Rani Therapeutics (RANI) DEF 14ADefinitive proxy

You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of RANI THERAPEUTICS HOLDINGS, INC., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”). The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. To facilitate stockholder participation in the Annual Meeting, the Annual Meeting will be held through a live webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RANI2024. You will not be able to attend the meeting in person. The meeting will be held for the following purposes:

This year's Annual Meeting will be held virtually through a live webcast. You will be able to attend the Annual Meeting and vote during the live webcast by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RANI2024 and entering the 16-digit Control Number included in your Notice of Internet Availability or in the instructions that you received via email. Please refer to the additional logistical details and recommendations in the accompanying proxy statement. You may log-in beginning at 7:45 a.m. Pacific Time, on May 29, 2024.

The record date for the Annual Meeting is April 2, 2024. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on that date may vote at the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

Pursuant to rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we have elected to provide access to our proxy materials over the internet. Accordingly, we have sent you a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice”) because the Board of Directors of Rani Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (sometimes referred to as “Rani Holdings”, and together with its subsidiary, Rani Therapeutics, LLC (“Rani LLC”), as “us”, “our, “we” and the “Company”) is soliciting your proxy to vote at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, including at any adjournments or postponements of the meeting. All stockholders will have the ability to access the proxy materials on the website referred to in the Notice or request to receive a printed set of the proxy materials. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the internet or to request a printed copy may be found in the Notice.

We intend to mail the Notice on or about April 17, 2024 to all stockholders of record entitled to vote at the annual meeting.

To facilitate stockholder participation in the annual meeting, the annual meeting will be held through a live webcast at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RANI2024. You will not be able to attend the annual meeting in person. If you attend the annual meeting online, you will be able to vote at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RANI2024.

You are entitled to attend the annual meeting if you were a stockholder as of the close of business on April 2, 2024, the record date, or hold a valid proxy for the meeting. To be admitted to the annual meeting, you will need to visit www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RANI2024 and enter the 16-digit Control Number found next to the label “Control Number” on your Notice of Internet Availability, proxy card or voting instruction form, or in the email sending you the Proxy Statement. If you are a beneficial stockholder, you should contact the bank, broker or other institution where you hold your account well in advance of the meeting if you have questions about obtaining your control number.

We encourage you to access the annual meeting before it begins. Online check-in will start approximately 15 minutes before the meeting on May 29, 2024.

Please note that if you do not have your Control Number and you are a registered stockholder, you will be able to login as a guest. To view the meeting webcast visit www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RANI2024 and register as a guest. If you login as a guest, you will not be able to vote your shares during the meeting.

If you are a beneficial owner (that is, you hold your shares in an account at a bank, broker or other holder of record), you will need to contact that bank, broker or other holder of record to obtain your Control Number prior to the annual meeting.

A list of our record stockholders as of the close of business on the record date will be made available to stockholders during the meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RANI2024. In addition, for the ten days prior to the annual meeting, the list will be available for examination by any stockholder of record for a legally valid purpose at our corporate headquarters during regular business hours. To access the list of record stockholders beginning May 19, 2024 and until the meeting, stockholders should email secretary@ranitherapeutics.com.

If you have difficulty accessing the meeting, there will be technical support telephone numbers on the log in page at www.virtualshareholdersmeeting.com/RANI2024.

Stockholders may submit questions that are relevant to our business in advance of the annual meeting. If you are a stockholder, you may submit a question in advance of the meeting by emailing your question to secretary@ranitherapeutics.com or sending a letter with your question to Rani Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., Secretary, 2051 Ringwood Avenue, San Jose, CA 95131. You must put “Annual Meeting Question” in the subject line or at the top of the letter, and state your full name and whether you hold shares as a stockholder of record or beneficial owner. To be considered, questions must be received by the Company on or before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 19, 2024. Questions pertinent to meeting matters will be addressed through prepared remarks at the annual meeting. 

Yes, a replay of the annual meeting webcast will be available at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/RANI2024 for one year.

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on April 2, 2024 will be entitled to vote at the annual meeting. On the record date, there were 26,298,553 shares of Class A common stock outstanding and entitled to vote and 24,116,444 shares of Class B common stock outstanding and entitled to vote.

If on April 2, 2024 your shares were registered directly in your name with Rani Holdings’ transfer agent, Equiniti Trust Company, LLC, then you are a stockholder of record. As a stockholder of record, you may vote online at the meeting or vote by proxy. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, we urge you to vote by proxy over the telephone, vote by proxy through the internet or vote by proxy using a proxy card that you may request or that we may elect to deliver at a later time to ensure your vote is counted.

If on April 2, 2024, your shares were held, not in your name, but rather in an account at a brokerage firm, bank or other similar organization, then you are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” and the Notice is being forwarded to you by that organization. The organization holding your account is considered to be the stockholder of record for purposes of voting at the annual meeting. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker, bank or other agent regarding how to vote the shares in your account. You are also invited to attend the annual meeting online. However, since you are not the stockholder of record, you may not vote your shares at the meeting unless you request and obtain a valid proxy from your broker, bank or other agent.

The Board of Directors knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the annual meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote on those matters in accordance with their best judgment.

You may either vote “For” all the nominees to the Board of Directors or you may “Withhold” your vote for any nominee you specify. For each of the other matters to be voted on, you may vote “For” or “Against” or abstain from voting.

If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote by proxy over the telephone, vote by proxy through the internet, vote online at the annual meeting or vote by proxy using a proxy card that you may request or that we may elect to deliver at a later time. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, we urge you to vote by proxy to ensure your vote is counted. You may still attend the meeting and vote at the meeting even if you have already voted by proxy.

If you are a beneficial owner of shares registered in the name of your broker, bank or other agent, you should have received a notice containing voting instructions from that organization rather than from Rani Holdings. To vote prior to the meeting, simply follow the voting instructions in the notice to ensure that your vote is counted. However, since you are not the stockholder of record, you may not vote your shares at the meeting unless you request and obtain a valid proxy from your broker, bank or other agent.

On each matter to be voted upon, you are entitled to one vote for each share of Class A common stock you own as of April 2, 2024 and 10 votes for each share of Class B common stock you own as of April 2, 2024.

If you are a stockholder of record and do not vote by completing your proxy card, by telephone, through the internet or online at the annual meeting, your shares will not be voted.

