Vicarious Surgical

History

2023

Mass layoffs due to lack of money

In mid-November 2023, it was reported that the company Vicarious Surgical, which develops robotic surgeons, is undergoing a restructuring, under which a significant part of the staff will be reduced. The reason is the acute shortage of funds, which has formed against the background of a difficult macroeconomic situation, a crisis and a decrease in investor activity.

Finding itself in a difficult financial situation, Vicious Surgical in February 2023 announced a decrease in staff by about 14%. Then it was said that this was a forced measure aimed at reducing costs and allocating additional funds for research and development work. As of the beginning of 2023, the company had 165 employees. Thus, the layoffs could affect about 20-25 people.

Robot surgeon from Vicious Surgical

Previously, it made sense for the company to use more resources and consider different development scenarios in parallel in order to fully minimize risks where possible. In the current market environment, financial discipline requires a much more cost-effective, growth-focused approach, says Vicarious Surgical CEO Adam Sachs.

As of the corresponding date, there is no information about how many people will lose their jobs during the second wave of cuts in November 2023. Due to lack of money, Vicious Surgical is forced to reconsider plans to bring its robotic surgical system version 1.0 (V1.0) to market. Vicious Surgical expected to begin the first actual tests of the complex in mid-2024. The company then planned to apply for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in fiscal year 2025. However, it is now said that the assembly of the system will be completed no earlier than the fall of 2024.^[1]

Delisting from the exchange due to the collapse of the value of shares

On September 20, 2023, Vicarious Surgical, a company specializing in the development of robotic surgeons, received a notification from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) about the upcoming delisting. Vicarious Surgical securities can be withdrawn from trading due to non-compliance with minimum value requirements.

We are talking about the provision of the 802.01C rules of the NYSE. In accordance with this clause, a company may be considered not meeting listing standards if the average value of its shares is less than $1 apiece during 30 days of trading. In this case, the exchange sends a notice informing that the company must take measures to increase the value of securities above the specified mark.

Vicious Surgical gets delisting notice

Vicarious Surgical said in an official statement that the average closing price of the Class A company's common stock was less than $1 for consecutive 30 trading days. At the same time, the notification of the NYSE does not lead to the immediate exclusion of Vicious Surgical securities from quotations. The company has six months to fix the situation.

The firm, Vicarious Surgical, intends to consider various options to address the issue. This can be, in particular, a reverse split of shares: a change in the number of securities traded on the exchange by consolidating the initial number of shares. Capitalization in this case remains unchanged, the number of securities is reduced, and their value is increased in accordance with the consolidation ratio. Such a procedure requires approval from the board of directors and shareholders. If Vicious Surgical can raise the value of securities above $1 and hold this result for an average of 30 trading days, the company will be able to maintain a presence on the New York Stock Exchange.^[2]

Notes