Trident Digital Tech Holdings Ltd Unsponsored ADR (TDTH) Risk Analysis

Our ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We cannot assure you that a liquid public market for our ADSs will continue to exist. If an active public market for our ADSs does not continue to exist, the market price and liquidity of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected. As a result, investors in our securities may experience a significant decrease in the value of their ADSs.

To continue listing our Class B ordinary shares on Nasdaq, we are required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq's continued listing requirements. On May 13, 2025, the Company was notified by Nasdaq of its failure to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share for 32 consecutive business days under the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the "Minimum Bid Price Requirement") and its failure to maintain a minimum market value of listed securities of US$35,000,000 for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) (the "Minimum Market Value Requirement"), respectively. The Company was given its first 180-day extension, or until November 10, 2025 to regain compliance. On July 30, 2025, the Company received a letter from Nasdaq notifying the Company that it had regained compliance with the Minimum Market Value Requirement and the matter had been closed. On July 31, 2025, the Company received a letter from Nasdaq notifying the Company that it had regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement and the matter had been closed. On October 28, 2025, the Company was again notified by Nasdaq of its failure to maintain a minimum bid price of US$1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days under the Minimum Bid Price Requirement, and was given a compliance period of 180-day extension, or until April 27, 2026 to regain compliance. The Company intends to monitor the closing bid price of its securities and will consider its options in order to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement. On March 26, 2026, the Company was notified by Nasdaq of its failure to maintain a minimum market value of listed securities of US$35,000,000 under the Minimum Market Value Requirement. The Company was given 180-day extension, or until September 22, 2026, to regain compliance. The Company intends to continue to monitor the market value of its securities and will consider its options in order to regain compliance with the Minimum Market Value Requirement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet Nasdaq's other continued listing standards. If our ADSs are delisted by Nasdaq, and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, then we could face significant material adverse consequences, including: - less liquid trading market for our securities;- more limited market quotations for our securities;- determination that our ADSs are a "penny stock" that requires brokers to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;- more limited research coverage by stock analysts;- loss of reputation; and - more difficult and more expensive equity financings in the future.

We are an "emerging growth company," as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (the "JOBS Act"), and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, most significantly, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 for so long as we remain an emerging growth company. As a result, if we elect not to comply with such auditor attestation requirements, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deem important. The JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until such date that a private company is otherwise required to comply with such new or revised accounting standards. This election allows us to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies, and as a result of this election our financial statements may not be comparable to those of companies that comply with public company effective dates, including other emerging growth companies that have not made this election.

We have a multi-class share structure such that our ordinary shares consist of Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and Class C ordinary shares. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, holders of Class B ordinary share and Class C ordinary shares will be entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class A ordinary shares will be entitled to 60 votes per share based on our multi-class share structure. Our ADSs representing Class B ordinary shares are listed on Nasdaq Capital Market. Each Class A ordinary share and Class C ordinary share is convertible into one Class B ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof, while Class B ordinary shares are not convertible into Class A ordinary shares or Class C ordinary shares under any circumstances. Our founder, chairman of board of directors and chief executive officer, Mr. Soon Huat Lim, together beneficially own all of our issued Class A ordinary shares. These Class A ordinary shares constitute approximately 4.41% of our total issued and outstanding share capital as of the date of this annual report and 73.48% of the aggregate voting power of our total issued and outstanding share capital due to the disparate voting powers associated with our dual-class share structure. As a result of the multi-class share structure and the concentration of ownership, holders of our Class A ordinary shares will have considerable influence over matters such as decisions regarding mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. They may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the effect of depriving our other shareholders of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the market price of our ADSs. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class B ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

We cannot predict whether our multi-class share structure with different voting rights will result in a lower or more volatile market price of the ADSs, adverse publicity, or other adverse consequences. Certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multi-class share structures in certain of their indices. For example, S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell have changed their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain indices, including the S&P 500, to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares and companies whose public shareholders hold no more than 5% of total voting power from being added to such indices. As a result, our multi-class voting structure may prevent the inclusion of the ADSs representing our Class B ordinary shares in such indices, which could adversely affect the trading price and liquidity of the ADSs representing our Class B ordinary shares. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structure and our multi-class structure may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance, in which case the market price and liquidity of the ADSs could be adversely affected.