If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and you do not instruct your broker, bank or other agent how to vote your shares, your broker, bank or other agent may still be able to vote your shares in its discretion. Under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), brokers, banks and other securities intermediaries that are subject to NYSE rules may use their discretion to vote your “uninstructed” shares with respect to matters considered to be “routine” under NYSE rules, but not with respect to “non-routine” matters. In this regard, Proposal 1 is considered to be “non-routine” under NYSE rules meaning that your broker may not vote your shares on that proposal in the absence of your voting instructions. However, Proposal 2 is considered to be a “routine” matter under NYSE rules meaning that if you do not return voting instructions to your broker by its deadline, your shares may be voted by your broker in its discretion on Proposal 2. If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name, and you do not plan to attend the meeting, in order to ensure your shares are voted in the way you would prefer, you must provide voting instructions to your broker, bank or other agent by the deadline provided in the materials you receive from your broker, bank or other agent.

We will pay for the entire cost of soliciting proxies. In addition to these proxy materials, our directors and employees may also solicit proxies in person, by telephone, or by other means of communication. Directors and employees will not be paid any additional compensation for soliciting proxies. We may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents for the cost of forwarding proxy materials to beneficial owners.

If you receive more than one Notice, your shares may be registered in more than one name or in different accounts. Please follow the voting instructions on the Notices to ensure that all of your shares are voted.

Yes. You can revoke your proxy at any time before the final vote at the meeting. If you are the record holder of your shares, you may revoke your proxy in any one of the following ways:

If your shares are held by your broker, bank or other agent, you should follow the instructions provided by your broker, bank or other agent.

To be considered for inclusion in next year’s proxy materials, your proposal must be submitted in writing by December 18, 2024, to:

Rani Holdings’ Board of Directors currently consists of eight directors. There are eight nominees for director this year. Each director to be elected and qualified will hold office until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until his or her successor is elected, or, if sooner, until the director’s death, resignation or removal. Each of the nominees listed below is currently a director of the Company who was previously elected by the stockholders. Although the Company does not have a formal policy regarding attendance by members of the Board of Directors at annual meetings of stockholders, all directors are encouraged to attend. Seven directors attended the Company’s 2023 annual meeting of stockholders.

Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes of the holders of shares present virtually or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the election of directors. Accordingly, the eight nominees receiving the highest number of affirmative votes will be elected. Shares represented by executed proxies will be voted, if authority to do so is not withheld, for the election of the eight nominees named below. If any nominee becomes unavailable for election as a result of an unexpected occurrence, shares that would have been voted for that nominee will instead be voted for the election of a substitute nominee proposed by Rani Holdings. Each person nominated for election has agreed to serve if elected. The Company’s management has no reason to believe that any nominee will be unable to serve.

The following is a brief biography of each nominee for director and a discussion of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each nominee that led the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to recommend that person as a nominee for director, as of the date of this proxy statement.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeks to assemble a board that, as a whole, possesses the appropriate balance of professional and industry knowledge, financial expertise and high-level management experience necessary to oversee and direct the Company’s business. To that end, the committee has identified and evaluated nominees in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition, with the goal of recruiting members who complement and strengthen the skills of other members and who also exhibit integrity, collegiality, sound business judgment and other qualities and expertise that the committee views as critical to effective functioning of the Board. The Board believes it is important to develop a diverse and experienced board of directors. To provide a mix of experience and perspective on the board, the committee takes into account various factors, including diversity (including diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and cultural background), integrity, skills and experience. The brief biographies below include information, as of the date of this proxy statement, regarding the specific and particular experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each director or nominee that led the committee to believe that that the nominees should continue to serve on the Board. However, each of the members of the committee may have a variety of reasons why he or she believes a particular person would be an appropriate nominee for the Board, and these views may differ from the views of other members.

Due to the global and complex nature of our business, the Board believes it is important to consider diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, education, cultural background, and professional experiences in evaluating board candidates in order to provide practical insights and diverse perspectives. Below is an overview of our director nominee diversity. The Board Diversity Matrix, below, provides diversity statistics for our Board of Directors.

As required under the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) listing standards, a majority of the members of a listed company’s board of directors must qualify as “independent,” as affirmatively determined by the Board of Directors. The Board consults with the Company’s counsel to ensure that the Board’s determinations are consistent with relevant securities and other laws and regulations regarding the definition of “independent,” including those set forth in pertinent listing standards of Nasdaq, as in effect from time to time.

Consistent with these considerations, after review of all relevant identified transactions or relationships between each director, or any of his or her family members, and the Company, its senior management and its independent auditors, the Board has affirmatively determined that the following directors are independent directors within the meaning of the applicable Nasdaq listing standards: Dr. Ausiello, Dr. Nanavaty, Mr. Butel, Ms. DeBuono, Ms. Rometty and Ms. Baranowski during her time on the Board. In making this determination, the Board found that none of these directors or nominees for director had a material or other disqualifying relationship with the Company.

In making these determinations, the Board of Directors considered the current and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with the Company and all other facts and circumstances our Board deemed relevant in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership of our capital stock by each non-employee director and the transactions involving them described in the section titled “Certain Related Person Transactions.” Additionally, in determining the independence of Ms. Baranowski during her time on the Board, the Board took into account an equity award made by Rani LLC to Ms. Baranowski in exchange for certain consulting services provided in 2020 through February 2021. The Board does not believe that this transaction would interfere with Ms. Baranowski’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out her responsibilities as a director.

Based on this review, the Board affirmatively determined that all of the directors nominated for election at the annual meeting (other than Mir Imran and Talat Imran, who are not considered independent because they are or were executive officers of the Company, and Andrew Farquharson, who is not considered independent because of his affiliation with multiple entities with whom Mir Imran and/or Talat Imran are also affiliated), are independent under the standards set forth in the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines and applicable Nasdaq rules.

The Company’s Board of Directors is currently chaired by Mir Imran, the Company’s founder and former Chief Executive Officer. The role of Chief Executive Officer is held by Talat Imran and the Board has also appointed Ms. DeBuono as lead independent director.

The Company believes that separation of the positions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer reinforces the independence of the Board in its oversight of the business and affairs of the Company. The Company also believes that it is advantageous to have a Chairman with an extensive history with and knowledge of the Company (as is the case with the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer). The Company also believes that having a lead independent director creates an environment that is more conducive to objective evaluation and oversight of management’s performance, increasing management accountability and improving the ability of the Board to monitor whether management’s actions are in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders. As a result, the Company believes that separating the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, and having a lead independent director, can enhance the effectiveness of the Board as a whole.

