As submitted for confidential review with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 8, 2018. This draft registration statement has not been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and all information herein remains strictly confidential.

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

TWIST BIOSCIENCE CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

455 Mission Bay Boulevard South, Suite 545

San Francisco, CA 94158

(800) 719-0671

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

Emily M. Leproust

President and Chief Executive Officer

Twist Bioscience Corporation

455 Mission Bay Boulevard South, Suite 545

San Francisco, CA 94158

(800) 719-0671

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

COPIES TO:

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:

As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.   ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (check one):

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 to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.   ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to completion, dated     , 2018

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

            shares

Common stock

This is the initial public offering of shares of common stock of Twist Bioscience Corporation. Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price is expected to be between $        and $        per share.

We intend to apply to list our common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “TWST.”

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, we have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this prospectus and future filings.

We have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to                additional shares of common stock from us at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions, solely to cover overallotments.

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. See the section entitled “Risk factors” beginning on page 17 to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of our common stock.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of common stock to purchasers on or about                , 2018.

Joint book running managers

Co-managers

                , 2018

Table of contents

NEITHER WE NOR THE UNDERWRITERS HAVE AUTHORIZED ANYONE TO PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION OR TO MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OTHER THAN THOSE CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS OR IN ANY FREE WRITING PROSPECTUSES WE HAVE PREPARED. NEITHER WE NOR THE UNDERWRITERS TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR, AND CAN PROVIDE NO ASSURANCE AS TO THE RELIABILITY OF, ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT OTHERS MAY GIVE YOU. THIS PROSPECTUS IS AN OFFER TO SELL ONLY THE SHARES OFFERED HEREBY, BUT ONLY UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES AND IN JURISDICTIONS WHERE IT IS LAWFUL TO DO SO. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PROSPECTUS IS CURRENT ONLY AS OF ITS DATE.

For investors outside of the United States: We have not, and the underwriters have not, done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than the United States. Persons outside of the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of common stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside of the United States.

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“Twist Bioscience,” and “Sequencespace” are registered trademarks in the U.S. and, in some cases, in certain other countries and our logo is an unregistered trademark of Twist Bioscience Corporation. All other brand names or trademarks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders. Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names in this prospectus are referred to without the ^® and ™ symbols, but such references should not be construed as any indicator that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto.

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Risk factors

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before deciding whether to purchase shares of our common stock. If any of the following risks is realized, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Risks related to our business

We are an early stage company with limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluate our current business and predict our future performance.

We are an early stage company and have a limited operating history. We were incorporated in February 2013 and began commercial operations in April 2016. Prior to engaging in commercial operations, we focused on research and development of DNA synthesis. Our revenue for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 and 2017 was $2.3 million and $10.8 million, respectively. We may never achieve commercial success and we have limited historical financial data upon which we may base our projected revenue. We also have limited historical financial data upon which we may base our planned operating expense or upon which you may evaluate our business and our prospects. Based on our limited experience in developing and marketing new products, we may not be able to effectively:

In addition, a high percentage of our expenses have been and will continue to be fixed. Accordingly, if we do not generate revenue as and when anticipated, our losses may be greater than expected and our operating results will suffer. You should consider the risks and difficulties frequently encountered by companies like ours in new and rapidly evolving markets when making a decision to invest in our common stock.

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We have incurred net losses in every period to date, and we expect to continue to incur significant losses as we develop our business and may never achieve profitability.

We have incurred net losses in each year since inception and have generated limited revenue from product sales to date. We expect to incur increasing costs as we grow our business. We cannot be certain if or when we will produce sufficient revenue from our operations to support our costs. Even if profitability is achieved, we may not be able to sustain profitability. We incurred net losses of $44.1 million and $59.3 million for the years ended September 30, 2016 and 2017, respectively. As of September 30, 2017, we had an accumulated deficit of $139.6 million. We expect to incur substantial losses and negative cash flow for the foreseeable future. In addition, as a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. These increased expenses will make it harder for us to achieve and sustain future profitability. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, many of which are beyond our control, including the other risks described in this prospectus, the market acceptance of our products, future product development and our market penetration and margins.

Our consolidated financial statements contain a going concern qualification.

Our annual audited consolidated financial statements contain a going concern qualification. We have incurred net losses and used significant cash in operating activities since inception and have an accumulated deficit of $139.6 million and working capital of $58.4 million as of September 30, 2017. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on our ability to raise adequate capital to fund operating losses until we are able to engage in profitable business operations. To the extent financing is not available, we may not be able to develop, or may be delayed in developing, our products and meeting our obligations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional debt or equity capital required in order to continue our operations on terms acceptable to us or at all.

We will require additional financing to achieve our goals, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product manufacturing and development and other operations.

Since our inception, substantially all of our resources have been dedicated to the development of our DNA synthesis platform. Net cash used in operating activities was $38.6 million and $51.3 million for the years ended September 30, 2016 and 2017, respectively. As of September 30, 2017, we had working capital of $58.4 million and capital resources consisting of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $62.2 million. We believe that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future as we expand into additional markets we may choose to pursue. These expenditures are expected to include costs associated with research and development, manufacturing and supply as well as marketing and selling existing and new products. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise.

After giving effect to the anticipated net proceeds from this offering, we expect that our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will be sufficient to fund our planned operating expenses, capital expenditure requirements and debt service payments through at least the next 12 months. However, our operating plan may change as a result of factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financings or other sources, such as strategic collaborations. Such financing may result in dilution to stockholders, imposition of debt covenants and repayment obligations, or other restrictions that may adversely affect our business. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans.

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Our future capital requirements depend on many factors, including:

Additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available to us on a timely basis, we may be required to:

If we are unable to maintain adequate revenue growth or do not successfully manage such growth, our business and growth prospects will be harmed.

We have experienced significant revenue growth in a short period of time. We may not achieve similar growth rates in future periods. Investors should not rely on our operating results for any prior periods as an indication of our future operating performance. To effectively manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to maintain and enhance our manufacturing, sales, financial and customer support administration systems, processes and controls. Failure to effectively manage our anticipated growth could lead us to over-invest or under-invest in development, operational, and administrative infrastructure; result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, systems, or controls; give rise to operational mistakes, losses, loss of customers, productivity or business opportunities; and result in loss of employees and reduced productivity of remaining employees.

Our continued growth could require significant capital expenditures and might divert financial resources from other projects such as the development of new products and services. As additional products are commercialized, we may need to incorporate new equipment, implement new technology systems, or hire new personnel with different qualifications. Failure to manage this growth or transition could result in turnaround time delays, higher manufacturing costs, declining product quality, deteriorating customer service, and slower responses to competitive challenges. A failure in any one of these areas could make it difficult for us to meet market expectations for our products, and could damage our reputation and the prospects for our business.

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If our management is unable to effectively manage our anticipated growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our revenue could decline or grow more slowly than expected and we may be unable to implement our business strategy. The quality of our products may suffer, which could negatively affect our reputation and harm our ability to retain and attract customers.

The estimates of market opportunity and forecasts of market growth included in this prospectus may prove to be inaccurate, and even if the market in which we compete achieves the forecasted growth, our business could fail to grow at similar rates, if at all.

Market opportunity estimates and growth forecasts are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may not prove to be accurate. For example, several of the reports rely on discussions with industry thought leaders, employ projections of future applications of synthetic biology and next generation sequencing technology in major end-user market segments and by technology type, and incorporate data from secondary sources such as company websites as well as industry, trade and government publications. The estimates and forecasts in this prospectus relating to the size and expected growth of our market may prove to be inaccurate. Even if the market in which we compete meets the size estimates and growth forecasted in this prospectus, our business could fail to grow at the rate we anticipate, if at all.

Our quarterly and annual operating results and cash flows have fluctuated in the past and might continue to fluctuate, causing the value of our common stock to decline substantially.

Numerous factors, many of which are outside our control, may cause or contribute to significant fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results. These fluctuations may make financial planning and forecasting difficult. In addition, these fluctuations may result in unanticipated decreases in our available cash, which could negatively affect our business and prospects. In addition, one or more of such factors may cause our revenue or operating expenses in one period to be disproportionately higher or lower relative to the others. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis might not be meaningful. You should not rely on our past results as indicative of our future performance. Moreover, our stock price might be based on expectations of future performance that are unrealistic or that we might not meet and, if our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our common stock could decline substantially.

Our operating results have varied in the past. As a result, our operating results could be unpredictable, particularly on a quarterly basis. In addition to other risk factors listed in this section, some of the important factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results are further described in “Risk factors—Risks relating to owning our stock and this offering.”

In addition, a significant portion of our operating expense is relatively fixed in nature, and planned expenditures are based in part on expectations regarding future revenue. Accordingly, unexpected revenue shortfalls might decrease our gross margins and could cause significant changes in our operating results from quarter to quarter. If this occurs, the trading price of our common stock could fall substantially.

If we are unable to attract new customers and retain and grow sales from our existing customers, our business will be materially and adversely affected.

In order to grow our business, we must continue to attract new customers and retain and grow sales from our existing customers on a cost-effective basis. To do this, we aim to attract new and existing buyers of synthetic DNA, convert makers of synthetic DNA into buyers of synthetic DNA, and achieve widespread market acceptance by delivering both our current product offerings and new products and technologies at low-cost, with high-quality, reliable turn-around times and throughput, superior e-commerce services and effective technical support. For additional information on our growth strategy, see the section of this prospectus

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captioned “Business—Business strategy.” We cannot guarantee that our efforts to provide these key requirements will be consistently acceptable to, and meet the performance expectations of, our customers and potential customers. If we are unable to successfully attract and retain customers, our business, financial position and results of operations would be negatively impacted.

Internet security poses a risk to our e-commerce sales.

We currently generate a small portion of our revenue through sales on our e-commerce platform. However, as part of our growth strategy, we intend to increase the level of customer traffic and volume of customer purchases through our e-commerce platform which we formally launched to the general public in January 2018. We manage our website and e-commerce platform internally and as a result any compromise of our security or misappropriation of proprietary information could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We rely on encryption and authentication technology licensed from third parties to provide the security and authentication necessary to effect secure Internet transmission of confidential information, such as credit and other proprietary information. Advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or other events or developments may result in a compromise or breach of the technology used by us to protect customer transaction data. Anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause material interruptions in our operations. We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against security breaches or to minimize problems caused by security breaches. To the extent that our activities or the activities of others involve the storage and transmission of proprietary information, security breaches could damage our reputation and expose us to a risk of loss and/or litigation. Our security measures may not prevent security breaches. Our failure to prevent these security breaches may result in consumer distrust and may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our actual operating results may differ significantly from our guidance.