The trading market for the ADSs will be influenced by research or reports that industry or securities analysts publish about our business. If one or more analysts who cover us downgrade the ADSs, the market price for the ADSs would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for the ADSs to decline.

Our Memorandum and Articles of Association contain provisions to limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company or cause us to engage in change-of-control transactions. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with our ordinary shares, including ordinary shares represented by ADSs. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of the ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our ordinary shares and the ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or, if the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular dispute, the state courts in New York County, New York) is the exclusive forum within the United States for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising out of or relating in any way to the federal securities laws of the United States, regardless of whether such legal suit, action, or proceeding also involves parties other than our company. The deposit agreement provides that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or, if the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular dispute, the state courts in New York County, New York) shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any suit, action or proceeding and to settle any dispute between the holders and beneficial owners of ADSs on the one hand and us or the depositary on the other hand that may arise out of or relate in any way to the deposit agreement including without limitation claims under the Exchange Act or Securities Act. The enforceability of similar federal court choice of forum provisions in other companies' organizational documents has been challenged in legal proceedings in the United States, and it is possible that a court could find this type of provision to be inapplicable or unenforceable. If a court were to find the federal choice of forum provision contained in our Memorandum and Articles of Association or the deposit agreement to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions. If upheld, the forum selection clause in our Memorandum and Articles of Association, as well as the forum selection provision in the deposit agreement, may limit a security-holder's ability to bring a claim against us, our directors and officers, the depositary, and potentially others in his or her preferred judicial forum, and this limitation may discourage such lawsuits. Holders of our shares or the ADSs will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the regulations promulgated thereunder pursuant to the exclusive forum provision in the Memorandum and Articles of Association and deposit agreement. In any case, with respect to Securities Act claims, Holders of our shares or the ADSs cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights as our registered shareholders. As a holder of ADSs, you will not have any direct right to attend general meetings of our shareholders or to cast any votes at such meetings. You will only be able to exercise the voting rights attached to the ordinary shares underlying your ADSs indirectly by giving voting instructions to the depositary in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Where any matter is to be put to a vote at a general meeting, then upon receipt of your voting instructions, the depositary will try, as far as is practicable, to vote the underlying ordinary shares represented by your ADSs as follows: - In the event of voting by show of hands, the depositary bank will vote (or cause the custodian to vote) all ordinary shares held on deposit at that time in accordance with the voting instructions received from a majority of holders of ADSs who provide timely voting instructions. - In the event of voting by poll, the depository bank will vote (or cause the custodian to vote) the ordinary shares held on deposit in accordance with the voting instructions received from the holders of ADSs. You will not be able to directly exercise your right to vote with respect to the underlying ordinary shares unless you withdraw the shares represented by the ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date for the general meeting. When a general meeting is convened, you may not receive sufficient advance notice of the meeting to withdraw the ordinary shares represented by your ADSs and become the registered holder of such shares to allow you to attend the general meeting and to vote directly with respect to any specific matter or resolution to be considered and voted upon at the general meeting. In addition, under our Memorandum and Articles of Association, for the purposes of determining those shareholders who are entitled to attend and vote at any general meeting, our directors may close our register of members and/or fix in advance a record date for such meeting, and such closure of our register of members or the setting of such a record date may prevent you from withdrawing the underlying ordinary shares represented by your ADSs and from becoming the registered holder of such shares prior to the record date, so that you would not be able to attend the general meeting or to vote directly. Where any matter is to be put to a vote at a general meeting, upon our instruction the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote the underlying ordinary shares represented by your ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out your voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to direct how the underlying ordinary shares represented by your ADSs are voted and you may have no legal remedy if the underlying ordinary shares represented by your ADSs are not voted as you requested. In addition, in your capacity as an ADS holder, you will not be able to call a shareholders' meeting. Under the deposit agreement, if voting is by poll and the depositary does not timely receive voting instructions from you, you are deemed to have instructed the depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us to vote the Class B ordinary shares represented by the ADSs you hold; provided, however, that no such discretionary proxy shall be given with respect to any matter to be voted upon as to which we inform the depositary that (i) we do not wish such proxy to be given, (ii) substantial opposition exists, or (iii) the rights of holders of ordinary shares may be adversely affected. The effect of this discretionary proxy is that you cannot prevent the underlying ordinary shares represented by the ADSs from being voted, except under the circumstances described above. This may make it more difficult for ADS holders to influence the management of the company. Holders of ordinary shares are not subject to this discretionary proxy.