The Board appointed Ms. DeBuono as the lead independent director to help reinforce the independence of the Board as a whole. The lead independent director is empowered to, among other duties and responsibilities, approve agendas and meeting schedules for regular Board meetings, preside over Board meetings in the absence of the chairperson, preside over and establish the agendas for meetings of the independent directors, act as liaison between the chairperson and the independent directors, approve information sent to the Board, preside over any portions of Board meetings at which the evaluation or compensation of the Chief Executive Officer is presented or discussed and, as appropriate upon request, act as a liaison to stockholders. In addition, it is the responsibility of the lead independent director to coordinate between the Board and management with regard to the determination and implementation of responses to any problematic risk management issues. As a result, the Company believes that the lead independent director can help ensure the effective independent functioning of the Board in its oversight responsibilities. In addition, the Company believes that the lead independent director is positioned to build a consensus among directors and to serve as a conduit between the other independent directors and the chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, for example, by facilitating the inclusion on meeting agendas of matters of concern to the independent directors. In light of the Chairman’s and Chief Executive Officer’s extensive history with and knowledge of the Company, and because the Board’s lead independent director is empowered to play a significant role in the Board’s leadership and in reinforcing the independence of the Board, the Company believes that it is advantageous for the Company to separate the roles of Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and lead independent director.

One of the board’s key functions is informed oversight of the Company’s risk management process. The Board does not have a standing risk management committee, but rather administers this oversight function directly through the Board as a whole, as well as through various Board standing committees that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. The Board of Directors is responsible for general oversight of risks and regular review of information regarding the Company’s risks, including credit risks, liquidity risks, cybersecurity risks and operational risks, as well as providing strategic guidance to the senior management of the Company. The Compensation Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks relating to the Company’s executive and employee compensation plans and arrangements. The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks relating to financial risk management and financial risk assessment, including the Company’s major financial risk exposures. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks associated with the independence of the Board of Directors and potential conflicts of interest. Although each committee is responsible for evaluating certain risks and overseeing the management of such risks, our entire Board of Directors is regularly informed through discussions from committee members about such risks. The Board of Directors believes its administration of its risk oversight function has not negatively affected the Board of Directors’ leadership structure.

The Board of Directors met five times during the last fiscal year. Each Board member attended 75% or more of the aggregate number of meetings of the Board and of the committees on which he or she served, held during the portion of the last fiscal year for which he or she was a director or committee member.

The Board has three committees: an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The following table provides membership and meeting information for fiscal year 2023 for each of the Board committees:

The Board of Directors has determined that each member of each committee meets the applicable Nasdaq rules and regulations regarding “independence” and each member is free of any relationship that would impair his or her individual exercise of independent judgment with regard to the Company.

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors was established by the Board in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), to oversee the Company’s corporate accounting and financial reporting processes, systems of internal control over financial reporting, and audits of its financial statements. For this purpose, the Audit Committee performs several functions. The Audit Committee:

The Audit Committee is composed of four directors: Mr. Butel, Ms. DeBuono, Mr. Nanavaty and Ms. Rometty. The Audit Committee met four times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The Board has adopted a written Audit Committee charter that is available to stockholders on the Company’s website at ir.ranitherapeutics.com.

The Board of Directors reviews the Nasdaq listing standards definition of independence for Audit Committee members on a quarterly basis and has determined that all members of the Company’s Audit Committee are independent (as independence is currently defined in Rule 5605(c)(2)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Nasdaq listing standards).

The Board of Directors has also determined that Ms. DeBuono qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined in applicable SEC rules. The Board of Directors made a qualitative assessment of Ms. DeBuono’s level of knowledge and experience based on a number of factors, including her formal education, experience as a chief executive officer and general counsel for public reporting companies and a chief financial officer for several large healthcare companies.

The Audit Committee reviews our financial reporting process on behalf of the Board. Management has the primary responsibility for the preparation and integrity of the consolidated financial statements and the reporting process, including establishing and monitoring the system of internal financial controls. In fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the Audit Committee hereby reports as follows:

Based on the foregoing, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited consolidated financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

The Compensation Committee is composed of two directors: Ms. DeBuono and Mr. Nanavaty. All members of the Company’s Compensation Committee are independent (as independence is currently defined in Rule 5605(d)(2) of the Nasdaq listing standards). The Compensation Committee met two times during the fiscal year. The Board has adopted a written Compensation Committee charter that is available to stockholders on the Company’s website at ir.ranitherapeutics.com/corporate-governance/governance-overview.

The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors acts on behalf of the Board to review, recommend for adoption and oversee the Company’s overall compensation strategy, policies, plans and programs, including:

Typically, the Compensation Committee meets at least two times annually and with greater frequency if necessary. The agenda for each meeting is usually developed by the Chair of the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee meets regularly in executive session. However, from time to time, various members of management and other employees as well as outside advisors or consultants may be invited by the Compensation Committee to make presentations, to provide financial or other background information or advice or to otherwise participate in Compensation Committee meetings. The Chief Executive Officer may not be present during any deliberations or determinations of the Compensation Committee regarding his compensation. The charter of the Compensation Committee grants the Compensation Committee full access to all books, records, facilities and personnel of the Company. In addition, under the charter, the Compensation Committee has the authority to obtain, at the expense of the Company, advice and assistance from compensation consultants and internal and external legal, accounting or other advisors and other external resources that the Compensation Committee considers necessary or appropriate in the performance of its duties. The Compensation Committee has direct responsibility for the oversight of the work of any consultants or advisers engaged for the purpose of advising the Committee. In particular, the Compensation Committee has the sole authority to retain, in its sole discretion, compensation consultants to assist in its evaluation of executive and director compensation, including the sole authority to approve the consultant’s reasonable fees and other retention terms, all at the expense of the Company. Under the charter, the Compensation Committee may select, or receive advice from, a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other advisers to the Compensation Committee, only after taking into consideration six factors, prescribed by the SEC and Nasdaq, that bear upon the adviser’s independence; however, there is no requirement that any adviser be independent.