From time to time, we plan to release guidance in our quarterly earnings conference calls, quarterly earnings releases, or otherwise, regarding our future performance that represents our management’s estimates as of the date of release. This guidance, which will include forward-looking statements, will be based on projections prepared by our management. These projections will not be prepared with a view toward compliance with published guidelines of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and neither our registered public accountants nor any other independent expert or outside party compiles or examines the projections. Accordingly, no such person will express any opinion or any other form of assurance with respect to the projections.

Projections are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while presented with numerical specificity, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control and are based upon specific assumptions with respect to future business decisions, some of which will change. We intend to state possible outcomes as high and low ranges which are intended to provide a sensitivity analysis as variables are changed but are not intended to imply that actual results could not fall outside of the suggested ranges. The principal reason that we release guidance is to provide a basis for our management to discuss our business outlook with analysts and investors. We do not accept any responsibility for any projections or reports published by any such third parties.

Guidance is necessarily speculative in nature, and it can be expected that some or all of the assumptions underlying the guidance furnished by us will not materialize or will vary significantly from actual results. Accordingly, our guidance is only an estimate of what management believes is realizable as of the date of release. Actual results may vary from our guidance and the variations may be material. In light of the foregoing, investors are urged not to rely upon our guidance in making an investment decision regarding our common stock.

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Any failure to successfully implement our operating strategy or the occurrence of any of the events or circumstances set forth in this “Risk factors” section in this prospectus could result in the actual operating results being different from our guidance, and the differences may be adverse and material.

Rapidly changing technology and extensive competition in synthetic biology could make the products we are developing and producing obsolete or non-competitive unless we continue to develop and manufacture new and improved products and pursue new market opportunities.

The synthetic biology industry is characterized by rapid and significant technological changes, frequent new product introductions and enhancements and evolving industry demands and standards. Our future success will depend on our ability to continually improve the products we are developing and producing, to develop and introduce new products that address the evolving needs of our customers on a timely and cost-effective basis and to pursue new market opportunities that develop as a result of technological and scientific advances. These new market opportunities may be outside the scope of our proven expertise or in areas which have unproven market demand, and the utility and value of new products and services developed by us may not be accepted in the markets served by the new products. Our inability to gain market acceptance of existing products in new markets or market acceptance of new products could harm our future operating results. Our future success also depends on our ability to manufacture these new and improved products to meet customer demand in a timely and cost-effective manner, including our ability to resolve manufacturing issues that may arise as we commence production of any new products we develop. Unanticipated difficulties or delays in replacing existing products with new products we introduce or in manufacturing improved or new products in sufficient quantities to meet customer demand could diminish future demand for our products and harm our future operating results.

In addition, there is extensive competition in the synthetic biology industry, and our future success will depend on our ability to maintain a competitive position with respect to technological advances. Technological development by others may result in our technologies, as well as products developed using our technologies, becoming obsolete. Our ability to compete successfully will depend on our ability to develop proprietary technologies and products that are technologically superior to and/or are less expensive than our competitors’ technologies and products. Our competitors may be able to develop competing and/or superior technologies and processes, and compete more aggressively and sustain that competition over a longer period of time.

The continued success of our business relies heavily on our disruptive technologies and products and our position in the market as a leading provider or synthetic DNA using a silicon chip.

Our future profitability will depend on our ability to successfully execute and maintain a sustainable business model and generate continuous streams of revenue. Our business model is premised on the fact that we are the only DNA synthesis provider to synthesize DNA on a silicon chip and the competitive advantages this creates. Our DNA synthesis methods, among other things, reduce the amount of raw materials required, speed up the synthesis process and deliver large volumes of high-quality synthetic DNA at low unit cost. However, if other competitors develop and commercialize a manufacturing process using a silicon chip or other similar technologies providing for the development of competitive synthetic DNA products at scale, this could be disruptive to our business model and could adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations. If we are unable to convert sufficient number of current manufacturers of synthetic DNA to buyers of our synthetic DNA, surpass our competitors regarding certain industry-related data points, and effectively implement our e-commerce platform which facilitates efficient order entry and fulfillment for our customers, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation will be adversely affected.

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A significant portion of our sales depends on customers’ capital spending budgets that may be subject to significant and unexpected variation, including seasonality.

Our customers’ spending on research and development impacts our sales and profitability. Our customers and potential customers include healthcare, agriculture, industrial chemicals and academic research sectors, and their capital spending budgets can have a significant effect on the demand for our products. Their research and development budgets are based on a wide variety of factors, including factors beyond our control, such as:

Any decrease in capital spending or change in spending priorities of our customers and potential customers could significantly reduce the demand for our products. As we expand into new geographic markets, our revenue may be impacted by seasonal trends in the different regions, the seasonality of customer capital budgets in those regions and the mix of domestic versus international sales. Moreover, we have no control over the timing and amount of purchases by these customers and potential customers, and as a result, revenue from these sources may vary significantly due to factors that can be difficult to forecast. Any delay or reduction in purchases by customers and potential customers or our inability to forecast fluctuations in demand could harm our future operating results.

We generally do not enter into long-term contracts with our customers.

Our customers generally do not have long-term contracts with us and without such contracts our customers are not obligated to order or reorder our products. As a result, we cannot accurately predict our customers’ decisions to reduce or cease purchasing our products. Additionally, even where we enter into contracts with our customers, there is no guarantee that such agreements will be negotiated on terms that are commercially favorable to us in the long term. Therefore, if many of our customers were to substantially reduce their transaction volume or cease ordering products from us, this could materially and adversely affect our financial performance.

We have limited experience in sales and marketing of our products and, as a result, may be unable to successfully increase our market share and expand our customer base.

We have limited experience in sales and marketing of our products. Our ability to achieve profitability depends on our being able to increase our market share and expand our customer base. Although members of our sales and marketing teams have considerable industry experience and have engaged in marketing activities for our products, in the future we must expand our sales, marketing, distribution and customer support capabilities

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with the appropriate technical expertise to effectively market our products. To perform sales, marketing, distribution and customer support successfully, we will face a number of risks, including:

If our sales and marketing efforts, or those of any third-party sales and distribution partners, are not successful, our new technologies and products may not gain market acceptance, which could materially impact our business operations.

We have limited experience in manufacturing our DNA synthesis equipment and tools. If we are unable to expand our DNA synthesis manufacturing capacity, this would result in lost revenue and harm our business.

In order to expand our manufacturing capacity of new and existing products, we need to either build additional internal manufacturing capacity, contract with one or more partners, or both. Our technology and the production process for our DNA synthesis equipment and tools are complex, involving specialized parts, and we may encounter unexpected difficulties in manufacturing our DNA synthesis equipment and tools. There is no assurance that we will be able to continue to build manufacturing capacity internally or find one or more suitable partners, or both, to meet the volume and quality requirements necessary to be successful in our existing and potential markets. Manufacturing and product quality issues may arise as we increase the scale of our production. If our DNA synthesis equipment and tools do not consistently produce DNA products that meet our customers’ performance expectations, our reputation may be harmed, and we may be unable to generate sufficient revenue to become profitable. Any delay or inability in establishing or expanding our manufacturing capacity could diminish our ability to develop or sell our products, which could result in lost revenue and materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are substantially dependent on the success of our core DNA synthesis business.

To date, we have invested nearly all of our efforts and financial resources in the research and development of our DNA synthesis business. The DNA synthesis business is very capital intensive, particularly for early stage companies that do not have significant off-setting revenues.

Our financial results are dependent on strengthening our core business while diversifying into other developing sectors such as data storage and industrial chemicals. Substantially all of our revenue generated to date is from our core DNA synthesis business.

Our near-term prospects, including our ability to finance our Company and enter into strategic collaborations, will depend heavily on the successful development and commercialization of our core DNA synthesis business. These initiatives will be substantially dependent on our ability to generate revenue from our core DNA synthesis business and obtain other funding necessary to support these initiatives. Our inability to continue these initiatives and initiate new research and development efforts could result in a failure to develop new products, improve upon existing products such that sectors like data storage may never be fully developed, and expand our addressable market which could have a material and adverse impact on our sales, business, financial position and results of operations.

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We and our chief executive officer are currently involved in litigation with Agilent Technologies, Inc., in which Agilent has alleged a claim of trade secret misappropriation against Twist Bioscience and trade secret misappropriation and other related claims against our chief executive officer, and an adverse result could harm our business and results of operations.

We and our chief executive officer are currently involved in litigation with Agilent Technologies, Inc., or Agilent, in which Agilent has alleged a claim of trade secret misappropriation against our Company and trade secret misappropriation and other related claims against our chief executive officer. This litigation with Agilent could result in significant expense. Some of our competitors, including Agilent have considerable resources available to them. We, on the other hand, are an early-stage commercial company with comparatively few resources available to us to engage in costly and protracted litigation. Intellectual property infringement claims asserted against us, whether with or without merit, could be costly to defend and could limit our ability to use some technologies in the future. They will be time consuming, will divert our chief executive officer’s, management’s and scientific personnel’s attention and may result in liability for substantial damages. For example, we have incurred and anticipate that we will continue to incur significant expense and substantial time in defending against our current intellectual property infringement dispute with Agilent.

An adverse judgment in the Agilent proceeding could require us to pay damages, attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, or result in injunctive relief, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. For more information on our current legal and regulatory proceedings, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Business — Legal proceedings.” And for other risks related to our intellectual property, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Risks related to our intellectual property.” We may also in the future be involved with other litigation. We expect that the number of such claims may increase as our scale and the level of competition in our industry segments grows.

We depend on single-source suppliers for two critical components for our synthesis process. The loss of these suppliers, or their failure to supply us with the necessary components on a timely basis, could cause delays in the future capacity of our synthesis process and adversely affect our business.

We depend on single-source suppliers for two critical components for our synthesis process. We do not currently have the infrastructure or capability internally to manufacture these components. Although we have a substantial stockpile of supplies and although alternative suppliers exist for each of these critical components of our synthesis process, our existing DNA synthesis manufacturing process has been designed based on the functions, limitations, features and specifications of the components that we currently utilize. We have supply agreements in place with these component suppliers. However, there can be no assurance that our supply of these components will not be limited, interrupted, or of satisfactory quality or continue to be available at acceptable prices. Additionally, we do not have any control over the process or timing of the acquisition or manufacture of materials by our manufacturers, and cannot ensure that they will deliver to us the components we order on time, or at all.

The loss of either of the components provided by these suppliers could require us to change the design of our manufacturing process based on the functions, limitations, features and specifications of the replacement components.

