zemetra

Chief Financial Officer

Veritone, Inc.

1615 Platte Street, 2nd Floor

Denver, Colorado 80202

Tel: 888-507-1737

John-Paul Motley

Logan Tiari

Cooley LLP

355 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 900

Los Angeles, California 90071

Tel: (213) 561-3250

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

Emerging growth company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.

 

 


 

Explanatory Note

Veritone, Inc. (the “Registrant”) is filing this registration statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to register the offering of 2,500,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”), of the Registrant pursuant to the Veritone, Inc. 2023 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2023 Plan”). The 2023 Plan was approved by the Registrant’s Board of Directors on March 30, 2023 and approved by the Registrant’s stockholders on June 8, 2023.

 

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTIOn 10(a) PROSPECTUS

Item 1. Plan Information.

The document(s) containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In accordance with the instructions to Part I of Form S-8, such documents will not be filed with the SEC either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 of the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

 

Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.

Upon written or oral request, the Registrant will provide, without charge, the documents incorporated by reference in Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement. The Registrant will also provide, without charge, upon written or oral request, other documents required to be delivered to employees pursuant to Rule 428(b) of the Securities Act. Requests should be directed to Secretary, Veritone, Inc., 1615 Platte St., 2nd Floor, Denver, Colorado 80202; telephone number: (888) 507-1737.

 

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

 

The following documents, which have been filed with the SEC, are incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement:

 

i.
the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023;

 

ii.
the Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement with respect to the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 8, 2023, filed with the SEC on April 27, 2023, (but only to the extent incorporated into the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022);

 

iii.
the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on May 10, 2023;

 

iv.
the Registrant’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 6, 2023, January 20, 2023, March 30, 2023, May 31, 2023 (with respect to Item 1.01, 8.01 and Exhibit 2.1 of Item 9.01 only), June 9, 2023, June 14, 2023 and June 14, 2023; and

 

v.
the description of securities contained in Exhibit 4.3 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023, together with any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating such description.

 

In addition, all documents filed by the Registrant with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (other than Current Reports on Form 8-K furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K, including any exhibits included with such information that are related to such items), after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or that deregisters all securities then

 

 


 

remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part of this Registration Statement from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the SEC shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.

Any statement contained in the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be modified, superseded, or replaced for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement modifies, supersedes, or replaces such statement. Any such statement so modified, superseded or replaced shall not be deemed, except as so modified, superseded or replaced, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

 

Not applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

The following summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Registrant’s third amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws.

Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) allows a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation will not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached the duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper personal benefit. The Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for this limitation of liability.

Section 145 of the DGCL authorizes a court to award, or a corporation’s board of directors to grant, indemnity to directors and officers in terms sufficiently broad to permit such indemnification under certain circumstances for liabilities, including reimbursement for expenses incurred, arising under the Securities Act. The Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation permits indemnification of its directors, officers and other agents of the Registrant (and any other persons to which applicable law permits the Registrant to provide indemnification) to the maximum extent permitted by the DGCL, and the Registrant’s amended and restated bylaws provide that the Registrant will indemnify its directors and executive officers and permit the Registrant to indemnify its other officers, employees and other agents, in each case to the maximum extent permitted by the DGCL.

The Registrant has entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and officers, whereby it has agreed to indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law, including indemnification against expenses and liabilities incurred in legal proceedings to which the director or officer was, or is threatened to be made, a party by reason of the fact that such director or officer is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Registrant, provided that such director or officer acted in good faith and in a manner that the director or officer reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interest of the Registrant.

The Registrant maintains insurance policies that indemnify its directors and officers against various liabilities arising under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act that might be incurred by any director or officer in his or her capacity as such.

 

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 


 

Item 8. Exhibits.

 

Incorporated by Reference

Exhibit
Number

Description

Schedule/

Form

File No.

Exhibit

Filing Date

 

3.1

Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Veritone, Inc.

Form 8-K

 

001-38093

 

3.1

 

May 23, 2017

 

3.2

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Veritone, Inc.

Form 8-K

 

001-38093

 

3.2

 

May 23, 2017

 

4.1

Specimen Common Stock Certificate.

Form S-1/A

 

333-216726

 

4.1

 

April 28, 2017

 

5.1*

Opinion of Cooley LLP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23.1*

Consent of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accounting firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23.2*

Consent of Cooley LLP (contained in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1 hereto).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

24.1*

Power of Attorney (included in the signature page of this Registration Statement).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

99.1

Veritone Inc. 2023 Equity Incentive Plan.

Form 8-K

 

001-38093

 

10.1

 

June 14, 2023

 

107*

 

Filing Fee Table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

Filed herewith.

 

 

Item 9. Undertakings.

(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where

 

 


 

applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

 

 

 

 


 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Denver, State of Colorado, on this 20th day of June, 2023.

VERITONE, INC.

By:

/s/ Ryan Steelberg

Ryan Steelberg

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Ryan Steelberg and Michael L. Zemetra, and each of them, as his or her true and lawful agents, proxies and attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Registration Statement (including post-effective amendments), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or his or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature

Title

Date

/s/ Ryan Steelberg

President and Chief Executive Officer

June 20, 2023

Ryan Steelberg

(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Michael L. Zemetra

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

June 20, 2023

Michael L. Zemetra

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/ Chad Steelberg

Director

June 20, 2023

Chad Steelberg

/s/ Jeff P. Gehl

Director

June 20, 2023

Jeff P. Gehl

/s/ Knute P. Kurtz

Director

June 20, 2023

Knute P. Kurtz

/s/ Richard H. Taketa

Director

June 20, 2023

Richard H. Taketa