As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2022
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Under
The Securities Act of 1933
AURORA INNOVATION, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 98-1562265 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
1654 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222
(888) 583-9506
(Address of Principal Executive Offices, including zip code)
Aurora Innovation, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan
Aurora Innovation, Inc. 2017 Equity Incentive Plan
OURS Technology Inc. 2017 Stock Incentive Plan
Blackmore Sensors & Analytics, Inc. 2016 Equity Incentive Plan
(Full title of the plans)
William Mouat
General Counsel
1654 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222
(888) 583-9506
(Name, address and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Megan J. Baier
Mark G.C. Bass
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.
1301 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10019
(212) 999-5800
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | |||
| Emerging growth company | ☒ | |||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS
The information specified in Item 1 and Item 2 of Part I of Form S-8 is omitted from this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428 under the Securities Act and the introductory note to Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be delivered to the participants in the equity benefit plans covered by this Registration Statement as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act.
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (the “Registrant”) hereby incorporates by reference into this registration statement (the “Registration Statement”) the following documents previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”):
| (1) | The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-40216) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on March 11, 2022. |
| (2) |
| (3) | The description of the Registrant’s Class A Common Stock contained in Exhibit 4.5 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-40216) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on March 11, 2022, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description. |
All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the SEC shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document which also is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.
Item 4. Description of Securities.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
Certain members of, and investment partnerships comprised of members of, and persons associated with, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, directly or indirectly, own less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Registrant’s Class A Common Stock.
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) allows a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation will not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached the duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper personal benefit. The Registrant’s certificate of incorporation provides for this limitation of liability.
Section 145 of the DGCL, provides, among other things, that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was, is or is threatened to be made, party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of such corporation), by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer, director, employee or agent of such corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. A Delaware corporation may indemnify any persons who were or are a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests, provided further that no indemnification is permitted without judicial approval if the officer, director, employee or agent is adjudged to be liable to the corporation. Where an officer or director is successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any action referred to above, the corporation must indemnify him or her against the expenses (including attorneys’ fees) which such officer or director has actually and reasonably incurred.
Section 145 further authorizes a corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise, against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the corporation would otherwise have the power to indemnify such person under Section 145.
The Registrant’s bylaws provide that the Registrant must indemnify and advance expenses to its directors and officers to the full extent authorized by the DGCL.
The Registrant has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers. Such agreements may require the Registrant, among other things, to advance expenses and otherwise indemnify its executive officers and directors against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as executive officers or directors, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The indemnification rights set forth above shall not be exclusive of any other right which an indemnified person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, any provision of the Registrant’s certificate of incorporation, bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Registrant shall not be obligated to indemnify a director or officer in respect of a proceeding (or part thereof) instituted by such director or officer, unless such proceeding (or part thereof) has been authorized by the Registrant’s board of directors pursuant to the applicable procedure outlined in the Registrant’s bylaws.
Section 174 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a director, who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption, may be held jointly and severally liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved or dissented at the time may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing the minutes of the meetings of the Registrant’s board of directors at the time such action occurred or immediately after such absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.
II-2
The Registrant currently maintains and expects to continue to maintain standard policies of insurance that provide coverage (1) to its directors and officers against loss rising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act and (2) to us with respect to indemnification payments that the Registrant may make to such directors and officers.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against the Registrant’s directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit the Registrant and its stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent the Registrant pays the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
The Registrant believes that these provisions, the insurance, and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
Not applicable.
Item 8. Exhibits.
The Registrant has filed the exhibits listed on the accompanying Exhibit Index of this Registration Statement.
EXHIBIT INDEX
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Item 9. Undertakings.
| A. | The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes: |
| (1) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement: |
| (i) | To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act; |
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) that, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement; and
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i) and (A)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.
| (2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| (3) | To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. |
B. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
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C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Pittsburgh, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on this 11th day of March, 2022.
| AURORA INNOVATION, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Chris Urmson | |
| Chris Urmson | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Chris Urmson, Richard Tame and William Mouat, and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Registration Statement (including post-effective amendments) on Form S-8, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact, proxy, and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully for all intents and purposes as such person might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that any said attorney-in-fact, proxy and agent, or any substitute of any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated:
| Signature |
Title |
Date | ||
| /s/ Chris Urmson Chris Urmson |
Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) |
March 11, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Richard Tame Richard Tame |
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
March 11, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Sterling Anderson Sterling Anderson |
Director | March 11, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Michelangelo Volpi Michelangelo Volpi |
Director | March 11, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Dara Khosrowshahi Dara Khosrowshahi |
Director | March 11, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Carl Eschenbach Carl Eschenbach |
Director | March 11, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Brittany Bagley Brittany Bagley |
Director | March 11, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Reid Hoffman Reid Hoffman |
Director | March 11, 2022 | ||
| /s/ Claire Hughes Johnson Claire Hughes Johnson |
Director | March 11, 2022 | ||