In addition, the lead time needed to establish a relationship with a new supplier can be lengthy, and we may experience delays in meeting demand in the event we must switch to a new supplier. The time and effort to qualify a new supplier could result in additional costs, diversion of resources or reduced manufacturing yields, any of which would negatively impact our operating results. Further, we may be unable to enter into agreements with a new supplier on commercially reasonable terms, which could have a material adverse

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impact on our business. Our dependence on these two single-source suppliers exposes us to certain risks, including the following:

Moreover, to meet anticipated market demand, our single-source suppliers may need to increase manufacturing capacity, which could involve significant challenges. This may require us and our suppliers to invest substantial additional funds and hire and retain the technical personnel who have the necessary experience. Neither we nor our suppliers may successfully complete any required increase to existing manufacturing capacity in a timely manner, or at all. For additional information on our single-source and other suppliers, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Business — Suppliers.”

We must continue to secure and maintain sufficient and stable supplies of raw materials.

Although historically we have not experienced price increases due to unexpected raw material shortages and other unanticipated events, there is no assurance that our supply of raw materials will not be significantly adversely affected in the future, adversely affecting our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation.

In addition, as we grow, our existing suppliers may not be able to meet our increasing demand, and we may need to find additional suppliers. There is no assurance that we will always be able to secure suppliers who provide raw materials at the specification, quantity and quality levels that we demand (or at all) or be able to negotiate acceptable fees and terms of services with any such suppliers. Identifying a suitable supplier is an involved process that requires us to become satisfied with their quality control, responsiveness and service, financial stability and labor and other ethical practices. Even if we are able to expand existing sources, we may encounter delays in production and added costs as a result of the time it takes to train suppliers in our methods, products and quality control standards.

We typically do not enter into agreements with our suppliers but secure our raw materials on a purchase order basis. Our suppliers may reduce or cease their supply of raw materials and outsourced services and products to us at any time in the future. If the supply of raw materials and the outsourced services and products is interrupted, our production processes may be delayed. If any such event occurs, our operation and financial position may be adversely affected.

A deterioration of our relationship with any of our suppliers, or problems experienced by these suppliers, could lead to shortages in our production capacity for some or all of our products. In such case, we may not be able to

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fulfill the demand of existing customers or supply new customers. A raw material shortage or an increase in the cost of the raw materials we use could result in decreased revenue or could impair our ability to maintain or expand our business.

For the years ended September 30, 2016 and 2017, our cost of raw materials accounted for approximately 27%, and 30%, respectively, of our total cost of revenues. In the event of significant price increases for raw materials, we may have to pass the increased raw materials costs to our customers. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to raise the prices of our products sufficiently to cover increased costs resulting from increases in the cost of our raw materials or overcome the interruption of a sufficient supply of qualified raw materials for our products. As a result, a price increase for our raw materials may negatively impact our business, financial position and results of operations.

We may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, and these difficulties could impair our profitability.

Currently, we are working simultaneously on multiple projects targeting several market sectors, including activities in the healthcare, agriculture, industrial chemicals and academic sectors. These diversified operations place significant demands on our limited resources and require us to substantially expand the capabilities of our technical, administrative and operational resources.

If we are unable to manage this growth effectively, our business and operating results could suffer. Our ability to manage our operations and costs, including research and development, costs of components, manufacturing, sales and marketing, requires us to continue to enhance our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures and to attract and retain sufficient numbers of talented employees. Failure to attract and retain sufficient numbers of talented employees will further strain our human resources and could impede our growth.

Our revenue, results of operations, cash flows and reputation in the marketplace may suffer upon the loss of a significant customer.

We have derived, and believe we may continue to derive, a significant portion of our revenues from one large customer or a limited number of large customers. Our largest customer, Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc., or Ginkgo Bioworks, accounted for 30% and 40% of our revenue for the years ended September 30, 2016 and 2017. Our customers may buy less of our products depending on their own technological developments, end-user demand for our products and internal budget cycles. In addition, existing customers may choose to produce some or all of their synthetic DNA requirements internally by using or developing manufacturing capabilities organically or by using capabilities from acquisitions of assets or entities from third parties with such capabilities. For example, in January 2017, Ginkgo Bioworks announced the acquisition of Gen9, Inc., which is a competing DNA synthesis manufacturer. If Ginkgo Bioworks reduces the amount of products it purchases from us and increases the amount of synthetic DNA products it manufactures internally using the capabilities acquired in the Gen9 acquisition or otherwise, it could have a material adverse impact on our revenue, results of operations, cash flows and reputation in the marketplace. The loss of Ginkgo Bioworks as a customer, or the loss of any other significant customer or a significant reduction in the amount of product ordered by Ginkgo Bioworks or any other significant customer would adversely affect our revenue, results of operations, cash flows and reputation in the marketplace.

Our credit facility contains restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business.

In September 2017, we entered into an amended and restated loan and security agreement with Silicon Valley Bank, which we refer to as our credit facility. Our credit facility contains various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. These covenants limit our ability to, among other things:

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Our incurrence of this debt, and any future increases in our aggregate level of debt, may adversely affect our operating results and financial condition by, among other things:

A breach of any of these covenants could result in a default under our credit facility. Upon the occurrence of an event of default under our credit facility, Silicon Valley Bank could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under our credit facility to be immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit. If we were unable to repay those amounts, the lenders under our credit facility could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure such indebtedness. We have pledged substantially all of our assets, other than our intellectual property, as collateral under our credit facility.

We depend on the continuing efforts of our senior management team and other key personnel. If we lose members of our senior management team or other key personnel or are unable to successfully retain, recruit and train qualified researchers, engineering and other personnel, our ability to develop our products could be harmed, and we may be unable to achieve our goals.

Our future success depends upon the continuing services of members of our senior management team and scientific and engineering personnel. We are highly dependent on Emily Leproust, our President and Chief Executive Officer, who is employed “at will,” meaning we or she may terminate the employment relationship at any time. In particular, our researchers and engineers are critical to our future technological and product innovations, and we will need to hire additional qualified personnel. We may not be able to attract and retain qualified personnel on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, to the extent we hire personnel from competitors, we may be subject to allegations that they have been improperly solicited or that they have divulged proprietary or other confidential information, or that their former employers own their research output. Our industry, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, is characterized by high demand and intense competition for talent, and the turnover rate can be high. We compete for qualified management and scientific personnel with other life science companies, academic institutions and research institutions, particularly those focusing on genomics. Many of these employees could leave our company with little or no prior notice and

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would be free to work for a competitor. If one or more of our senior executives or other key personnel were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily or at all, and other senior management may be required to divert attention from other aspects of the business. In addition, we do not have “key person” life insurance policies covering members of our management team or other key personnel except Emily Leproust. The loss of any of these individuals or our inability to attract or retain qualified personnel, including researchers, engineers and others, could prevent us from pursuing collaborations and adversely affect our product development and introductions, business growth prospects, results of operations and financial condition.

We may engage in strategic transactions, including acquisitions that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our stockholders, reduce our financial resources, or prove not to be successful.

In the future, we may enter into transactions to acquire other businesses, products or technologies and our ability to do so successfully cannot be ensured. In April 2016, we acquired Genome Compiler Corporation, which became a wholly owned subsidiary. This acquisition allowed us to add software design capabilities for our e-commerce ordering system. However, to date, we have not successfully concluded other acquisitions, and we are pursuing opportunities in the life sciences industry that complement and expand our core DNA synthesis business, products and markets both locally and internationally. If we identify suitable opportunities, we may not be able to make such acquisitions on favorable terms or at all. Any acquisitions we make may not strengthen our competitive position, and these transactions may be viewed negatively by customers or investors. We may decide to incur debt in connection with an acquisition or issue our common stock or other equity securities to the stockholders of the acquired company, which would reduce the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders. We could incur losses resulting from undiscovered liabilities of the acquired business that are not covered by any indemnification we may obtain from the seller. In addition, we may not be able to successfully integrate the acquired personnel, technologies and operations into our existing business in an effective, timely and non-disruptive manner. Acquisitions may also divert management attention from day-to-day responsibilities, increase our expenses and reduce our cash available for operations and other uses. In addition, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to fully recover the costs of such acquisitions or that we will be successful in leveraging any such strategic transactions into increased business, revenue or profitability. We also cannot predict the number, timing or size of any future acquisitions or the effect that any such transactions might have on our operating results.

From time to time, we may consider other strategic transactions, including collaborations. The competition for collaborators is intense, and the negotiation process is time-consuming and complex. Any new collaboration may be on terms that are not optimal for us, and we may not be able to maintain any new collaboration. Any such collaboration may require us to incur non-recurring or other charges, increase our near- and long-term expenditures and pose significant integration or implementation challenges or disrupt our management or business. These transactions would entail numerous operational and financial risks, including exposure to unknown liabilities, disruption of our business and diversion of our management’s time and attention to manage a collaboration, incurrence of substantial debt or dilutive issuances of equity securities to pay transaction consideration or costs, higher than expected collaboration, acquisition or integration costs, write-downs of assets or goodwill or impairment charges, increased amortization expenses, difficulty and cost in facilitating the collaboration or combining the operations and personnel of any acquired business, impairment of relationships with key suppliers, manufacturers or customers of any acquired business due to changes in management and ownership and the inability to retain key employees of any acquired business. Accordingly, although there can be no assurance that we will undertake or successfully complete any collaborations, any transactions that we do complete may be subject to the foregoing or other risks and have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Conversely, any failure

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to enter any collaboration or other strategic transaction that would be beneficial to us could delay the development and potential commercialization of our products and technologies.

As we expand our development and commercialization activities outside of the United States, we will be subject to an increased risk of inadvertently conducting activities in a manner that violates the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar laws. If that occurs, we may be subject to civil or criminal penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, which prohibits corporations and individuals from paying, offering to pay, or authorizing the payment of anything of value to any foreign government official, government staff member, political party, or political candidate in an attempt to obtain or retain business or to otherwise influence a person working in an official capacity. We are also subject to the UK Anti-Bribery Act, which prohibits both domestic and international bribery, as well as bribery across both public and private sectors.

In the course of establishing and expanding our commercial operations and complying with non-U.S. regulatory requirements, we will need to establish and expand business relationships with various third parties and we will interact more frequently with foreign officials, including regulatory authorities. Expanded programs to maintain compliance with such laws will be costly and may not be effective. Any interactions with any such parties or individuals where compensation is provided that are found to be in violation of such laws could result in substantial fines and penalties and could materially harm our business. Furthermore, any finding of a violation under one country’s laws may increase the likelihood that we will be prosecuted and be found to have violated another country’s laws. If our business practices outside the United States are found to be in violation of the FCPA, UK Anti-Bribery Act or other similar laws, we may be subject to significant civil and criminal penalties which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We could engage in exporting or related activity that contravenes international trade restraints, or regulatory authorities could promulgate more far reaching international trade restraints, which could give rise to one or more of substantial legal liability, impediments to our business and reputational damage.

Our international business activities must comport with U.S. export controls and other international trade restraints, including the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Export Administration Regulations and economic sanctions regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls.

