Versus Systems (VS) Risk Analysis

Our common stock is listed on Nasdaq, and we are therefore subject to its continued listing requirements, including requirements with respect to the market value of publicly held shares, market value of listed shares, minimum bid price per share, minimum stockholders' equity, annual meetings of shareholders, among others, and requirements relating to board and committee independence. If we fail to satisfy one or more of the requirements, we may be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market. During 2025, we were previously not in compliance with the annual meeting of shareholders threshold, but subsequently regained compliance within the permitted cure period, including by holding the required annual meeting on June 20, 2025. As a result, we are currently in compliance with applicable Nasdaq listing requirements. We are currently not in compliance with Nasdaq's stockholders' equity requirement and expect to receive formal notification of non-compliance from Nasdaq shortly after filing this Form 10-K. We will have 45 calendar days from the date the notice is delivered from Nasdaq to provide to Nasdaq a compliance plan for regaining (and maintaining) compliance with the $2.5 million stockholders' equity threshold. Acceptance of the plan is at Nasdaq's discretion. If the Company's plan is accepted, Nasdaq will grant the Company an extension of up to 180 calendar days from the date the Company received the notice of deficiency. However, if the Company does not then timely regain compliance, the stock will be delisted. Delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market may adversely affect our ability to raise additional financing through the public or private sale of equity securities, may significantly affect the ability of investors to trade our securities and may negatively affect the value and liquidity of our common stock. Delisting also could have other negative results, including the potential loss of employee confidence, the loss of institutional investors or interest in business development opportunities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance with all Nasdaq continued listing standards in the future. If we are unable to maintain such compliance, our securities may be delisted from Nasdaq. Delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market may adversely affect our ability to raise additional financing through the public or private sale of equity securities, may significantly affect the ability of investors to trade our securities and may negatively affect the value and liquidity of our common stock. Delisting also could have other negative results, including the potential loss of employee confidence, the loss of institutional investors or interest in business development opportunities. If we are delisted from Nasdaq and we are not able to list our common stock on another exchange, our common stock could be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board or in the "pink sheets." As a result, we could face significant adverse consequences including, among others: - a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;- a determination that our common stock is a "penny stock" which will require brokers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;- a limited amount of news and little or no analyst coverage for us;- an inability to qualify for exemptions from state securities registration requirements, which may require us to comply with applicable state securities laws; and - a decreased ability to issue additional securities (including pursuant to registration statements on Form S-3) or obtain additional financing in the future.

Our share price is highly volatile. During the period from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025, the closing price of our common shares ranged from a high of $2.81 per share to a low of $1.21 per share. The stock market in general has experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of companies; however, the fluctuation in the price of our common shares is still larger than the stock market in general. As a result of this volatility, you may not be able to sell your common shares at or above the price at which you purchased your common shares and you may lose some or all of your investment. In addition to the general volatility risks of the market, our common shares, we may experience extreme stock price volatility unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our common shares. As a company with a relatively small public float, our common shares may experience greater stock price volatility, extreme price run-ups, lower trading volume, large spreads in bid and asked prices, and less liquidity than large-capitalization companies. The aspects of the trading in the common shares may be unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the value of our common shares. Because of the low public float and the absence of any significant trading volume, the public offering price may not reflect the price at which you would be able to sell shares if you want to sell any shares you own or buy shares if you wish to buy share. If the trading volumes of the common shares are low, persons buying or selling in relatively small quantities may easily influence the prices of the common shares. A low volume of trades could also cause the price of the common shares to fluctuate greatly, with large percentage changes in price occurring in any trading day session. Broad market fluctuations and general economic and political conditions may also adversely affect the market price of the common shares. The volatility also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional common shares or other securities and our ability to obtain stock market based financing in the future. No assurance can be given that an active market in our common shares will develop or be sustained.

