OUST Ouster Inc

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-254987

PROSPECTUS FOR

95,795,231 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK AND

6,000,000 WARRANTS TO PURCHASE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK

AND

15,999,990 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK UNDERLYING WARRANTS

OF

OUSTER, INC.

This prospectus relates to (i) the resale of 90,474,330 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “common stock”) issued in connection with the Merger (as defined below) by certain of the securityholders named in this prospectus (each a “Registered Holder” and, collectively, the “Registered Holders”), (ii) the resale of 5,168,333 shares of common stock issued in the PIPE Investment (as defined below) by certain of the Registered Holders, (iii) the resale of up to 152,568 shares of common stock upon the settlement of restricted stock units and (iv) the issuance by us of up to 15,999,990 shares of common stock upon the exercise of outstanding warrants. This prospectus also relates to the resale of up to 6,000,000 of our outstanding warrants originally purchased in a private placement by certain of the Registered Holders.

On March 11, 2021, we consummated the transactions contemplated by that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of December 21, 2020 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Colonnade Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (“CLA”), Beam Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of CLA (“Merger Sub”), and Ouster, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Old Ouster”). As contemplated by the Merger Agreement, CLA was domesticated as a Delaware corporation and changed its name to “Ouster, Inc.” (the “Domestication”). Following the Domestication, Merger Sub merged with and into Old Ouster, the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub ceased and Old Ouster survived as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ouster (the “Merger” and, together with the Domestication, the “Business Combination”).

We will receive the proceeds from any exercise of the warrants for cash, but not from the resale of the shares of common stock or warrants by the Registered Holders.

We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of the shares of common stock and warrants. The Registered Holders will bear all commissions and discounts, if any, attributable to their respective sales of the shares of common stock and warrants.

Our common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “OUST” and our warrants trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “OUST WS”. On July 21, 2022, the closing sale price of our common stock as reported by the NYSE was $1.96 per share and the closing price of our warrants was $0.29 per warrant.

Investing in shares of our common stock or warrants involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 6 of this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the securities to be issued under this prospectus or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is July 22, 2022.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Liquidation Rights

If we are involved in voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs, or a similar event, each holder of our common stock will participate pro rata in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities, subject to prior distribution rights of our preferred stock, if any, then outstanding.

Anti-takeover Effects of the Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws

The Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws contain provisions that may delay, defer or discourage another party from acquiring control of our company. We expect that these provisions, which are summarized below, will discourage coercive takeover practices or inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of our company to first negotiate with the Board, which we believe may result in an improvement of the terms of any such acquisition in favor of our stockholders. However, they also give the Board the power to discourage mergers that some stockholders may favor.

Special Meetings of Stockholders

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that a special meeting of stockholders may be called by (a) the Chairperson of the Board, (b) the Board, (c) our Chief Executive Officer or (d) our President, provided that such special meeting may be postponed, rescheduled or cancelled by the Board or other person calling the special meeting.

Action by Written Consent

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that any action required or permitted to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and may not be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting.

Classified Board of Directors

Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that our Board is divided into three classes, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible and each class serving three-year staggered terms. The Board or any individual director may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of our voting stock entitled to vote at an election of directors.

Election of Directors and Vacancies

Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors of our Board is fixed exclusively by the Board. Our Board is divided into three classes, designated Class I, II and III, with each class to be elected by our stockholders every three years.

Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Our Board is expressly authorized to adopt, amend or repeal the Bylaws, subject to the power of our stockholders entitled to vote with respect thereto to adopt, amend or repeal the Bylaws. Our stockholders have the power to adopt, amend or repeal the Bylaws; provided, that in addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of our stock required by applicable law or by our Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, the adoption, amendment or repeal of our Bylaws by our stockholders shall require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of our voting stock entitled to vote generally in an election of directors.

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Additionally, the vote of at least 66 2/3% of the total voting power of our outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, is required to amend certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation, including those relating to the terms of our authorized preferred stock (Article V(B)), the authority and composition of our Board (Article VII), special meetings of our stockholders and the ability of our stockholders to act by written consent (Article VIII), limitation of liability of our directors (Article IX), restrictions similar to Section 203 of the DGCL (Article X), our obligation to indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law (Article XI), exclusive jurisdiction of certain legal proceedings involving our stockholders (Article XII).

Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute

Section 203 of the DGCL provides that if a person acquires 15% or more of the voting stock of a Delaware corporation, such person becomes an “interested stockholder” and may not engage in certain “business combinations” with such corporation for a period of three years from the time such person acquired 15% or more of such corporation’s voting stock, unless: (a) the board of directors of such corporation approves the acquisition of stock or the merger transaction before the time that the person becomes an interested stockholder, (b) the interested stockholder owns at least 85% of the outstanding voting stock of such corporation at the time the merger transaction commences (excluding voting stock owned by directors who are also officers and certain employee stock plans), or (c) the merger transaction is approved by the board of directors and at a meeting of stockholders, not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder. A Delaware corporation may elect in its certificate of incorporation or bylaws not to be governed by this particular Delaware law. Under the Certificate of Incorporation, we have opted out of Section 203 of the DGCL, but the Certificate of Incorporation provides other similar restrictions regarding takeovers by interested stockholders.

Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

The Certificate of Incorporation provides that we are to indemnify our directors to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by applicable law. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors, executive officers and other employees as determined by the Board. Under the Bylaws, we are required to indemnify each of our directors and officers if the basis of the indemnitee’s involvement was by reason of the fact that the indemnitee is or was our director or officer or was serving at our request as a director, officer, employee or agent for another entity. We must indemnify our officers and directors against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the indemnitee in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner the indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to our best interests, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful. The Bylaws also require us to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by a director or officer in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding, provided that such person will repay any such advance if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification by us. Any claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.

Exclusive Jurisdiction of Certain Actions

Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, and unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, in the event that the Chancery Court does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware or other state courts of the State of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action, suit or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or stockholders to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action, suit or proceeding arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or the Bylaws or the Certificate of Incorporation (as

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each may be amended from time to time), (iv) any action, suit or proceeding as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (v) any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim against us or any current or former director, officer or stockholder governed by the internal affairs doctrine, and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to (a) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the exclusive jurisdiction provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation and (b) service of process on such stockholder’s counsel.

Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such Securities Act claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, the Certificate of Incorporation also provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act; however, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provision, and investors cannot waive compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any cause of action arising by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Although we believe these provisions would benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of applicable law in the types of lawsuits to which they apply, these provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant.

We have agreed to maintain the effectiveness of a registration statement covering the issuance, under the Securities Act, of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the above, if the shares of common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will be obligated to use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

We may call the warrants for redemption:

If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of our common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.

If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our Board will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management may consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants. If we takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (a) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (b) the fair market value. The “fair market value” will mean the average reported closing price of the shares of common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If we take advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the

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cash from the exercise of the warrants. If we call the warrants for redemption and do not take advantage of this option, the holders of the private placement warrants and their permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below. A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (or such other amount as specified by the holder) of the shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.

If the number of outstanding shares of our common stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of our common stock, or by a split-up or other similar event, then, on the effective date of stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of our common stock. A rights offering to holders of our common stock entitling holders to purchase shares of our common stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of our common stock equal to the product of (a) the number of shares of common stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for shares of our common stock) and (b) the quotient of (i) the price per share of our common stock paid in such rights offering and (ii) the fair market value. For these purposes (a) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of our common stock, in determining the price payable for shares of our common stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (b) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of shares of our common stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of our common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.

In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of shares of our common stock on account of such shares of common stock (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than as described above or certain ordinary cash dividends, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of our common stock in respect of such event.

If the number of outstanding shares of our common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of our common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of our common stock.

Whenever the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (a) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (b) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.

In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of our common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of our common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of our company with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of our as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in

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connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of our common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of our common stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of shares of our common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of shares of common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within 30 days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.

The warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (a) curing any ambiguity or to correct any defective provision, (b) adjusting the provisions relating to cash dividends on shares of our common stock as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (c) adding or changing any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the interests of the registered holders of the warrants. All other modifications or amendments will require the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants, 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.

The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of shares of our common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of our common stock. After the issuance of shares of our common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.

No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of shares of our common stock to be issued to the warrantholder.

Private Placement Warrants

Private placement warrants refers to the warrants issued in a private placement to Colonnade Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”). As of December 31, 2021, there were 6,000,000 private placement warrants outstanding. The private placement warrants (including the shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants) will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the Sponsor, members of the Sponsor or their permitted transferees. The Sponsor or its permitted transferees have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the public warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. If the

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private placement warrants are held by holders other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the public warrants.

If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of shares of our common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (a) the product of the number of shares of our common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (b) the fair market value. The “fair market value” will mean the average reported closing price of the shares of our common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent.

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REGISTERED HOLDERS

This prospectus relates to (i) the resale of 90,474,330 shares of common stock issued in connection with the Merger by certain of the Registered Holders, (ii) the resale of 5,168,333 shares of common stock issued in the PIPE Investment by certain of the Registered Holders, (iii) the resale of up to 152,568 shares of common stock upon the settlement of restricted stock units and (iv) the issuance by us of up to 15,999,990 shares of common stock upon the exercise of outstanding warrants. This prospectus also relates to the resale of up to 6,000,000 of our outstanding warrants originally purchased in a private placement by certain of the Registered Holders. The Registered Holders may from time to time offer and sell any or all of the shares of common stock and warrants set forth below pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. When we refer to the “Registered Holders” in this prospectus, we mean the persons listed in the table below, and the pledgees, donees, transferees, assignees, successors, designees and others who later come to hold any of the Registered Holders’ interest in the common stock or warrants other than through a public sale.

The following table sets forth, as of July 1, 2022, the names of the Registered Holders, and the aggregate number of shares of common stock and warrants that the Registered Holders may offer pursuant to this prospectus. The table does not include the issuance by us of up to 9,999,996 shares of common stock upon the exercise of outstanding warrants, each of which is also covered by this prospectus.

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Registered Holder information for each additional Registered Holder, if any, will be set forth by prospectus supplement to the extent required prior to the time of any offer or sale of such Registered Holder’s shares pursuant to this prospectus. To the extent permitted by law, a prospectus supplement may add, update, substitute or change the information contained in this prospectus, including the identity of each Registered Holder and the number of shares of common stock or warrants registered on its behalf. A Registered Holder may sell or otherwise transfer all, some or none of such shares of common stock or warrants in this offering. See “Plan of Distribution.”

For information regarding transactions between us and the Registered Holders, see the section entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions.”

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