We have established an international trade compliance program that encompasses best practices for preventing, detecting and addressing noncompliance with international trade restraints. Furthermore, to date our exports have not been licensable under export controls; however, we could fail to observe the compliance program requirements in a manner that leaves us in noncompliance with export controls or other international trade restraints. In addition, authorities could promulgate international trade restraints that impinge on our ability to prosecute our business as planned. One or more of resulting legal penalties, restraints on our business or reputational damage could have material adverse effects on our business and financial condition.

Adverse conditions in the global economy and disruption of financial markets may significantly harm our revenue, profitability and results of operations.

The global economy has a significant impact on our business and volatility and disruption of financial markets could limit our customers’ ability to obtain adequate financing or credit to purchase and pay for our products in a timely manner or to maintain operations, which could result in a decrease in sales volume that could harm our results of operations. General concerns about the fundamental soundness of domestic and international economies may also cause our customers to reduce their purchases. Changes in banking, monetary and fiscal policies to address liquidity and increase credit availability may not be effective. Significant government

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investment and allocation of resources to assist the economic recovery of sectors which do not include our customers may reduce the resources available for government grants and related funding for life sciences research and development. Continuation or further deterioration of these financial and macroeconomic conditions could significantly harm our sales, profitability and results of operations.

We operate in a highly competitive industry and if we are not able to compete effectively, our business and operating results will likely be harmed.

We face competition from a broad range of providers of core synthetic biology products and providers in the life sciences tools and diagnostics industries such as GenScript Biotech Corporation, GENEWIZ, Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., or IDT, ATUM, GeneArt (owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.), Eurofins Genomics, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Merck), Promega Corporation and others. Additionally, we compete with both large and emerging providers in the life sciences tools and diagnostics industries focused on sample preparation for next generation sequencing such as Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Illumina, Inc., IDT, Agilent and Roche NimbleGen, Inc. We may not be successful in maintaining our competitive position for a number of reasons. Some of our current competitors, as well as many of our potential competitors, have significant name recognition, substantial intellectual property portfolios, longer operating histories, greater resources to invest in new technologies, substantial experience in new product development and manufacturing capabilities and more established distribution channels to deliver products to customers than we do. These competitors may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than we can to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards or customer requirements. Our competitors may develop disruptive technologies or products that are comparable or superior to our technologies and products. In light of these advantages, even though we believe our technology is superior to the products offerings of our competitors, current or potential customers might accept competitive products in lieu of purchasing our products. Increased competition is likely to result in continued pricing pressures, which could harm our sales, profitability or market share. Our failure to continue competing effectively or wining additional business with our existing customers could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We may be subject to significant pricing pressures.

Over time, increasing customer demand for lower prices could force us to discount our products and result in lower margins. The impact may be further exacerbated if we are unable to successfully control production costs. Alternatively, if due to rising market prices, our suppliers increase prices or reduce discounts on their supplies, we may be unable to pass on any cost increase to our customers, thereby resulting in reduced margins and profits. Furthermore, changes in our product mix may negatively affect our gross margins. Overall, these pricing pressures may adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations.

Ethical, legal and social concerns surrounding the use of genetic information could reduce demand for our technology.

Our products may be used to create DNA sequences of humans, agricultural crops and other living organisms. Our products could be used in a variety of applications, which may have underlying ethical, legal and social concerns. Governmental authorities could, for safety, social or other purposes, impose limits on or implement regulation of the use of gene synthesis. Such concerns or governmental restrictions could limit the use of our DNA synthesis products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, public perception about the safety and environmental hazards of, and ethical concerns over, genetically engineered products and processes could influence public acceptance of our technologies, products and processes. These concerns could result in increased expenses, regulatory scrutiny, delays or other impediments to our programs.

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We use biological and hazardous materials that require considerable expertise and expense for handling, storage and disposal and may result in claims against us.

We work with materials, including chemicals, biological agents, and compounds and DNA samples that could be hazardous to human health and safety or the environment. Our operations also produce hazardous and biological waste products. Federal, state and local laws and regulations govern the use, generation, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and wastes. Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations is expensive, and current or future environmental laws and regulations may restrict our operations. If we do not comply with applicable regulations, we may be subject to fines and penalties.

In addition, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from these materials or wastes, which could cause an interruption of our commercialization efforts, research and development programs and business operations, as well as environmental damage resulting in costly clean-up and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent. We cannot predict the impact of such changes and cannot be certain of our future compliance. While our property insurance policy provides limited coverage in the event of contamination from hazardous and biological products and the resulting cleanup costs, we do not currently have any additional insurance coverage for legal liability for claims arising from the handling, storage or disposal of hazardous materials. Accordingly, in the event of contamination or injury, we could be liable for damages or penalized with fines in an amount exceeding our resources and our operations could be suspended or otherwise adversely affected.

We could develop DNA sequences or engage in other activity that contravenes biosecurity requirements, or regulatory authorities could promulgate more far reaching biosecurity requirements that our standard business practices cannot accommodate, which could give rise to substantial legal liability, impediments to our business and reputational damage.

The Federal Select Agent Program, or the FSAP, involves rules administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Toxins and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that regulate possession, use and transfer of biological select agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public, animal or plant health or to animal or plant products.

We have established a biosecurity program under which we follow biosafety and biosecurity best practices and avoid DNA synthesis activities that implicate FSAP rules; however, we could err in our observance of compliance program requirements in a manner that leaves us in noncompliance with FSAP or other biosecurity rules. In addition, authorities could promulgate new biosecurity requirements that restrictions our operations. One or more resulting legal penalties, restraints on our business or reputational damage could have material adverse effects on our business and financial condition.

Third parties may use our products in ways that could damage our reputation.

After our customers have received our products, we do not have any control over their use and our customers may use them in ways that are harmful to our reputation as a supplier of synthetic DNA products. In addition, while we have established a biosecurity program designed to comply with biosafety and biosecurity requirements and perform export control screening in an effort to ensure that third parties do not obtain our products for malevolent purposes, we cannot guarantee that these preventative measures will eliminate or reduce the risk of the domestic and global opportunities for the misuse of our products. Accordingly, in the event of such misuse, our reputation, future revenue and operating results may suffer.

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Any damage to our reputation or brand may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We believe that developing and maintaining our brand is important to our success and that our financial success is influenced by the perception of our brand by our customers. Furthermore, the importance of our brand recognition may become even greater to the extent that competitors offer more products similar to ours. Many factors, some of which are beyond our control, are important to maintaining our reputation and brand. These factors include our ability to comply with ethical, social, product, labor and environmental standards. Any actual or perceived failure in compliance with such standards could damage our reputation and brand.

Because we are subject to existing and potential additional governmental regulation, the markets for our products may be narrowed.

We are subject, both directly and indirectly, to the adverse impact of existing and potential future government regulation of our operations and markets. For example, export of our products is subject to strict regulatory control in a number of jurisdictions. The failure to satisfy export control criteria or obtain necessary clearances could delay or prevent shipment of products, which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability. Moreover, the life sciences industry, which is currently the primary market for our technology, has historically been heavily regulated. There are, for example, laws in several jurisdictions restricting research in genetic engineering, which can operate to narrow our markets. Given the evolving nature of this industry, legislative bodies or regulatory authorities may adopt additional regulation that adversely affects our market opportunities. Our business is also directly affected by a wide variety of government regulations applicable to business enterprises generally and to companies operating in the life science industry in particular. Failure to comply with these regulations or obtain or maintain necessary permits and licenses could result in a variety of fines or other censures or an interruption in our business operations which may have a negative impact on our ability to generate revenues and could increase the cost of operating our business.

Our products could in the future be subject to additional regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other domestic and international regulatory agencies, which could increase our costs and delay our commercialization efforts, thereby materially and adversely affecting our business and results of operations.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, regulates medical devices, including in vitro diagnostics, or IVDs. IVDs include reagents, instruments, and systems intended for use in diagnosis of disease or other conditions, including a determination of the state of health, in order to cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease or its sequelae. IVDs are intended for use in the collection, preparation, and examination of specimens taken from the human body. A research use only, or RUO, IVD product is an IVD product that is in the laboratory research phase of development and is being shipped or delivered for an investigation that is not subject to FDA’s investigational device exemption requirements. As such, an RUO IVD is not intended for use in clinical investigations or in clinical practice. Such RUO products do not require premarket clearance or approval from the FDA, provided that they be labeled “For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures” pursuant to FDA regulations. Our IVD products are not intended for clinical or diagnostic use, and we market and label them as RUO. Accordingly, we have not sought clearance or approval from the FDA to market our products. However, the FDA may disagree with our assessment that our products are properly marketed as RUO, and may determine that our products are subject to pre-market clearance, approval, or other regulatory requirements. If the FDA determines that our products are subject to such requirements, we could be subject to enforcement action, including administrative and judicial sanctions, and additional regulatory controls and submissions for our tests, all of which could be burdensome.

Further, in the future, certain of our products or related applications could be subject to additional FDA regulation. Even where a product is not subject to FDA clearance or approval requirements, the FDA may

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impose restrictions as to the types of customers to which we can market and sell our products. Such regulation and restrictions may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Other regulatory regimes that do not currently present material challenges but that could in the future present material challenges include export controls and biosecurity.

Similarly, even though our products and services are not currently covered and reimbursed by third-party payors, including government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, to the extent our products or related applications become eligible for coverage and reimbursement by such payors, we could be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse laws of both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of available statutory and regulatory exceptions, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. If we or our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could materially adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.

Many countries have laws and regulations that could affect our products. The number and scope of these requirements are increasing. Unlike many of our competitors, this is an area where we do not have expertise. We may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals in such countries or may incur significant costs in obtaining or maintaining foreign regulatory approvals.

Certain of our potential customers may require that we become certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988.

Although we are not currently subject to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment of 1988, or CLIA, we may in the future be required by certain customers to obtain a CLIA certification. CLIA, which extends federal oversight over clinical laboratories by requiring that they be certified by the federal government or by a federally approved accreditation agency, is designed to ensure the quality and reliability of clinical laboratories by mandating specific standards in the areas of personnel qualifications, administration and participation in proficiency testing, patient test management, quality control, quality assurance and inspections. If our customers require a CLIA certification, we will have to continually expend time, money and effort to ensure that we meet the applicable quality and safety requirements, which may divert the attention of management and disrupt our core business operations.

If we experience a significant disruption in, or breach in security of, our information technology systems, or if we fail to implement new systems and software successfully, our business could be adversely affected.