During the past fiscal year, after taking into consideration the six factors prescribed by the SEC and Nasdaq described above, the Compensation Committee engaged Radford, a division of Aon Consulting, Inc. (“Radford”) as compensation consultants. The Compensation Committee requested that Radford:

As part of its engagement, Radford was requested by the Compensation Committee to develop a comparative group of companies and to perform analyses of competitive performance and compensation levels for that group. At the request of the Compensation Committee, Radford also conducted individual interviews with members of the

Generally, the Compensation Committee’s process comprises two related elements: the determination of compensation levels and the establishment of performance objectives for the current year. For executives other than the Chief Executive Officer, the Compensation Committee solicits and considers evaluations and recommendations submitted to the committee by the Chief Executive Officer. In the case of the Chief Executive Officer, the evaluation of his performance is conducted by the Compensation Committee, which determines any adjustments to his compensation as well as awards to be granted. The Compensation Committee also recommends to the Board the compensation to be paid and awarded to the non-employee directors. For all executives and directors as part of its deliberations, the Compensation Committee may review and consider, as appropriate, materials such as financial reports and projections, operational data, tax and accounting information, tally sheets that set forth the total compensation that may become payable to executives in various hypothetical scenarios, executive and director stock ownership information, company stock performance data, analyses of historical executive compensation levels and current Company-wide compensation levels and recommendations of the Compensation Committee’s compensation consultant, including analyses of executive and director compensation paid at other companies identified by the consultant.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for identifying, reviewing and evaluating candidates to serve as directors of the Company (consistent with criteria approved by the Board), reviewing and evaluating incumbent directors, recommending to the Board candidates for election to the Board of Directors, making recommendations to the Board regarding the membership of the committees of the Board, reviewing and assessing the performance of the Board (including Board committees), and developing a set of corporate governance principles for the Company and reviewing and assessing those principles and their application.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is composed of two directors: Dr. Ausiello and Mr. Butel. All members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are independent (as independence is currently defined in Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq listing standards). The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met two times during the fiscal year. The Board has adopted a written Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter that is available to stockholders on the Company’s website and ir.ranitherapeutics.com/corporate-governance/governance-overview.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee believes that candidates for director should have certain minimum qualifications, including the ability to read and understand basic financial statements, being over 21 years of age and having the highest personal integrity and ethics. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also intends to consider such factors as possessing relevant expertise upon which to be able to offer advice and guidance to management, having sufficient time to devote to the affairs of the Company, demonstrated excellence in his or her field, having the ability to exercise sound business judgment, having a diverse personal background, perspective and experience and having the commitment to rigorously represent the long-term interests of the Company’s stockholders. However, the Board of Directors and/or the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may modify these qualifications from time to time. When this occurs, the Board of Directors and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will evaluate existing members according to the new criteria. Candidates for director nominees are reviewed in the context of the current composition of the Board, the operating requirements of the Company and the long-term interests of stockholders. In conducting this assessment, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee typically considers diversity (including diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and gender identity), age, skills and such other factors as it deems appropriate, given the current needs of the Board and the Company, to maintain a balance of knowledge, experience and capability.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee appreciates the value of thoughtful Board refreshment, and regularly identifies and considers qualities, skills and other director attributes that would enhance the composition of the Board. In the case of incumbent directors whose terms of office are set to expire, the Committee reviews these directors’ overall service to the Company during their terms, including the number of meetings attended, level of participation, quality of performance and any other relationships and transactions that might impair the directors’ independence. In the case of new director candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also determines whether the

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may consider director candidates recommended by stockholders. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee does not intend to alter the manner in which it evaluates candidates, including the minimum criteria set forth above, based on whether or not the candidate was recommended by a stockholder. Stockholders who wish to recommend individuals for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to become nominees for election to the Board may do so by delivering a written recommendation to the Secretary at the Company’s principal executive office not later than the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting. Submissions must include the full name of the proposed nominee, a description of the proposed nominee’s business experience for at least the previous five years, complete biographical information, a description of the proposed nominee’s qualifications as a director and a representation that the nominating stockholder is a beneficial or record holder of the Company’s stock and has been a holder for at least one year. Any such submission must be accompanied by the written consent of the proposed nominee to be named as a nominee and to serve as a director if elected.

Historically, the Company has not provided a formal process related to stockholder communications with the Board. Nevertheless, every effort has been made to ensure that the views of stockholders are heard by the Board or individual directors, as applicable, and that appropriate responses are provided to stockholders in a timely manner. The Company believes its responsiveness to stockholder communications to the Board has been excellent. Nevertheless, during the upcoming year, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will give full consideration to the adoption of a formal process for stockholder communications with the Board and, if adopted, publish it promptly and post it to the Company’s website.

The Company has adopted the Rani Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all officers, directors and employees. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on the Company’s website at ir.ranitherapeutics.com/corporate-governance/governance-overview. If the Company makes any substantive amendments to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics or grants any waiver from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics to any executive officer or director, the Company will promptly disclose the nature of the amendment or waiver on its website.

The Company has adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines to assure that the Board has the necessary authority and practices in place to review and evaluate the Company’s business operations as needed and to make decisions that are independent of the Company’s management. The guidelines are also intended to align the interests of directors and management with those of the Company’s stockholders. The Corporate Governance Guidelines set forth the practices the Board intends to follow with respect to board composition and selection, including diversity, board meetings, term limits and involvement of senior management, Chief Executive Officer performance evaluation and succession planning, and board committees and compensation. The Corporate Governance Guidelines, as well as the charters for each committee of the Board, may be viewed at ir.ranitherapeutics.com/corporate-governance/governance-overview.

The Board of Directors has adopted an insider trading policy that applies to all of our employees, directors and consultants. This policy prohibits hedging or similar transactions designed to decrease the risks associated with holding shares of the Company’s stock. In addition, the insider trading policy prohibits trading in derivative securities related to the Company’s stock, which include publicly traded call and put options, engaging in short selling of the Company’s stock, purchasing the Company’s stock on margin or holding it in a margin account, and pledging the shares as collateral for a loan.

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has selected Ernst & Young LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 and has further directed that management submit the selection of its independent registered public accounting firm for ratification by the stockholders at the annual meeting. Ernst & Young LLP has audited the Company’s consolidated financial statements since 2019. Representatives of Ernst & Young LLP are expected to be present at the annual meeting. They will have an opportunity to make a statement if they so desire and will be available to respond to appropriate questions.

Neither the Company’s Bylaws nor other governing documents or law require stockholder ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. However, the Audit Committee of the Board is submitting the selection of Ernst & Young LLP to the stockholders for ratification as a matter of good corporate practice. If the stockholders fail to ratify the selection, the Audit Committee of the Board will reconsider whether or not to retain that firm. Even if the selection is ratified, the Audit Committee of the Board in its discretion may direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time during the year if they determine that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.

The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares present virtually or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the matter at the annual meeting will be required to ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.