Under the deposit agreement, any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving us or the depositary, arising out of or relating in any way to the deposit agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby or by virtue of owning the ADSs may only be instituted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (or, if the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a particular dispute, in the state courts in New York County, New York), and a holder of our ADSs, will have irrevocably waived any objection which such holder may have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such action or proceeding. Accepting or consenting to this forum selection provision does not represent you are waiving compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Furthermore, investors cannot waive compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

We are entitled to amend the deposit agreement and to change the rights of the ADS holders under the terms of such agreement, without the prior consent of the ADS holders. We and the depositary may agree to amend the deposit agreement in any way we decide is necessary or advantageous to us. Amendments may reflect, among other things, operational changes in the ADS program, legal developments affecting ADSs or changes in the terms of our business relationship with the depositary. In the event that the terms of an amendment impose or increase fees or charges (other than taxes and other governmental charges, registration fees, cable (including SWIFT) or facsimile transmission costs, delivery costs or other such expenses) or that would otherwise prejudice any substantial existing right of the ADS holders, such amendment will not become effective as to outstanding ADSs until the expiration of 30 days after notice of that amendment has been disseminated to the ADS holders, but no prior consent of the ADS holders is required under the deposit agreement. Furthermore, we may decide to terminate the ADS facility at any time for any reason. For example, terminations may occur when the ADSs are delisted from the stock exchange in the United States on which the ADSs are listed and we do not list the ADSs on another stock exchange in the United States, nor is there a symbol available for over-the-counter trading of the ADSs in the United States. If the ADS facility will terminate, ADS holders will receive at least 90 days' prior notice, but no prior consent is required from them. Under the circumstances that we decide to make an amendment to the deposit agreement that is disadvantageous to ADS holders or terminate the deposit agreement, the ADS holders may choose to sell their ADSs or surrender their ADSs and become direct holders of the underlying ordinary shares, but will have no right to any compensation whatsoever.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act, and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against our directors, actions by our minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States. Under Cayman Islands law, the address of a Cayman company's registered office in the Cayman Islands, and the name of its registered office provider, are matters of public record. A list of the names of the current directors and alternate directors (if applicable) are made available by the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands for inspection by any person on payment of a fee. The register of mortgages is open to inspection by creditors and members. Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than the company's memorandum and articles of association, and any special resolutions subsequently passed by the shareholders of the company). Our directors have discretion under our Memorandum and Articles of Association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest. As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by our management, members of our board of directors or our controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States. For a discussion of significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see the section of this annual report captioned "Item 10. Additional Information - B. Memorandum and Articles of Association - Differences in Corporate Law."