We rely on several centralized information technology systems throughout our company to provide products, keep financial records, process orders, manage inventory, process shipments to customers and operate other critical functions. Our information technology systems may be susceptible to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to power outages, hardware failures, computer viruses, attacks by computer hackers, telecommunication failures, user errors, catastrophes or other unforeseen events. Our information technology systems also may experience interruptions, delays or cessations of service or produce errors in connection with system integration, software upgrades or system migration work that takes place from time to time. If we were to experience a prolonged system disruption in the information technology systems that involve our interactions with customers or suppliers, including negatively impacting our order fulfilment and order entry on our e-commerce platform, it could result in the loss of sales and customers and significant incremental costs, which could adversely affect our business. In addition, security breaches of our information technology systems could result in the misappropriation or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information belonging to us or to our employees, partners, customers or suppliers, which could result in our suffering significant financial or

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reputational damage. Further, such a breach may require notification to governmental agencies, the media or individuals pursuant to various federal and state privacy and security laws. We would also be exposed to a risk of litigation and potential liability, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our facilities in California are located near known earthquake faults, and the occurrence of an earthquake or other catastrophic disaster could cause damage to our facilities and equipment, which could require us to cease or curtail operations.

Our facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area are located near known earthquake fault zones and are vulnerable to damage from earthquakes. We are also vulnerable to damage from other types of disasters, including fire, floods, power loss, communications failures and similar events. If any disaster were to occur, our ability to operate our business at our facilities would be seriously, or potentially completely, impaired. In addition, the nature of our activities could cause significant delays in our research programs and commercial activities and make it difficult for us to recover from a disaster. The insurance we maintain may not be adequate to cover our losses resulting from disasters or other business interruptions. Accordingly, an earthquake or other disaster could materially and adversely harm our ability to conduct business.

Delivery of our products could be delayed or disrupted by factors beyond our control, and we could lose customers as a result.

We rely on third-party carriers for the timely delivery of our products. As a result, we are subject to carrier disruptions and increased costs that are beyond our control, including employee strikes, inclement weather and increased fuel costs. Any failure to deliver products to our customers in a timely and accurate manner may damage our reputation and brand and could cause us to lose customers. If our relationship with any of these third-party carriers is terminated or impaired or if any of these third parties is unable to deliver our products, the delivery and acceptance of our products by our customers may be delayed which could harm our business and financial results. The failure to deliver our products in a timely manner may harm our relationship with our customers, increase our costs and otherwise disrupt our operations.

Doing business internationally creates operational and financial risks for our business.

During our fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 and 2017, approximately 22% and 23%, respectively, of our revenue was generated from customers located outside of the United States. In connection with our growth strategy, we intend to further expand in international markets. Conducting and launching operations on an international scale requires close coordination of activities across multiple jurisdictions and time zones and consumes significant management resources. If we fail to coordinate and manage these activities effectively, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. International sales entail a variety of risks, including longer payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable outside of the United States, currency exchange fluctuations, challenges in staffing and managing foreign operations, tariffs and other trade barriers, unexpected changes in legislative or regulatory requirements of foreign countries into which we sell our products, difficulties in obtaining export licenses or in overcoming other trade barriers, laws and business practices favoring local companies, political and economic instability, difficulties protecting or procuring intellectual property rights, and restrictions resulting in delivery delays and significant taxes or other burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws.

Changes in the value of the relevant currencies may affect the cost of certain items required in our operations. Changes in currency exchange rates may also affect the relative prices at which we are able to sell products in the same market. Our revenue from international customers may be negatively impacted as increases in the U.S. dollar relative to our international customers’ local currency could make our products more expensive, impacting our ability to compete. Our costs of materials from international suppliers may increase if in order to

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continue doing business with us they raise their prices as the value of the U.S. dollar decreases relative to their local currency. Foreign policies and actions regarding currency valuation could result in actions by the United States and other countries to offset the effects of such fluctuations. The recent global financial downturn has led to a high level of volatility in foreign currency exchange rates and that level of volatility may continue, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.

In general, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” is subject to limitations on its ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, to offset future taxable income. If the Internal Revenue Service challenges our analysis that our existing NOLs will not expire before utilization due to previous ownership changes, our ability to use our NOLs could be limited by Section 382 of the Code. Future changes in our stock ownership, some of which are outside of our control, could result in an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code. Furthermore, our ability to use NOLs of companies that we may acquire in the future may be subject to limitations. For these reasons, we may not be able to use a material portion of the NOLs reflected on our balance sheet, even if we attain profitability.

The enactment of legislation implementing changes in taxation of international business activities, the adoption of other corporate tax reform policies, or changes in tax legislation or policies could impact our future financial position and results of operations.

Corporate tax reform, base-erosion efforts and tax transparency continue to be high priorities in many tax jurisdictions where we intend to have business operations. As a result, policies regarding corporate income and other taxes in numerous jurisdictions are under heightened scrutiny and tax reform legislation is being proposed or enacted in a number of jurisdictions. For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 signed into law on December 22, 2017, adopting broad U.S. corporate income tax reform will, among other things, reduce the U.S. corporate income tax rate, but will impose base-erosion prevention measures on non-U.S. earnings of U.S. entities as well as a one-time mandatory deemed repatriation tax on accumulated non-U.S. earnings of U.S. entities.

In addition, many countries are beginning to implement legislation and other guidance to align their international tax rules with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting recommendations and action plan that aim to standardize and modernize global corporate tax policy, including changes to cross-border tax, transfer-pricing documentation rules, and nexus-based tax incentive practices.

Such legislative initiatives may materially and adversely affect our plans to expand internationally and may negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations generally.

Our inability to collect on our accounts receivable by a significant number of customers may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Sales to our customers are generally made on open credit terms. Management maintains an allowance for potential credit losses. The average days sales outstanding of our trade receivables as of September 30, 2016 and 2017 were 57 and 78 days outstanding, respectively. If our customers’ cash flow, working capital, financial conditions or results of operations deteriorate, they may be unable or even unwilling to pay trade receivables owed to us promptly or at all. As a result, we could be exposed to a certain level of credit risk. If a major customer experiences, or a significant number of customers experience, financial difficulties, the effect on us could be material and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Risks related to being a public company

If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis could be impaired, which would adversely affect our business.

Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. The rapid growth of our operations and the planned initial public offering has created a need for additional resources within the accounting and finance functions due to the increasing need to produce timely financial information and to ensure the level of segregation of duties customary for a U.S. public company. We have hired additional resources in the accounting and finance function and continue to reassess the sufficiency of finance personnel in response to these increasing demands and expectations.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Our management does not expect that our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company will have been detected.

Commencing with our fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our Form 10-K filing for that year, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. We expect to expend significant resources in developing the necessary documentation and testing procedures required by Section 404. We cannot be certain that the actions we will be taking to improve our internal controls over financial reporting will be sufficient, or that we will be able to implement our planned processes and procedures in a timely manner. In addition, if we are unable to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and make it more difficult for us to finance our operations and growth.

We are an emerging growth company and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.”

For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we also intend to take advantage of certain other exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies including, but not limited to, 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. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some

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investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of $1.07 billion or more; (ii) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the closing of this offering; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.

As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of the stock exchange on which our common stock is traded and other applicable securities rules and regulations. The SEC and other regulators have continued to adopt new rules and regulations and make additional changes to existing regulations that require our compliance. Stockholder activism, the current political environment, and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact, in ways we cannot currently anticipate, the manner in which we operate our business. Compliance with these rules and regulations may cause us to incur additional accounting, legal and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. We also anticipate that we will incur costs associated with corporate governance requirements, including requirements under securities laws, as well as rules and regulations implemented by the SEC and The Nasdaq Global Market, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. Furthermore, these rules and regulations could make it more difficult or more costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.

Risks related to our intellectual property

Our ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology through patents and other means is uncertain.

Our commercial success depends in part on our ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technologies. We rely on patent protection, where appropriate and available, as well as a combination of copyright, trade secret and trademark laws, and nondisclosure, confidentiality and other contractual restrictions to protect our proprietary technology. However, these legal means afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep any competitive advantage. As of September 30, 2017, we own four issued U.S. patents and two issued international patents in China. There are 58 pending patent applications, including 34 in the United States, 15 international applications and nine applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Several patent applications covering our technologies have been filed recently. We cannot offer any assurances about which, if any, patents will issue, the breadth of any such patent, or whether any issued patents will be

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found invalid and unenforceable or will be threatened by third parties. Any successful opposition to these patents or any other patents owned by or, if applicable in the future, licensed to us could deprive us of rights necessary for the practice of our technologies or the successful commercialization of products that we may develop. Since patent applications in the U.S. and most other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing, we cannot be certain that we were the first to file any patent application related to our technologies or products. Furthermore, an interference proceeding can be provoked by a third party or instituted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine who was the first to invent any of the subject matter covered by the patent claims of our applications.

Patent law can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important principles remain unresolved. In the United States and in many international jurisdictions, policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in patents can be inconsistent. The U.S. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have made, and will likely continue to make, changes in how the patent laws of the United States are interpreted. Similarly, international courts have made, and will continue to make, changes in how the patent laws in their respective jurisdictions are interpreted. We cannot predict future changes in the interpretation of patent laws or changes to patent laws that might be enacted into law by U.S. and international legislative bodies.

Moreover, the United States Leahy-Smith American Invents Act, enacted in September 2011, brought significant changes to the U.S. patent system, including a change from a “first to invent” system to a “first to file” system. Under a “first to file” system, assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application generally will be entitled to the patent on an invention regardless of whether another inventor had made the invention earlier. Other changes affect the way the patent applications are prosecuted, redefine prior art, and may affect patent litigation. The United States Patent and Trademark Office developed new regulations and procedures to govern administration of the Leahy-Smith Act, and many of the substantive changes to patent law associated with the Leahy-Smith Act became effective on March 16, 2013. The Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

If we are unable to obtain, maintain and enforce intellectual property protection, others may be able to make, use, or sell products and technologies substantially the same as ours, which could adversely affect our ability to compete in the market.

We may not pursue or maintain patent protection for our products in every country or territory in which we sell our products and technologies. In addition, our pending U.S. and foreign patent applications may not issue as patents or may not issue in a form that will be sufficient to protect our proprietary technology and gain or keep our competitive advantage. Any patents we have obtained or do obtain may be subject to re-examination, reissue, opposition or other administrative proceeding, or may be challenged in litigation, and such challenges could result in a determination that the patent is invalid or unenforceable.

Patents have a limited lifespan. Patent terms may be shortened or lengthened by, for example, terminal disclaimers, patent term adjustments, supplemental protection certificates, and patent term extensions. Although extensions may be available, the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Patent term extensions and supplemental protection certificates, and the like, may be impacted by the regulatory process and may not significantly lengthen patent term. Non-payment or delay in payment of patent fees or annuities, delay in patent filings or delay in extension filing, whether intentional or unintentional, may also result in the loss of patent rights important to our business. In such an event, competitors might be able to enter the market earlier than would otherwise have been the case. In addition, certain countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to other parties. Furthermore, many countries

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limit the enforceability of patents against other parties, including government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of any patents.