The market prices of our common shares have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations and the prices of such securities are likely to be highly volatile in the future. You may not be able to resell our common shares following periods of volatility because of the market's adverse reaction to volatility. Other factors that could cause such volatility may include, among other things: - actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;- the absence of securities analysts covering us and distributing research and recommendations about us;- we may have a low trading volume for several reasons, including that a large portion of our stock is closely held;- overall stock market fluctuations;- announcements concerning our business or those of our competitors;- actual or perceived limitations on our ability to raise capital when we require it, and to raise such capital on favorable terms;- conditions or trends in the industry;- litigation;- changes in market valuations of other similar companies;- future sales of common shares;- departure of key personnel or failure to hire key personnel; and - general market conditions. Any of these factors could have a significant and adverse impact on the market prices of our common shares. In addition, the stock market in general has at times experienced extreme volatility and rapid decline that has often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading prices of our common shares, regardless of our actual operating performance.

Cronus Equity Capital Group, LLC ("Cronus"), beneficially owns 20.20% of our outstanding common shares, and ASPIS Cyber Technologies, Inc ("ASPIS"), beneficially owns 43.97% of our outstanding common shares, which allows Cronus and ASPIS to exert substantial influence over matters such as electing directors and approving mergers or other business combination transactions. As a result, Cronus and ASPIS possesses a substantial ability to impact our management and affairs and the outcome of matters submitted to shareholders for approval. In addition, this concentration of ownership and voting power may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common shares as part of a sale of our company and might reduce the price of our common shares. These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by our other shareholders. See "Principal Shareholders" for more information.

In the past, our common shares were a "penny stock" under applicable SEC rules (generally defined as non-exchange traded stock with a per-share price below US$5.00). While our common shares are not currently considered "penny stock" because they are listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, if we are unable to maintain that listing and our common shares are no longer listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, unless we maintain a per-share price above $5.00, our common shares will be considered "penny stock." These rules impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that recommend the purchase or sale of penny stocks to persons other than those who qualify as "established customers" or "accredited investors." For example, broker-dealers must determine the appropriateness for non-qualifying persons of investments in penny stocks. Broker-dealers must also provide, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, disclose the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, furnish monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer's account, provide a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser, and receive the purchaser's written agreement to the transaction. Legal remedies available to an investor in "penny stocks" may include the following: - If a "penny stock" is sold to the investor in violation of the requirements listed above, or other federal or states securities laws, the investor may be able to cancel the purchase and receive a refund of the investment. - If a "penny stock" is sold to the investor in a fraudulent manner, the investor may be able to sue the persons and firms that committed the fraud for damages. These requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity, if any, in the secondary market for a security that becomes subject to the penny stock rules. The additional burdens imposed upon broker dealers by such requirements may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our securities, which could severely limit the market price and liquidity of our securities. These requirements may restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our common shares and may affect your ability to resell our common shares. Many brokerage firms will discourage or refrain from recommending investments in penny stocks. Most institutional investors will not invest in penny stocks. In addition, many individual investors will not invest in penny stocks due, among other reasons, to the increased financial risk generally associated with these investments. For these reasons, penny stocks may have a limited market and, consequently, limited liquidity. We can give no assurance at what time, if ever, our common shares will not be classified as a "penny stock" in the future.

We are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment includes disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC following the date we are no longer an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. We will be required to disclose significant changes made in our internal control procedures on a quarterly basis. We are beginning the costly and challenging process of compiling the system and processing documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404, and we may not be able to complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. Our compliance with Section 404 requires that we incur substantial accounting expenses and expend significant management efforts. We may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge and compile the system and process documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404. During the evaluation and testing process of our internal controls, if we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We cannot assure you that there will not be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition or results of operations. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common shares could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Failure to remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

We are an "emerging growth company" within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common shares held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of any November 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following May 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our consolidated financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

As a reporting company under the Exchange Act, and particularly after we are no longer an "emerging growth company," we will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies. Compliance with these laws and regulations has increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly. Our management and other personnel must devote a substantial amount of time to compliance with these requirements. Moreover, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain directors' and officers' liability insurance, which could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional future costs we will incur as a public company or the timing of such costs.