The following table represents aggregate fees billed to the Company for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 by Ernst & Young LLP, the Company’s principal accountant.

The Audit Committee has adopted a policy and procedures for the pre-approval of audit and non-audit services rendered by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP. The policy generally pre-approves specified services in the defined categories of audit services, audit-related services and tax services up to specified amounts. Pre-approval may also be given as part of the Audit Committee’s approval of the scope of the engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm or on an individual, explicit, case-by-case basis before the independent registered public accounting firm is engaged to provide each service. The pre-approval of services may be delegated to one or more of the Audit Committee’s members, but the decision must be reported to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the ownership of the Company’s capital stock as of March 31, 2024 by: (i) each nominee for director; (ii) each of the executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table; (iii) all executive officers and directors of the Company as a group; and (iv) all those known by the Company to be beneficial owners of more than five percent of its common stock.

Our Class A common stock entitles holders thereof to one vote per share and our Class B common stock entitles holders thereof to ten votes per share, voting together as a single class.

Subject to the terms of Rani LLC’s fifth amended and restated limited liability company agreement (“Rani LLC Agreement”), Class A units of Rani LLC together with Class B common stock of the Company (together referred to as a “Paired Interest”) are exchangeable for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis; provided that, at the Company’s election, the Company has the ability to effect a direct exchange of such Class A common stock or make a cash payment equal to a volume weighted average market price of one share of Class A common stock for each Paired Interest redeemed. Any shares of Class B common stock will be cancelled on a one-for-one basis if, at the election of the holder, the Company redeems or exchanges such Paired Interest pursuant to the terms of the Rani LLC Agreement.

Subject to the terms of the Rani LLC Agreement, certain individuals who own Class A units of Rani LLC without corresponding shares of Class B common stock of the Company (“non-corresponding Class A units”) have the ability to exchange such Class A units of Rani LLC for shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis; provided that, at the Company’s election, the Company has the ability to effect a direct exchange of such Class A common stock or make a cash payment equal to a volume weighted average market price of one share of Class A common stock for each non-corresponding Class A unit of Rani LLC redeemed. Beneficial ownership of Class A units of Rani LLC is not reflected in this table; however, information concerning ownership of Class A units of Rani LLC is included in the footnotes below, where applicable.

Descriptions of our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”) and our 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) are contained in Note 2 and Note 10, respectively, of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

The following table provides certain information with respect to all of the Company’s equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2023.

We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and are therefore permitted to take advantage of certain reduced public company reporting requirements. As an emerging growth company, we provide in this proxy statement the scaled disclosure permitted under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. In addition, as an emerging growth company, we are not required to conduct votes seeking approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers or the frequency that such votes must be conducted.

The following table shows, for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, compensation awarded to or paid to, or earned by, our Chief Executive Officer and our two other most highly-compensated executive officers as of December 31, 2023 (“Named Executive Officers”).

The following table shows for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, certain information regarding outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end for the Named Executive Officers.

Below are descriptions of the offer letters with each of our Named Executive Officers setting forth the terms and conditions of such executive’s employment with Rani LLC, and Rani Management Services, Inc. (“RMS”) prior to transitioning and assigning employment agreements to Rani LLC, each a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. All of our Named Executive Officers are employed at-will.

In December 2019, RMS entered into an offer letter with Talat Imran, our Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2020, which was amended and restated as an employment agreement in June of 2021, as further amended in August 2022 to transfer his employment agreement from RMS to Rani LLC on the same terms. The employment agreement provides Mr. Imran with an opportunity to earn an annual bonus with a target amount equal to 75% of his annual base salary. Mr. Imran is also entitled to certain benefits upon his termination of employment as discussed below in the section titled “–Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control”. In November 2023, our Board of Directors approved a reduction in the annual salary of Mr. Imran from $520,000 to $100,000, effective November 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024 or until such time as we receive gross proceeds of $50,000,000 or more, in the aggregate, from equity financing and/or one or more non-dilutive strategic, licensing or partnering transactions. The decreased base salary amends the Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated August 31, 2022, by and between Rani LLC and Mr. Imran.

In December 2019, RMS entered into an offer letter with Dr. Hashim, to serve as our Chief Scientific Officer, effective January 1, 2020, which was amended and restated as an employment agreement in June of 2021, as further amended in August 2022 to transfer his employment agreement from RMS to Rani LLC on the same terms. The employment agreement provides Dr. Hashim with an opportunity to earn an annual bonus with a target amount equal to 75% of his annual base salary. Dr. Hashim is also entitled to certain benefits upon his termination of employment as discussed below in the section titled “–Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control”.

In December 2019, RMS entered into an offer letter with Mr. Sanford, our Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1, 2020, which was amended and restated as an employment agreement in June of 2021, as further amended in August 2022 to transfer his employment agreement from RMS to Rani LLC on the same terms. The employment agreement provides Mr. Sanford with an opportunity to earn an annual bonus with a target amount equal to 75% of his annual base salary. Mr. Sanford is also entitled to certain benefits upon his termination of employment as discussed below in the section titled “–Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control”.

On March 27, 2023, each of our Named Executive Officers was granted an option to purchase Class A common stock of the Company under the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan. Talat Imran, Mir Hashim and Svai Sanford were granted options to purchase 575,600, 205,800 and 205,800 shares of Class A common stock of the Company, respectively. Each option had a per-share exercise price of $5.44, which was the per-share fair market value of the underlying shares of Class A common stock on the grant date. Each option vests in substantially equal monthly installments from the grant date, subject to the Named Executive Officer’s continuous service to us through each such vesting date. On December 16, 2023, our Board approved a stock option award repricing whereby certain previously granted and still outstanding unvested stock option awards issued under the 2021 Plan and the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, including the unvested shares underlying the options granted to our Named Executive Officers on March 27, 2023, were

In addition, on March 27, 2023, each of Talat Imran, Mir Hashim and Svai Sanford was granted restricted stock units with respect to 353,500, 139,000 and 139,000 shares of our Class A common stock, respectively, which vest in sixteen substantially equal installments on the quarterly anniversaries of their grant date, subject in each case to the Named Executive Officer’s continuous service to us through each such vesting date.

In 2023, we shifted the timing for review and granting of annual bonuses from December of the applicable year to the first quarter of the following year. Accordingly, no annual bonus was paid for Talat Imran, Dr. Hashim and Mr. Sanford in 2023. In addition, notwithstanding management’s full or partial achievement of many of the corporate goals for 2023, in March 2024 our Board, upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, decided not to award annual cash bonuses to the Named Executive Officers for performance in 2023 due to our financial position.