We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use or unauthorized reverse engineering of our technology. In addition, competitors may be able to design alternative methods or devices that avoid infringement of our patents. To the extent our intellectual property, including licensed intellectual property, offers inadequate protection, or is found to be invalid or unenforceable, we are exposed to a greater risk of direct competition. If our intellectual property does not provide adequate protection against our competitors’ products, our competitive position could be adversely affected, as could our business. Both the patent application process and the process of managing patent disputes can be time consuming and expensive.

Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly. From time to time, we review our competitors’ products, and may in the future seek to enforce our patents or other rights against potential infringement. However, the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be adequate to prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property. We may not be able to detect unauthorized use of, or take appropriate steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights. We cannot guarantee that any of our patent searches or analyses, including but not limited to the identification of relevant patents, the scope of patent claims or the expiration of relevant patents, are complete or thorough, nor can we be certain that we have identified each and every third party patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant to or necessary for the commercialization of our products in any jurisdiction. For example, U.S. applications filed before November 29, 2000 and certain U.S. applications filed after that date that will not be filed outside the United States remain confidential until patents issue. Patent applications in the United States and elsewhere are published approximately 18 months after the earliest filing for which priority is claimed. Therefore, patent applications covering our product candidates or technologies could have been filed by others without our knowledge. Additionally, pending patent applications that have been published can, subject to certain limitations, be later amended in a manner that could cover our platform technologies, our products or the use of our products or technologies. The scope of a patent claim is determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patent’s prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to market our products. We may incorrectly determine that our products are not covered by a third party patent or may incorrectly predict whether a third party’s pending application will issue with claims of relevant scope. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States or abroad that we consider relevant may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our product candidates.

Any inability to meaningfully protect our intellectual property could result in competitors offering products or technologies that incorporate our products or technologies, which could reduce demand for our products or technologies. A court or other judicial body may decide that the patent we seek to enforce is invalid or unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that the patent in question does not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. Some of our competitors may be able to devote significantly more resources to intellectual property litigation, and may have significantly broader patent portfolios to assert against us if we assert our rights against them.

We cannot predict the breadth of claims that may be allowed or enforced in our patents or in third-party patents. For example:

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We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on our technologies and products in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. In addition, the laws of some non-U.S. countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending such rights in foreign jurisdictions. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own technologies and products and further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient enough to prevent them from competing.

The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial cost and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our own patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our proprietary information and know-how, the value of our technology and products could be adversely affected.

In addition to pursuing patents on our technology, we take steps to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology by entering into confidentiality agreements and intellectual property assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, corporate partners and, when needed, our advisors. Such agreements may not be enforceable or may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets or other proprietary information in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure or other breaches of the agreements, and we may not be able to prevent such unauthorized disclosure. Monitoring unauthorized disclosure is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to prevent such disclosure are, or will be, adequate. If we were to enforce a claim that a third party had illegally obtained and was using our trade

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secrets, it would be expensive and time consuming, and the outcome would be unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the United States may be less willing to protect trade secrets.

Trade secrets and know-how can be difficult to protect as trade secrets, and know-how will over time be disseminated within the industry through independent development, the publication of journal articles, and the movement of personnel skilled in the art from company to company. In addition, because we may rely on third parties in the development of our products, we may, at times, share trade secrets with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology in part by entering into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with third parties prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, including our trade secrets. Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. If we are unable to prevent material disclosure of the intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, we will not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either lawfully or through breach of our agreements with third parties, independent development or publication of information by any of our third-party collaborators. Competitors could willfully infringe our intellectual property rights, design around our protected technology or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights. In addition, if any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent such competitor from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor’s discovery of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We may also be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators or other third parties have an ownership interest in our patents or other intellectual property. Other than the currently pending litigation filed by Agilent, described under the captions “Business – Legal proceedings” and “Risk factors – We and our chief executive officer are currently involved in litigation with Agilent Technologies, Inc., in which Agilent has alleged a claim of trade secret misappropriation against Twist Bioscience and trade secret misappropriation and other related claims against our chief executive officer, and an adverse result could harm our business and results of operations,” no legal claims against us are currently pending. Some of our employees were previously employed at universities or biotechnology or biopharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. We may be subject to claims that these employees or we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship or ownership. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights. A loss of key research personnel or their work product could hamper our ability to commercialize, or prevent us from commercializing, our products and technologies. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and distraction to management and other employees.

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We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents and proprietary rights, to determine the scope, coverage and validity of others’ proprietary rights, or to defend against third party claims of intellectual property infringement that could require us to spend significant time and money and could prevent us from selling our products or impact our stock price.

Litigation may be necessary for us to enforce our patent and proprietary rights and/or to determine the scope, coverage and validity of others’ proprietary rights. Litigation on these matters has been prevalent in our industry and we expect that this will continue. As the biotechnology and synthetic biology industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that there may be patents issued to third parties that relate to our technologies and products of which we are not aware or that we may need to challenge to continue our operations as currently contemplated. In addition, our competitors and others may have patents or may in the future obtain patents and claim that the use of our products or processes infringes these patents. As we move into new markets and applications for our products and processes, incumbent participants in such markets may assert their patents and other proprietary rights against us as a means of slowing our entry into such markets or as a means to extract substantial license and royalty payments from us.

To determine the priority of inventions, we may have to initiate and participate in interference proceedings declared by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that could result in substantial legal fees and could substantially affect the scope of our patent protection. Also, our intellectual property may be subject to significant administrative and litigation proceedings such as invalidity, unenforceability, re-examination and opposition proceedings against our patents. Whether merited or not, we may additionally face allegations that we have infringed the trademarks, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties, including patents held by our competitors or by non-practicing entities. If we fail to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents, we may be subject to infringement claims. We may also face allegations that our employees have misappropriated the intellectual property rights of their former employers or other third parties. The outcome of any litigation or other proceeding is inherently uncertain and the results might not be favorable to us. For more information on our current legal and regulatory proceedings, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Business — Legal proceedings.”

In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, for example, lack of novelty, obviousness or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or made a misleading statement during prosecution. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability during patent litigation is unpredictable. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on certain aspects of our platform technology. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Patent infringement suits can be expensive, lengthy and disruptive to business operations. We could incur substantial costs and divert the attention of our management and technical personnel in prosecuting or defending against any claims, and may harm our reputation. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. There can be no assurance that we will prevail in any suit initiated against us by third parties, successfully settle or otherwise resolve patent infringement claims. If we are unable to successfully settle claims on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to engage in or continue costly, unpredictable and time-consuming litigation and may be prevented from or experience substantial delays in marketing our technologies and products. Furthermore, parties making claims against us may be able to obtain injunctive or other relief, which could block our ability to develop, commercialize and sell products, and could result in the

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award of substantial damages against us, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees and costs in the event that we are found to be a willful infringer of third party patents.

In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may be required to obtain one or more licenses from third parties, which we may not be able to obtain at a reasonable cost, if at all. We could therefore incur substantial costs related to royalty payments for licenses obtained from third parties, which could negatively affect our gross margins. In addition, we could encounter delays in product introductions while we attempt to develop alternative methods or products to avoid infringing third-party patents or proprietary rights. Defense of any lawsuit or failure to obtain any required licenses on favorable terms could prevent us from commercializing our products, and the risk of a prohibition on the sale of any of our products could adversely affect our ability to grow and gain market acceptance for our products.

Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. In addition, during the course of this kind of litigation, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. Finally, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations.

In addition, our agreements with some of our suppliers, distributors, customers and other entities with whom we do business may require us to defend or indemnify these parties to the extent they become involved in infringement claims against us, including the claims described above. We could also voluntarily agree to defend or indemnify third parties in instances where we are not obligated to do so if we determine it would be important to our business relationships. If we are required or agree to defend or indemnify any of these third parties in connection with any infringement claims, we could incur significant costs and expenses that could adversely affect our business, operating results, or financial condition.

We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to our products and technologies through acquisitions and in-licenses, and our intellectual property agreements with third parties may involve unfavorable terms or be subject to disagreements over contract interpretation.

We may find that our programs require the use of proprietary rights held by third parties, and the growth of our business may depend in part on our ability to acquire, in-license or use these proprietary rights. We may be unable to acquire or in-license compositions, methods of use, processes or other third party intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for our products and technologies. The licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and other companies may also be pursuing strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive. These companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, financial resources and greater commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. Moreover, collaboration arrangements are complex and time-consuming to negotiate, document, implement and maintain. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish and implement collaborations or other alternative arrangements should we so choose to enter into such arrangements. We also may be unable to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights on terms that that would be favorable to us or would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment.

We engage in discussions regarding other possible commercial and cross-licensing agreements with third parties from time to time. There can be no assurance that these discussions will lead to the execution of

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commercial license or cross-license agreements or that such agreements will be on terms that are favorable to us. Even if we are able to obtain a license to intellectual property of interest, we may not be able to secure exclusive rights, in which case others could use the same rights and compete with us. In addition, if we enter into cross-licensing agreements, there is no assurance that we will be able to effectively compete against others who are licensed under our patents.

In addition, provisions in our licensing and other intellectual property agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could affect the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or affect financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We have not yet registered some of our trademarks in all of our potential markets, and failure to secure those registrations could adversely affect our business.

Some of our trademark applications may not be allowed for registration, and our registered trademarks may not be maintained or enforced. In addition, in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in comparable agencies in many foreign jurisdictions, third parties are given an opportunity to oppose pending trademark applications and to seek to cancel registered trademarks. Opposition or cancellation proceedings may be filed against our trademarks, and our trademarks may not survive such proceedings.

In addition, third parties may file first for our trademarks in certain countries. If they succeed in registering such trademarks, and if we are not successful in challenging such third party rights, we may not be able to use these trademarks to market our products and technologies in those countries. Over the long term, if we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks, then our marketing abilities may be materially adversely impacted.

We depend on certain technologies that are licensed to us. We do not control these technologies and any loss of our rights to them could prevent us from selling our products.

We rely on, or may in the future rely on, licenses in order to be able to use various proprietary technologies that are material to our business. We do not or will not own the patents that underlie these licenses. Our rights to use the technology we license are subject to the negotiation of, continuation of and compliance with the terms of those licenses. In some cases, we do not or will not control the prosecution, maintenance, or filing of the patents to which we hold licenses, or the enforcement of these patents against third parties. Some of our patents and patent applications were either acquired from another company who acquired those patents and patent applications from yet another company, or are licensed from a third party. For example, Twist Bioscience acquired Genome Compiler Corporation in 2016, and Genome Compiler had a non-exclusive license to U.S. Patent No. 7,805,252 owned by DNA Twopointo. Thus, these patents and patent applications are not written by us or our attorneys, and we did not have control over the drafting and prosecution. The former patent owners and our licensors might not have given the same attention to the drafting and prosecution of these patents and applications as we would have if we had been the owners of the patents and applications and had control over the drafting and prosecution. We cannot be certain that drafting and/or prosecution of the licensed patents and patent applications by the licensors have been or will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or will result in valid and enforceable patents and other intellectual property rights.