We are a Cayman Islands company and all of our assets are located outside of the United States. Substantially all of our current operations are conducted in Singapore. In addition, a majority of our current directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. Substantially all of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of Singapore may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs representing our Class B ordinary shares provides that the federal or state courts in the City of New York have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine claims arising under the deposit agreement and in that regard, to the fullest extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. The waiver continues to apply to claims that arise during the period when a holder holds the ADSs, whether the ADS holder purchased the ADSs in the initial public offering or secondary transactions, even if the ADS holder subsequently withdraws the underlying Class B ordinary shares. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with the applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, we believe that a pre-dispute contractual waiver of jury trial is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York or a state court in New York County, New York. In determining whether to enforce a pre-dispute contractual waiver of jury trial, courts will generally consider whether a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. We believe that this is the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that you consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before entering into the deposit agreement. If you or any other holders or beneficial owners of ADSs bring a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, you or such other holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us and the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against either or both of us and the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have, including results that could be less favorable to the plaintiffs in any such action. Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver provision is not enforced, to the extent a court action proceeds, it would proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or ADSs shall relieve us or the depositary from our respective obligations to comply with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.

Our registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333- 274857), as amended, initially filed with the SEC on October 4, 2023, also included a resale prospectus which formed a part of the registration statement for the initial public offering. Such resale prospectus registered on behalf of Infinite Partner International Limited (the "Selling Shareholder") an aggregate of 3,125,000 ADSs representing 25,000,000 Class B ordinary shares. In addition, as of the date of this annual report, an aggregate of 349,260,650 restricted shares has been granted to consultants of our business and employees of our company in the form of Class B ordinary shares, which are vested and represented by approximately 1,455,253 ADSs. See also "Item 6. Directors, Senior Management And Employees – B. Compensation – Share Incentive Plan." The Selling Shareholder and the grantees under the 2023 Equity Incentive Plan, however, will not be required to sell any or all of their respective ADSs or, conversely, the Selling Shareholder and such grantees may choose to sell their respective ADSs at their own initiative. Sales of a substantial number of ADSs representing our Class B ordinary shares by the Selling Shareholder and such grantees could cause the market price of our ADSs to drop (possibly below the initial public offering price of our ADSs) and could impair our ability to raise capital in the future by selling additional Company securities.

Under the 2023 Equity Incentive Plan adopted on September 29, 2023, as amended and restated (the "2023 Equity Incentive Plan"), we are authorized to grant share options, restricted shares and restricted share units to our employees, directors and consultants. The maximum number of ordinary shares may be subject to awards pursuant to the 2023 Equity Incentive Plan is 230,191,250. As of the date of this annual report, an aggregate of 349,260,650 restricted shares has been granted to consultants of our business and employees of our company in the form of Class B ordinary shares, which are vested and represented by approximately 1,455,253 ADSs. See "Item 6. Directors, Senior Management And Employees-B. Compensation-Share Incentive Plan" for further details. We believe the granting of share incentive awards is of significant importance to our ability to attract and retain key personnel, employees and consultants to promote the success of our business and we may continue to grant share incentive awards in the future. The grant and vesting of shares under the 2023 Equity Incentive Plan may dilute the shareholding percentage of our existing shareholders.

We are a "controlled company" as defined under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. Mr. Soon Huat Lim, our founder, chairman of board of directors and chief executive officer beneficially owns 32.52% of our total issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing 81.28% of the total voting power. As a result, Mr. Soon Huat Lim has the ability to control or significantly influence the outcome of matters requiring approval by shareholders. For so long as we remain a controlled company under that definition, we are permitted to elect to rely, and may choose to 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. Even if we cease to be a controlled company, we may still rely on exemptions available to foreign private issuers, including being able to adopt home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters and an exemption from the rule that a majority of our board of directors must be independent directors.

Because we are a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including: - the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K with the SEC;- the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;- the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time;- the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD; and - certain audit committee independence requirements in Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act. We are, however, required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a quarterly basis through press releases, distributed pursuant to the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information which would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer. In addition, a foreign private issuer whose securities are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, is permitted to follow certain home country corporate governance practices in lieu of the requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. If we rely on exemptions available to foreign private issuers, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules to U.S. domestic issuers.