Each named executive officer is eligible for a performance bonus based upon the achievement of certain corporate performance goals and objectives approved by our board of directors.

Bonuses are set based on the executive’s base salary as of the end of the bonus year. The target level for executive bonuses for 2023 was 75% of base salary for each of Talat Imran, Dr. Hashim and Mr. Sanford.

The Board of Directors (considering the recommendations of the Compensation Committee and management) sets corporate goals for each year. These goals and the proportional emphasis placed on each are set by the Board of Directors after considering management input and our overall strategic objectives. The Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the compensation committee, determines the level of achievement of the corporate goals for each year. The actual bonuses awarded in any year, if any, may be more or less than the target, depending on the achievement of corporate objectives and may also vary based on other factors at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

For 2023, the corporate goals fell into the following categories: achievement of product development, regulatory and partnering objectives; device platform and manufacturing activities, financial measures; company visibility and reputation; and organizational progress. The Board of Directors recognized management’s performance in achieving some of our 2023 corporate goals, including in particular our completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of RT-111 and the development of the RaniPill HC high-capacity device, and exercised its discretion not to award any performance-based bonuses for 2023.

Prior to April 2022, the Company’s eligible employees were permitted to participate in ICL’s 401(k) Plan. In April 2022, the Company established its own 401(k) Plan (“401(k) Plan”) and eligible employees are permitted to participate in the Company’s 401(k) Plan. Plan participants are able to defer eligible compensation subject to applicable annual limits pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). The 401(k) Plan is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code with the 401(k) Plan’s related trust intended to be tax exempt under Section 501(a) of the Code. As a tax-qualified retirement plan, contributions to the 401(k) Plan and earnings on those contributions are not taxable to our employees until distributed from the 401(k) Plan. Participation in the 401(k) Plan is offered for the benefit of U.S. employees, including the Company’s Named Executive Officers, who satisfy certain eligibility requirements.

As a public company, if we are required to restate our financial results due to our material noncompliance with any financial reporting requirements under the federal securities laws as a result of misconduct, the executive officers may be legally required to reimburse our Company for any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation they receive in accordance with the provisions of section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended. Additionally, we have implemented a Dodd-Frank Act-compliant clawback policy, as required by SEC rules.

Each of our Named Executive Officers has been granted options and restricted stock unit awards that are subject to the terms of the 2021 Plan. Stock awards granted under the 2021 Plan may be subject to acceleration of vesting and exercisability upon or after a Change in Control (as defined in the 2021 Plan) as may be provided in the applicable award agreement or in any other written agreement between us or any affiliate and the participant, but in the absence of such provision, no such acceleration will automatically occur.

Each of our Named Executive Officers is eligible to receive benefits under the terms of the Company’s Severance and Change in Control Plan adopted by the Board of Directors on June 17, 2021 (the “Severance Plan”).

The Severance Plan provides for severance and change in control benefits to the executive officers upon (i) a “change in control termination” or (ii) a “regular termination” (each as described below). Upon a change in control termination, each of our executive officers is entitled to a lump sum payment equal to a portion of his base salary (18 months for Talat Imran and 12 months for each of Dr. Hashim and Mr. Sanford), a lump sum payment equal to 150% (for Talat Imran) or 100% (for each of Dr. Hashim and Mr. Sanford) of his annual target cash bonus, payment of group health insurance premiums for a period of 18 months (for Talat Imran) and 12 months (for each of Dr. Hashim and Mr. Sanford) and accelerated vesting of outstanding time-vesting equity awards. Upon a regular termination, each of the executive officers is entitled to continued payment of his base salary for a period 12 months (for Talat Imran) and nine months (for each of Dr. Hashim and Mr. Sanford) and payment of group health insurance premiums for a period of 12 months (for Talat Imran) and nine months (for each of Dr. Hashim and Mr. Sanford). All severance benefits under the Severance Plan are subject to the executive officer’s execution of an effective release of claims against us.

For purposes of the Severance Plan, a “regular termination” is an involuntary termination (i.e., a termination without “cause” (and not as a result of death or disability) or a resignation for “good reason,” each as defined in the Severance Plan) that does not occur during the period of time beginning three months prior to, and ending 12 months following, a “change in control” (as defined in the 2021 Plan), or the “change in control period.” A “change in control termination” is a regular termination that occurs during the change in control period.

The following table shows for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 certain information with respect to the compensation of all directors of the Company, except Talat Imran, our Chief Executive Officer. Directors who are also our employees receive no additional compensation for their service as directors. Talat Imran did not receive any additional compensation for his services as a director in 2023. The compensation of Talat Imran is set forth above in the section titled “Executive Compensation.”

The Board of Directors has adopted a non-employee director compensation policy, effective as of the Company’s initial public offering, pursuant to which each of the directors who is not an employee or consultant of the Company will be eligible to receive compensation for service on the Board of Directors and committees of the Board of Directors.

Each non-employee director will receive an annual cash retainer of $45,000 for serving on the Board of Directors, and the chairperson and/or lead independent director of the Board of Directors will each receive an additional annual cash retainer of $35,000. The chairperson of the Audit Committee will be entitled to an annual service retainer of $20,000, and each other member of the Audit Committee will be entitled to an annual service retainer of $7,500. The

On the date of each annual meeting of our stockholders, each continuing non-employee director will receive an option to purchase a number of shares of Class A common stock of the Company under the 2021 Plan with a grant date fair value of $300,000. In 2023, each non-employee director received a non-statutory stock option to purchase 101,276 shares of Class A common stock with an exercise price of $4.11 per share. The grant date fair value of any annual option grant to a non-employee director who is elected or appointed on a date other than the date of an annual meeting of the stockholders will be prorated to reflect the time between the date of such director’s election or appointment and the date of such first annual stockholder meeting. The shares subject to annual option grants will vest upon the earlier of the first anniversary of the grant date or the date of the next annual meeting of stockholders, subject to the non-employee director’s continuous service with the Company through the vesting date.

Each new non-employee director who joins the Board of Directors will be granted an option to purchase a number of shares of Class A common stock of the Company under the 2021 Plan with a grant date fair value of $600,000. The shares subject to this option will vest over a three-year period, with one-third of the shares subject to the option vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and one thirty-sixth of the shares subject to the option vesting each month thereafter, subject to the non-employee director’s continuous service with the Company through each vesting date.