Our rights to use the technology we license is subject to the validity of the owner’s intellectual property rights. Enforcement of our licensed patents or defense or any claims asserting the invalidity of these patents is often subject to the control or cooperation of our licensors. Legal action could be initiated against the owners of the intellectual property that we license. Even if we are not a party to these legal actions, an adverse outcome could

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harm our business because it might prevent these other companies or institutions from continuing to license intellectual property that we may need to operate our business.

Our licenses contain or will contain provisions that allow the licensor to terminate the license upon specific conditions. Our rights under the licenses are subject to or will be subject to our continued compliance with the terms of the license, including the payment of royalties due under the license. Termination of these licenses could prevent us from marketing some or all of our products. Because of the complexity of our products and the patents we have licensed, determining the scope of the license and related royalty obligation can be difficult and can lead to disputes between us and the licensor. An unfavorable resolution of such a dispute could lead to an increase in the royalties payable pursuant to the license. If a licensor believed we were not paying the royalties due under the license or were otherwise not in compliance with the terms of the license, the licensor might attempt to revoke the license. If such an attempt were successful, we might be barred from producing and selling some or all of our products.

Risks relating to owning our common stock and this offering

Our share price may be volatile, and you may be unable to sell your shares at or above the offering price.

The market price of our common stock is likely to be volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to many risk factors listed in this section, and others beyond our control, including:

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Furthermore, the stock markets have experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions such as recessions, interest rate changes or international currency fluctuations, may negatively impact the market price of our common stock. If the market price of our common stock after this offering does not exceed the initial public offering price, you may not realize any return on your investment in us and may lose some or all of your investment. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

No public market for our common stock currently exists, and an active trading market may not develop or be sustained following this offering.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. Although we will apply to have our common stock listed on The Nasdaq Global Market, an active trading market may not develop following the closing of this offering or, if developed, may not be sustained. The lack of an active market may impair your ability to sell your shares at the time you wish to sell them or at a price that you consider reasonable. The lack of an active market may also reduce the fair market value of your shares. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration. The initial public offering price was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters and may not be indicative of the future prices of our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will depend on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Currently, we do not have any analyst coverage and we may not obtain analyst coverage in the future. In the event we obtain analyst coverage, we will not have any control over such analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or change their opinion of our shares, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.

Future sales and issuances of our common stock or rights to purchase common stock, including pursuant to our equity incentive plans, could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause the stock price of our common stock to decline.

We may issue additional securities following the completion of this offering. In the future, we may sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. We also expect to issue common stock to employees and directors pursuant to our equity incentive plans. If we sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in subsequent transactions, or common stock is issued pursuant to equity incentive plans, investors may be materially diluted. New investors in such subsequent transactions could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our common stock.

Future sales of our common stock in the public market could cause our share price to fall.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market after this offering, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair

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our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. Based on the number of shares of common stock outstanding as of                , upon the closing of this offering, we will have             shares of common stock outstanding, assuming no exercise of our outstanding options.

All of the common stock sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restrictions or further registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, except for any shares held by our affiliates as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. The remaining              shares of common stock outstanding after this offering, based on shares outstanding as of             , will be restricted as a result of securities laws, lock-up agreements or other contractual restrictions that restrict transfers for at least 180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to certain extensions.

The underwriters may, in their sole discretion, release all or some portion of the shares subject to lock-up agreements with the underwriters prior to expiration of the lock-up period. See also the section of this prospectus captioned “Shares eligible for future sale.” For more information regarding the lock-up agreements with the underwriters see the section of this prospectus captioned “Underwriting.”

The holders of 166,514,825 shares of common stock, or 94.28% based on shares outstanding as of September 30, 2017, will be entitled to rights with respect to registration of such shares under the Securities Act pursuant to a registration rights agreement between such holders and us. See “Certain relationships and related party transactions—Registration rights agreement” below. If such holders, by exercising their registration rights, sell a large number of shares, they could adversely affect the market price for our common stock. If we file a registration statement for the purpose of selling additional shares to raise capital and are required to include shares held by these holders pursuant to the exercise of their registration rights, our ability to raise capital may be impaired. We intend to file a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register             shares of common stock for issuance under our 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, 2013 Stock Plan and 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Both our 2018 Equity Incentive Plan and 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan provide for automatic increases in the shares reserved for issuance under the plans which could result in additional dilution to our stockholders. Once we register the shares under these plans, they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance and vesting, subject to a 180-day lock-up period and other restrictions provided under the terms of the applicable plan and/or the option agreements entered into with option holders.

Our management team may invest or spend the proceeds of this offering in ways with which you may not agree or in ways which may not yield a return.

Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately. Accordingly, investors will need to rely on our judgment with respect to the use of these proceeds. We currently intend to use the proceeds from this offering primarily to improve and update our platform and core technologies, to expand our sales and marketing capabilities, to further expand into other geographies, to continue to expand into new business verticals, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes. For more information see, “Use of proceeds.” The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could adversely affect our ability to continue maintaining and expanding our business. Until the net proceeds are used, they may be placed in investments that do not produce significant income or that may lose value.

We have never paid dividends on our capital stock and we do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future. Consequently, any gains from an investment in our common stock will likely depend on whether the price of our common stock increases.

We have never declared or paid any dividends on our common stock and do not intend to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. We anticipate that we will retain all of our future earnings for use in the operation of

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our business and for general corporate purposes. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments. Furthermore, we are party to a credit agreement with Silicon Valley Bank which contains negative covenants that limit our ability to pay dividends. For more information, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operation – Liquidity and capital resources.” For more information regarding the negative covenants in our loan and security agreement with Silicon Valley Bank, see “Risk factors—Our credit facility contains restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business.”

Our charter documents and Delaware law could prevent a takeover that stockholders consider favorable and could also reduce the market price of our stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws will contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of our company. These provisions could also make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions. These provisions include:

These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law govern us. These provisions may prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, from merging or combining with us for a certain period of time without the consent of our board of directors.

These and other provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws and under Delaware law could discourage potential takeover attempts, reduce the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock and result in the market price of our common stock being lower than it would be without these provisions. For more information, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of capital stock—Anti-takeover effects of Delaware law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws.”

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Insiders have substantial control over us and will be able to influence corporate matters.

As of December 31, 2017, our directors and executive officers and their affiliates will beneficially own, in the aggregate, approximately 53.95% of our outstanding capital stock upon the completion of this offering. As a result, these stockholders will be able to exercise significant influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets. This concentration of ownership could limit stockholders’ ability to influence corporate matters and may have the effect of delaying or preventing a third party from acquiring control over us.

Claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law.

In addition, as permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated bylaws and our indemnification agreements that we have entered into with our directors and officers provide that:

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be in effect upon completion of this offering will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be in effect upon completion of this offering provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant

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to any provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws to be in effect upon completion of this offering, or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions.

Because the public offering price of our common stock will be substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our outstanding common stock following this offering, new investors will experience immediate and substantial dilution.

The public offering price of our common stock is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately following this offering based on the total value of our tangible assets less our total liabilities. Therefore, if you purchase shares of our common stock in this offering, you will experience immediate dilution of approximately $        per share, the difference between the assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the net tangible book value per share of our common stock as of                , after giving effect to the issuance of shares of our common stock in this offering. Furthermore, if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option, or outstanding options and warrants are exercised, you could experience further dilution. For a further description of the dilution that you will experience immediately after the offering, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Dilution.”

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Special note regarding forward-looking statements

This prospectus includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the operating results and financial condition of our business. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, statements about:

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In addition, in this prospectus, the words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “predict,” “potential” and similar expressions, as they relate to our company, our business and our management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances may be materially different from what we expect.

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Industry and market data

This prospectus contains estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, our business, and the markets for our products, including data regarding our current manufacturing capacity, product features and benefits, product quality, turnaround time, reliability and cost, as well as data regarding market research, estimates and forecasts prepared by our management. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections, market research or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances that are assumed in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained this industry, business, market and other data from reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by market research firms and other third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data and similar sources. In some cases, we do not expressly refer to the sources from which this data is derived. In that regard, when we refer to one or more sources of this type of data in any paragraph, you should assume that other data of this type appearing in the same paragraph is derived from the same sources, unless otherwise expressly stated or the context otherwise requires.

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Use of proceeds

We estimate that the net proceeds from our issuance and sale of shares of our common stock in this offering will be approximately $        million, assuming an initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $        million.

A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease our net proceeds from this offering by approximately $        million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. An increase or decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease our net proceeds from this offering by approximately $        million, assuming no change in the assumed initial public offering price per share and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We do not expect that a change in the offering price or the number of shares by these amounts would have a material effect on our intended uses of the net proceeds from this offering, although it may impact the amount of time prior to which we may need to seek additional capital.

As of September 30, 2017, we had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $62.2 million. We currently estimate that we will use the net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments: (1) to improve and update our platform and core technologies, (2) to expand our sales and marketing capabilities, (3) to further expand into other geographies, (4) to continue to expand into new business verticals, and (5) for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

We believe opportunities may exist from time to time to expand our current business through acquisitions or in-licenses of complementary companies or technologies. While we have no current agreements, commitments or understandings for any specific acquisitions or in-licenses at this time, we may use a portion of the net proceeds for these purposes.

This expected use of the net proceeds from this offering and our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions, which could change in the future as our plans and business conditions evolve. As a result, our management will retain broad discretion over the allocation of the net proceeds from this offering.

After giving effect to the anticipated net proceeds from this offering, we expect that our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will be sufficient to fund our planned operating expenses, capital expenditure requirements and debt service payments through at least the next 12 months. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. For additional information regarding our potential capital requirements, see “We will require additional financing to achieve our goals, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product manufacturing and development and other operations” under the heading “Risk factors.”

Pending our use of the net proceeds from this offering, we intend to invest the net proceeds in a variety of capital preservation investments, including short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing instruments and U.S. government securities.

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Dividend policy

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings for use in the operation of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions including compliance with covenants under our credit facilities and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, under the terms of our current credit facilities, we are prohibited from paying cash dividends without the prior consent of Silicon Valley Bank.

