Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation

Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation

Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. ("Yield10" or the "Company") is an agricultural bioscience company focused on commercializing sustainable products using the oilseed Camelina sativa ("Camelina") as a platform crop. The features of Camelina, including the availability of winter varieties and a short growth cycle, make it suitable for integration into crop rotations and double cropping on millions of acres in North America. To unlock this potential and make Camelina an attractive option to farmers, the Company is developing and planning to commercialize advanced varieties with elite weed control herbicide tolerance traits, improved agronomic performance, and increased crop value. The Company is pursuing two Camelina seed oil products with different market opportunities, value chains, scale requirements and challenges. The first product, Camelina seed oil is being developed as a low-carbon intensity feedstock oil for biofuels, including biodiesel, renewable diesel (“RD”) and sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”). The second Camelina product being developed will be seed oil which has been genetically engineered to enable production of high levels of the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (“EPA”) and docosahexaenoic acid (“DHA”) in the oil. The Company's development is driven by the growing demand for new sources of omega-3 feedstocks and the production constraints and supply volatility of the traditional raw material source which is fish oil extracted from ocean harvested fish and krill. When commercially available, the Company's omega-3 Camelina will address a need for a reliable, scalable supply of omega-3 oils for aquaculture.

    The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a basis which assumes that the Company will continue as a going concern and which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. With the exception of a single year, the Company has recorded losses since its initial founding, including its fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. The Company ended 2023 with unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $1,068.

The Company follows the guidance of Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 205-40, Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern, in order to determine whether there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern for one year after the date its consolidated financial statements are issued. The Company's ability to continue operations after its current cash resources are exhausted depends on its ability to obtain additional financing through, among other sources, public or private equity financing, secured or unsecured debt financing, equity or debt bridge financing, warrant holders' ability and willingness to exercise the Company's outstanding warrants, additional research grants or collaborative arrangements with third parties, as to which no assurance can be given. Management does not know whether additional financing will be available on terms favorable or acceptable to the Company when needed, if at all. If adequate additional funds are not available when required, management will be forced to curtail the Company's research efforts, explore strategic alternatives and/or wind down the Company's operations and pursue options for liquidating its remaining assets, including intellectual property and equipment. Based on its current cash forecast, management has determined that the Company's present capital resources will not be sufficient to fund its planned operations for at least one year from when these consolidated financial statements are available to be issued, which raises substantial doubt as to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. This forecast of cash resource is forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, and the actual amount of expenses could vary materially and adversely as a result of a number of factors.

If the Company issues equity or debt securities to raise additional funds, (i) the Company may incur fees associated with such issuance, (ii) its existing stockholders may experience dilution from the issuance of new equity securities, (iii) the Company may incur ongoing interest expense and be required to grant a security interest in Company assets in connection with any debt issuance, and (iv) the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of the Company’s existing stockholders. In addition, utilization of the Company’s net operating loss and research and development credit carryforwards may be subject to significant annual limitations under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, (the "Internal Revenue Code") due to ownership changes resulting from equity financing transactions. If the Company raises additional funds through collaboration, licensing or other similar arrangements, it may be necessary to relinquish valuable rights to its potential products or proprietary technologies or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to the Company.