In March 2024, the Board amended the non-employee director compensation policy to change the equity compensation for non-employee directors by fixing the number of shares of Class A common stock of the Company underlying the option grants instead of determining the number of shares based on grant date fair value. Accordingly, on the date of each annual meeting of our stockholders, beginning with the annual stockholder meeting in 2024, each continuing non-employee director will receive an option to purchase a 50,000 shares of Class A common stock of the Company under the 2021 Plan (instead of determining the number of shares based on a grant date fair value of $300,000). The number of shares to be granted to a non-employee director who is elected or appointed on a date other than the date of an annual meeting of the stockholders will be prorated to reflect the time between the date of such director’s election or appointment and the date of such first annual stockholder meeting. Further, under the amended policy, each new non-employee director who joins the Board of Directors will be granted an option to purchase a 100,000 of shares of Class A common stock of the Company under the 2021 Plan (instead of determining the number of shares based on a grant date fair value of $600,000).

All options granted under the non-employee director compensation policy will vest upon a change in control of the Company, subject to the non-employee director’s continuous service with the Company through the date of such change in control. The exercise price per share of each option granted under the non-employee director compensation policy will be equal to the closing price of the Company’s Class A common stock on Nasdaq on the date of grant. Each option will have a term of ten years from the grant date, subject to earlier termination in connection with a termination of the non-employee director’s continuous service with the Company.

In addition, the Company will reimburse non-employee directors for ordinary, necessary and reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses to cover in-person attendance at and participation in board and committee meetings.

In June 2021, the Company adopted a written Related-Person Transactions Policy that sets forth the Company’s policies and procedures regarding the identification, review, consideration and approval or ratification of “related persons transactions.” For purposes of the Company’s policy only, a “related person transaction” is a transaction, arrangement or relationship (or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships) in which the Company and any “related person” are participants in which the amount involved exceeds (a) $120,000 or (b) if the Company qualifies as a “smaller reporting company” under the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the lesser of (x) $120,000 or (y) 1% of the average of the Company’s total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years. Transactions involving compensation for services provided to the Company as an employee, director, consultant or similar capacity by a related person are not covered by this policy. A related person is any executive officer, director, or more than 5% stockholder of the Company, including any of their immediate family members, and any entity owned or controlled by such persons.

The following is a summary of transactions since January 1, 2021, to which the Company has been a participant in which the amount involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000, and in which any of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or any member of the immediate family of the foregoing persons, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, other than compensation arrangements which are described in the sections titled “Executive Compensation” and “Director Compensation.”

ICL is wholly-owned by the Company’s founder and Chairman and his family. The founder and Chairman is the father of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. The Company’s Chief Scientific Officer is the brother of the founder and Chairman and thus uncle of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.

In June 2021, Rani LLC entered into a service agreement with ICL effective retrospectively to January 1, 2021, and subsequently amended such agreement in March 2022 (as amended, the “Rani LLC-ICL Service Agreement”), pursuant to which Rani LLC and ICL agreed to provide personnel services to the other upon requests. Under the amendment in March 2022, Rani LLC has a right to occupy certain facilities leased by ICL in Milpitas, California and San Antonio, Texas (“Occupancy Services”) for general office, research and development, and light manufacturing. The Rani LLC-ICL Service Agreement has a twelve-month term and will automatically renew for successive twelve-month periods unless terminated; except that the Occupancy Services in Milpitas, California have a term until February 2024, following an extension granted in July 2022, and the Occupancy Services in San Antonio, Texas continue until either party gives six months’ notice of termination. Except for the Occupancy Services, Rani LLC or ICL may terminate services under the Rani LLC-ICL Service Agreement upon 60 days' notice to the other party. The Rani LLC-ICL Service Agreement specifies the scope of services to be provided as well as the methods for determining the costs of services. Costs are billed or charged on a monthly basis by ICL or Rani LLC, respectively. Rani LLC provided to ICL a notice of termination of the Occupancy Services in San Antonio, Texas in December 2023, which termination will take effect in June 2024.

In June 2021, RMS entered into a service agreement with ICL (the “RMS-ICL Service Agreement”) effective retrospectively to January 1, 2021, pursuant to which ICL agreed to rent a specified portion of its facility in San Jose, California to RMS. Additionally, RMS and ICL agreed to provide personnel services to the other upon requests based on rates specified in the RMS-ICL Service Agreement. In April 2022, RMS assigned the RMS-ICL Service Agreement to Rani LLC. The RMS-ICL Service Agreement has a twelve-month term and will automatically renew for successive twelve-month periods unless terminated. Rani LLC or ICL may terminate services under the RMS-ICL Service Agreement upon 60 days' notice to the other party, except for occupancy which requires six months’ notice. The RMS-ICL Service Agreement specifies the scope of services to be provided as well as the methods for determining the costs of services. Costs are billed or charged on a monthly basis by ICL or Rani LLC, respectively, as well as allocations of expenses based upon Rani LLC’s utilization of ICL’s facilities and equipment.

In March 2024, Rani LLC entered into an amendment to the RMS-ICL Service Agreement to increase the Occupancy Services from 23,000 square feet to 24,000 square feet. In March 2024, Rani LLC also entered into an amendment to the Rani LLC-ICL Service Agreement to extend the term of the Occupancy Services in Milpitas, California from February 2024 to August 2024 and to increase the payment for such Occupancy Services during the extension period.

Prior to April 2022, the Company’s eligible employees were permitted to participate in ICL’s 401(k) Plan (“401(k) Plan”). Participation in the 401(k) Plan was offered for the benefit of the employees, including the Company’s named executive officers, who satisfied certain eligibility requirements. No payments were made to ICL for participation in the 401(k) plan, but the Company did pay $12,000 in 2022 to cover a portion of third-party costs to conduct an audit of ICL’s 401(k) plan. In April 2022, the Company established its own 401(k) Plan, with participation offered for the benefit of the employees, including the Company’s named executive officers, who satisfy certain eligibility requirements.

As of December 31, 2023, all of the Company’s facilities were owned or leased by an entity affiliated with the Company’s Chairman. The Company pays for the use of these facilities through its services agreements with ICL. In February 2024, we began occupying approximately 33,000 square feet in Fremont, California under a lease with a third party. The term of the lease is 63 months. Subject to certain conditions, we have an option to renew the lease for one additional 5-year term at the then-prevailing market rate.