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Capitalization

The following table sets forth our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and capitalization as of September 30, 2017 on:

You should read this table together with the section of this prospectus entitled “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

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The total number of shares of our common stock reflected in the discussion and table above is based upon 176,612,969 shares of our common stock outstanding on a pro forma basis as of September 30, 2017, and excludes:

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Dilution

If you invest in our common stock, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering. Our historical net tangible book value as of September 30, 2017 was $(135.4) million, or $(4.30) per share of common stock. Our net tangible book value per share represents total tangible assets less total liabilities and convertible preferred stock, divided by the number of shares of common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2017. Our pro forma net tangible book value at September 30, 2017, before giving effect to this offering, was $64.9 million, or $0.36 per share of our common stock. Our pro forma net tangible book value before the issuance of shares in this offering gives effect to the conversion of our outstanding convertible preferred stock into our common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering and the related reclassification of the redeemable convertible preferred stock warrant liability into additional paid-in capital immediately prior to the closing of this offering.

After giving effect to our sale of                shares of our common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of September 30, 2017 would have been $        , or $        per share. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $        per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution of $        per share to new investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering. The following table illustrates this dilution on a per share basis:

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately $        million, or approximately $        per share, and would increase or decrease, as applicable, dilution per share to new investors in this offering by $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. An increase or decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately $        million, or approximately $        per share, and would increase or decrease, as applicable, dilution per share to new investors in this offering by approximately $        per share, assuming an initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. If the underwriters exercise their overallotment option to purchase additional

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shares in full, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share would be $        per share, and the dilution per share to new investors in this offering would be $        per share.

The following table summarizes the pro forma on an as adjusted basis as described above, as of September 30, 2017, the differences between the existing stockholders and new investors with respect to the number of shares of common stock purchased from us, the total consideration paid to us and the average price per share paid or to be paid to us at an assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, before deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us:

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the total consideration paid to us by new investors and total consideration paid to us by all stockholders by $        million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. An increase or decrease of 1,000,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase or decrease the total consideration paid to us by new investors and total consideration paid to us by all stockholders by $        million, assuming an initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

The total number of shares of our common stock reflected in the discussion and table above is based upon 176,612,969 shares of our common stock outstanding on a pro forma basis as of September 30, 2017 and excludes:

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To the extent that any outstanding options are exercised, new options are issued under our stock-based compensation plans or we issue additional shares of common stock in the future, there will be further dilution to investors participating in this offering.

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Selected consolidated financial data

You should read the selected consolidated financial data set forth below in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, the notes to our consolidated financial statements and “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” contained elsewhere in this prospectus.

We derived the selected consolidated statements of operations data and consolidated balance sheet data for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2016 and 2017 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The summary financial data included in this section are not intended to replace the financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of our future performance.

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Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results and timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. The last day of our fiscal year is September 30, and we refer to our fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 as fiscal 2016 or 2016 and our fiscal year ended September 30, 2017 as fiscal 2017 or 2017.

Overview

We are a leading and rapidly growing synthetic biology company that has developed a disruptive DNA synthesis platform. The core of our platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by “writing” DNA on a silicon chip. We have combined this technology with proprietary software and scalable commercial infrastructure to create an integrated platform that enables us to achieve high levels of quality, precision, automation, and manufacturing throughput at a significantly lower cost than our competitors. We believe that we are the first and only company to harness the highly-scalable production and processing infrastructure of the semiconductor industry to industrialize the production of a wide range of synthetic DNA-based products.

We launched the first application of our platform, our synthetic DNA product offering, in April 2016 with the goal to become the leading synthetic DNA provider, disrupt the gene synthesis market and make legacy DNA synthesis methods obsolete.

In April 2016, we have rapidly become a leading synthetic DNA provider. In 2017, we served 292 customers including nine of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies by revenue; Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc., or Ginkgo Bioworks, which we believe is the largest global purchaser of synthetic DNA, four of the largest agricultural biotechnology companies that use synthetic biology, over 100 academic research institutions worldwide, and innovative customers using synthetic DNA for new and emerging applications, such as Microsoft Corporation and the University of Washington for use of DNA as a digital data storage medium.

We have also leveraged the versatility of our platform to expand our product portfolio into other markets in which we believe we have a competitive advantage. In October 2017, we launched an innovative and comprehensive preparation kit for next generation sequencing that simplifies the workflow, improves accuracy and lowers the cost of next generation sequencing.

We have built a scalable commercial platform that enables us to reach a diverse customer base that we believe includes over 100,000 synthetic DNA users today. We launched our proprietary, innovative, and easy-to-use e-commerce platform in October 2017 to existing customers, which enables customers to design, validate, and place on-demand orders of customized DNA online. We also employ a direct sales force that is focused on customer acquisition, support and management, and is highly trained on both the technical aspects of our platform and DNA.

We generated revenues of $2.3 million in fiscal 2016, and $10.8 million in fiscal 2017, while incurring net losses of $44.1 million in fiscal 2016, and $59.3 million in fiscal 2017.

Since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our ability to generate product revenue sufficient to achieve profitability will depend heavily on the success of our existing products and development

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and commercialization of additional products in the synthetic biology industry. Our net loss was $44.1 million and $59.3 million for fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2016, respectively. As of September 30, 2017, we had an accumulated deficit of $139.6 million. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses for at least the next several years. Furthermore, upon the closing of this offering, we expect to continue to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company including accounting, investor relations, legal and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company.

As a result, we will need substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, we expect to finance our operations from revenue from our commercial operations, the sale of equity, debt financings or other capital sources, including collaborations with other companies or other strategic transactions. We may be unable to grow our revenue, raise additional funds or enter into such other agreements or arrangements when needed on favorable terms, or at all. If we fail to raise capital or enter into such agreements as, and when, needed, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more of our product opportunities or delay our pursuit of potential in-licenses or acquisitions.

As of September 30, 2017, we had $62.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and during 2017, we received net cash proceeds of $65.6 million from the sale of shares of Series D convertible preferred stock. We have based these estimates on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. See “Liquidity and capital resources.”

After giving effect to the anticipated net proceeds from this offering, we expect that our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will be sufficient to fund our planned operating expenses, capital expenditure requirements and debt service payments through at least the next 12 months.

In the future, we expect we will need to raise additional capital to finance our operations which cannot be assured. As of September 30, 2017, without giving effect to the anticipated net proceeds from this offering, we have concluded that this circumstance raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the issuance date of our consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2017. See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements appearing in this prospectus for additional information.

Similarly, in its report on our financial statements for fiscal 2017, our independent registered public accounting firm included an explanatory paragraph stating that our recurring losses from operations since inception and required additional funding to finance our operations raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

Key factors affecting our performance

We believe that our financial performance has been and in the foreseeable future will continue to be primarily driven by the following factors:

Adoption of our products and solutions by existing and new customers.    A key factor to our future success is and will be our ability to increase orders from and sell new solutions to existing customers, and to acquire new customers. To do so, we must offer these customers synthetic DNA-based products with a superior combination of quality, cost, throughput, and scalability, and develop affordable tools for existing and prospective customers that expand the applications of our products and drive higher volume purchases. We must also convince potential customers who currently synthesize their own DNA that our products and solutions are superior and offer greater value to their organizations.

Expansion into new geographic markets.    Our revenue is currently generated from customers primarily in the United States. As we begin to expand our global sales efforts, we must be successful in marketing our products

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and solutions in geographies where we have limited experience. Our revenue may be affected by seasonal trends in some geographies during the calendar year as we expand into new geographic markets.

Expansion into adjacent addressable markets.    Our revenue growth and market potential depends on our ability to meet customer needs in adjacent markets, such as in pharmaceutical development, data storage and in other industrial markets. By combining our affordable and high-quality synthetic DNA with our proprietary, innovative, and easy-to-use e-commerce platform that allows customers to design, validate, and place on-demand orders of customized DNA online, we believe we will continue to convert those who make DNA, or DNA Makers, into those who buy their own DNA, or DNA Buyers.

Leverage our manufacturing capacity and commercial infrastructure.    We have, and will continue to invest significantly in our manufacturing capabilities and commercial infrastructure. With our current operating model and infrastructure, we have the capacity to significantly increase our manufacturing production and commercialize additional products. By doing so, we expect to grow revenue and spread our costs over a larger volume of products, which we believe will further reduce our manufacturing costs on a per-unit basis and improve our operating margins. Our ability to achieve and enhance profitability is dependent upon growing our revenue and further increasing our manufacturing efficiency, among other factors.

Key business metrics

We regularly review the following key business metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate financial projections and make strategic decisions. We believe that the following metrics are representative of our current business; however, we anticipate these will change or may be substituted for additional or different metrics as our business grows.

Value of orders received

We believe that the value of orders we receive is a leading indicator of our ability to generate revenue. We define an order as a contract with a customer or purchase order from a customer, which outlines the promised good at an agreed upon price. We regularly assess trends relating to the value of orders we receive, including with respect to our customer concentration. For example, we have experienced continuous quarterly growth in the value of orders received from customers other than Ginkgo Bioworks, which has increased by approximately seven times from the quarter ended June 30, 2016 to the quarter ended September 30, 2017. Orders may never convert into actual revenue and the timing of delivery of our orders and recognition of revenue, if any, may vary based on the nature of the order, and there can be no assurance that orders will result in recognized revenue. The following table lists the value of orders received (inclusive of Ginkgo Bioworks) during the periods indicated:

Number of customers

We believe that the number of customers purchasing from us is representative of our ability to drive adoption of our product and convert DNA Makers into DNA Buyers. We define a customer as a separate person or legal entity who has purchased any products from us in the past, regardless of the time since the last purchase.

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Percentage of revenue from new vs. repeat customers

We believe that the percentage of revenue that we generate from both new and repeat customers is a leading indicator of our ability to drive adoption of our products amongst existing customers while also generating a robust pipeline of new customers. We define a new customer as a customer who, as a separate legal entity, has not previously purchased any products or services from us. We define a repeat customer as any customer who, as a separate legal entity, has previously purchased any products or services from us. Because our first commercial shipment was in April 2016, 100% of our revenue for fiscal 2016 was from new customers, therefore we had no revenue from repeat customers in fiscal 2016.

Financial overview

The following table summarizes certain selected historical financial results:

Components of the results of operations

Revenues

We generate revenue from sales of synthetic genes, oligo pools, genes, next generation sequencing tools and DNA libraries. We recognize revenue upon delivery to our customers and bill them directly for the shipments. Our ability to increase our revenues will depend on our ability to further penetrate the domestic and international markets, generate sales through our direct sales force, and over time from our e-commerce platform.

Revenues by geography

We have one reportable segment from the sale of synthetic DNA products. The following table shows our revenues by geography, based on our customers’ shipping addresses. North America consists of Canada and Mexico; EMEA consists of Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and APAC consists of Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.