A Dark Vector Cognition product

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

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Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described under the section “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on January 31, 2023 and below all of the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making an investment decision. The section “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on January 31, 2023 identifies the risks and uncertainties, though they are not the only ones we face, that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Our business could be harmed by any of these risks or additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial. Our stock price could decline due to any of these risks.

Risks Related to Our Ability to Grow Our Business

Laws, regulations and customer expectations regarding the use, storage and movement of data may restrict our ability to continue to optimize our platform and adversely affect our business.

Governments have adopted, and may likely continue to adopt, laws and regulations affecting the use, storage and movement of data, including laws related to data privacy, the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (“AI”), and data sovereignty or residency requirements. As a cloud-based service provider, we optimize performance of our products and services by utilizing data centers located in, and support provided from, different jurisdictions. As we continue to innovate and improve the offerings on our platform, we leverage machine learning and AI to create more efficient and effective workflows for our customers. Changing laws, regulations and standards applying to the collection, storage, use, sharing, transfer or other control or processing of data, including personal data such as employee or marketing data, could affect our ability to efficiently and cost-effectively offer our services, to develop our products and services to maximize their utility, as well as our customers’ ability to use data or share data with service providers. Such changes may restrict our ability to use, store or otherwise process data of our customers in connection with providing and supporting our services. In some cases, this could impact our ability to offer our services in certain locations or our customers’ ability to deploy our services globally. In addition, we may become subject to new or heightened legal, ethical or other challenges arising out of the perceived or actual impact of AI on human rights, intellectual property, privacy and employment, among other issues, and we may experience brand or reputational harm, legal liability or increased costs associated with those issues.

Existing and upcoming laws and regulations globally, including European and state specific privacy laws in the United States (“U.S.”), global trends to regulate the use of AI and machine learning, the ruling of the European Court of Justice in Schrems v. Facebook Ireland and interpretations of that ruling by regulators and customers, recommendations issued by the European Data Protection Board, Standard Contractual Clauses issued by the European Commission, and other global privacy, data residency, sovereignty and transfer laws, regulations and standards (including self-regulatory standards) may cause us to incur substantial operational costs or require us to modify our data handling practices and/or policies, may limit the development, use and adoption of our services, and could reduce overall demand for our services. While a new Privacy Shield has been proposed to permit the transfer of data between the U.S. and the European Union, the timing and precise requirements of the Privacy Shield are uncertain, as is the possibility that any agreement would be challenged in court. Laws or regulations related to the use of AI and machine learning technology may impact our ability to use certain data for developing our products and may also become an impediment to the adoption of our products for customers regulated by such laws and regulations. In 2022, we began offering an EU-centric services delivery model, by which customers may elect to receive support from EU‑based ServiceNow teams, with an EU, cloud‑hosted digital workflow solution. This offering required a significant investment in financial and human resources, and we may see similar requests for local solutions in other territories. In addition, actual or perceived non-compliance with those laws and regulations could result in proceedings or investigations against us by regulatory authorities or others, lead to significant fines, damages, orders or reputational harm and may otherwise adversely impact our business, financial condition and operating results.

Changes in our developed or acquired products and how such products utilize data could also alter or increase our compliance requirements. As a result, our innovation and business drivers in developing or acquiring new and emerging technologies and the demand for our products could be impacted.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

None.

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

Not applicable.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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