The Company, through Rani LLC, and ICL entered into an exclusive license and an intellectual property agreement and common unit purchase agreement in 2012. Pursuant to the common unit purchase agreement, the Company issued 46.0 million common units to ICL in return for rights to exclusive commercialization, development, use and sale of certain products and services related to the RaniPill capsule technology. ICL also granted the Company a fully-paid, royalty-free, sublicensable, exclusive license under the intellectual property made by ICL during the course of providing services to the Company related to the RaniPill capsule technology. Such rights were not recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as the transaction was deemed to be a transaction between entities under common control.

In June 2021, ICL and the Company, through Rani LLC, entered into an Amended and Restated Exclusive License Agreement which replaced the 2012 Exclusive License Agreement between ICL and Rani LLC, as amended in 2013, and terminated the 2012 Intellectual Property Agreement between ICL and Rani LLC, as amended in June 2013. Under the Amended and Restated Exclusive License Agreement, the Company has a fully paid, exclusive license under certain scheduled patents related to optional features of the device and certain other scheduled patents to exploit products covered by those patents in the field of oral delivery of sensors, small molecule drugs or biologic drugs including, any peptide, antibody, protein, cell therapy, gene therapy or vaccine. The Company covers patent-related expenses and, after a certain period, the Company will have the right to acquire four specified United States patent families from ICL by making a one-time payment of $0.3 million to ICL for each United States patent family that the Company desires to acquire, up to $1.0 million in the aggregate. This payment will not become an obligation until the fifth anniversary of the Amended and Restated Exclusive License Agreement. The Amended and Restated Exclusive License Agreement will terminate when there are no remaining valid claims of the patents licensed under the Amended and Restated Exclusive License Agreement. Additionally, the Company may terminate the Amended and Restated Exclusive License Agreement in its entirety or as to any particular licensed patent upon notification to ICL of such intent to terminate.

In June 2021, the Company, through Rani LLC, entered into the Non-Exclusive License Agreement with ICL a related party, pursuant to which the Company granted ICL a non-exclusive, fully-paid license under specified patents that were assigned from ICL to the Company. Additionally, the Company agreed not to license these patents to a third party in a specific field outside the field of oral delivery of sensors, small molecule drugs or biologic drugs including,

In June 2021, the Company, through Rani LLC, entered into the Mir Agreement, pursuant to which the Company and Mir Imran agreed that the Company would own all intellectual property conceived (i) using any of the Company’s people, equipment, or facilities or (ii) that is within the field of oral delivery of sensors, small molecule drugs or biologic drugs including, any peptide, antibody, protein, cell therapy, gene therapy or vaccine. Neither the Company nor Mir Imran may assign the Mir Agreement to any third party without the prior written consent of the other party. The initial term of the Mir Agreement is three years, which can be extended upon mutual consent of the parties. The Mir Agreement may be terminated by either party for any reason within the initial three-year term upon providing three months’ notice to the other party.

In August 2021, in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”) and organizational transactions at the time of the IPO, the Company entered into a tax receivable agreement (“TRA”). ICL is a party to the TRA. The TRA provides that the Company pay to the entities and individuals who are party to the TRA 85% of the amount of tax benefits, if any, it is deemed to realize from exchanges of Paired Interests. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, these parties to the TRA exchanged zero and 2,317,184 Paired Interests, respectively, that resulted in tax benefits subject to the TRA.

In connection with the IPO, the Company entered into a Registration Rights Agreement. ICL and its affiliates are parties to this agreement. The Registration Rights Agreement provides certain registration rights whereby, at any time following the IPO and the expiration of any related lock-up period, ICL and its affiliates can require the Company to register under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) shares of Class A common stock issuable to ICL and its affiliates upon, at the Company’s election, redemption or exchange of their Paired Interests. The Registration Rights Agreement also provides for piggyback registration rights. In March 2022, certain holders of the Company's Class A common stock considered to be related parties were made parties to the Registration Rights Agreement. As a result of certain stockholders exercising their registration rights under the Registration Rights Agreement, in December 2022, the Company filed a registration statement on Form S-3 to register 6,009,542 shares of Class A common stock of the Company held by certain of its stockholders.

The Company operates its business through Rani LLC. In connection with the IPO, the Company and parties continuing to hold interests in Rani LLC (“LLC Interests”), including ICL and its affiliates, entered into the Rani LLC Agreement. The governance of Rani LLC, and the rights and obligations of the holders of LLC Interests, are set forth in the Rani LLC Agreement. As holders of LLC Interests, ICL and its affiliates are entitled to exchange, subject to the terms of the Rani LLC Agreement, Paired Interests for Class A common stock of the Company; provided that, at the Company’s election, the Company may effect a direct exchange of such Class A common stock or make a cash payment equal to a volume weighted average market price of one share of Class A common stock for each Paired Interest redeemed. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, certain related parties that are party to the Rani LLC Agreement exchanged zero and 2,317,184 Paired Interests, respectively, for an equal number of shares of the Company's Class A common stock.

The Company provides indemnification for its directors and executive officers so that they will be free from undue concern about personal liability in connection with their service to the Company. Under the Company’s Bylaws, the Company is required to indemnify its directors and executive officers to the extent not prohibited under Delaware or other applicable law. The Company has also entered into indemnity agreements with certain officers and directors. These agreements provide, among other things, that the Company will indemnify the officer or director, under the circumstances and to the extent provided for in the agreement, for expenses, damages, judgments, fines and

The SEC has adopted rules that permit companies and intermediaries (e.g., brokers) to satisfy the delivery requirements for Notices of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or other annual meeting materials with respect to two or more stockholders sharing the same address by delivering a single Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or other annual meeting materials addressed to those stockholders. This process, which is commonly referred to as “householding,” potentially means extra convenience for stockholders and cost savings for companies.

This year, a number of brokers with account holders who are Rani Holdings stockholders will be “householding” the Company’s proxy materials. A single Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials will be delivered to multiple stockholders sharing an address unless contrary instructions have been received from the affected stockholders. Once you have received notice from your broker that they will be “householding” communications to your address, “householding” will continue until you are notified otherwise or until you revoke your consent. If, at any time, you no longer wish to participate in “householding” and would prefer to receive a separate Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, please notify your broker or Rani Holdings. Direct your written request to:

Stockholders who currently receive multiple copies of the Notices of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials at their addresses and would like to request “householding” of their communications should contact their brokers.

The Board of Directors knows of no other matters that will be presented for consideration at the annual meeting. If any other matters are properly brought before the meeting, it is the intention of the persons named in the accompanying proxy to vote on such matters in accordance with their best judgment.