Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc.DNA
Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. Commitments Disclosure
Commitments and Contingencies
Purchase Obligations
In August 2023, the Company entered into a five-year strategic cloud and AI partnership with Google Cloud, which included minimum annual commitments to purchase cloud hosting services. The partnership previously included minimum annual commitments over the contract years ending August 27, 2027 to purchase cloud hosting services in exchange for various discounts on such services. The aggregate $289 million future purchase commitment included minimum annual commitments were as follows: year 1, $8.0 million; year 2, $28.0 million; year 3, $54.0 million; year 4, $86.0 million; and year 5, $113.0 million. Effective October 3, 2025, the Company entered into amendment that revised the total aggregate future purchase commitment to $110 million and reset the annual commitments as follows (each annual year is defined as October 3 to October 2): year 1 (starting on October 3, 2025), $6.0 million; year 2, $8.0 million; year 3, $12.0 million; year
4, $18.0 million; year 5, $28.0 million; year 6, $38.0 million. The Company recognized a contractual liability of $20.9 million during year ended December 31, 2025 as a result of shortfall in purchasing relative to its commitments under the original agreement. The Company is required to make a one-time payment of $14.0 million to be released from its minimum annual commitment obligations under the original agreement in January 2026. If the Company does not meet its minimum annual commitment obligations in the future, additional shortfall liabilities may be incurred and future contractual losses may be material.
Effective April 1, 2025, the Company entered into an amendment to its four-year supply agreement with Twist for the purchase of diverse products including synthetic DNA. The original agreement was effective as of April 1, 2022 and obligated the Company to spend a minimum of $58.0 million over the four-year term with the following minimum annual commitments (each annual year is defined as April 1 to March 31): year 1, $10.0 million; year 2, $13.0 million; year 3, $16.0 million; and year 4, $19.0 million. The amendment converts the remaining minimum annual commitments into non-refundable payments creditable against future purchases by the Company, with no expiration. The Company paid $4.0 million in April 2025 and is obligated to non-refundable payments of $5.0 million on April 1, 2026 and $6.0 million on April 1, 2027, respectively. A contractual loss of $8.7 million was recorded in the year ended December 31, 2025.
Surety Bond
In 2026, the Company will be required to fund a surety bond in the amount of $47.0 million to fulfill its obligations under a contract with a U.S. Government National Laboratory related to the sale of RAC automation equipment. The $47.0 million will be restricted until the Company completes all of its obligations under the contract. Currently the Company expects the cash to be restricted until 2029.
Contingent Consideration Related to Asset Acquisitions
In connection with the StrideBio acquisition (see Note 4), the Company is obligated to make royalty payments of up to $21.3 million payable in cash or shares of Class A common stock at the Company's election until the earlier of the tenth anniversary date of the initial closing and the date on which the aggregate amount of the royalty payments equals the amount cap. The royalties are calculated based on 10% of the net licensing revenue and 40% of all consideration received for a license or sale of a product incorporating the acquired platform assets. No amounts for the royalty payments have been recorded during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.
The Company routinely acquires rights to intellectual property that may provide for payment of future contingent consideration, including royalties, should revenue be generated from the use of such.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, the Company may in the ordinary course of business be named as a defendant in lawsuits, indemnity claims and other legal proceedings. The Company accrues for a loss contingency when it concludes that the likelihood of a loss is probable and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. The Company adjusts its accruals from time to time as it receives additional information. The Company does not believe any pending litigation to be material, or that the outcome of any such pending litigation, in management’s judgment based on information currently available, would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
Indemnification Agreements
The Company enters into standard indemnification agreements and has agreements with indemnification clauses in the ordinary course of business. Under such arrangements, the Company indemnifies, holds harmless and agrees to reimburse the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party, who are generally the Company’s business partners. The terms of these indemnification arrangements are generally perpetual and effective any time after contract execution. The maximum potential liability resulting from these indemnification arrangements may be unlimited. The Company has never incurred costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims as a result of such indemnifications and the Company is not aware of any indemnification arrangements that could have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows, and it has not accrued any liabilities related to such obligations as of December 31, 2025.
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Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Feb 25, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Feb 29, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 13, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Mar 29, 2022 | |
About Commitments Disclosures
Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.
Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.