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InsuranceDekho launches $2 Mn ESOP liquidity program

EntrackrEntrackr · 17h ago
InsuranceDekho launches $2 Mn ESOP liquidity program
Medial

InsuranceDekho launches $2 Mn ESOP liquidity program Insurtech major InsuranceDekho has launched its first-ever ESOP liquidity program worth $2 million. The program allows employees to partially cash out their vested stock options. About 150 current and former employees participated in the program through a secondary sale, realizing tangible financial gains while retaining a stake in the company’s future growth. The company plans to expand its ESOP program further with new grants, ensuring employees at all levels continue to benefit as the platform scales. InsuranceDekho operates across 1,800 cities and 98% of Indian pincodes, supported by 20 offices and a network of over 2 lakh partners. The platform claims to have insured over 12,000 businesses and continues to expand its reach nationwide. It combines AI-powered technology with human expertise to deliver personalized onboarding, efficient servicing, and reliable support throughout the customer journey. Its portfolio spans motor, health, life, travel, pet, and corporate insurance, offering 650 plans from 48 insurers. Earlier in March this year, InsuranceDekho had raised a $70 million funding round co-led by Beams Fintech Fund, Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), and insurer BNP Paribas Cardif. In October 2023, the Gurugram-based firm secured $60 million in a Series B funding round led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. As per media reports, InsuranceDekho’s operating revenue surged 73.5% to Rs 1,290 crore in FY25 against Rs 743.6 crore in FY24. However, the company reported a net loss of Rs 47.5 crore during the year, compared with a net profit of Rs 85.7 crore in FY24.

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Flipkart announces new ESOP liquidity worth $50 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 2m ago
Flipkart announces new ESOP liquidity worth $50 Mn
Medial

Flipkart announces new ESOP liquidity worth $50 Mn This announcement follows Flipkart’s record $700 million payout to employees in 2023, one of the largest ESOP buyback events in Indian startup history. Flipkart has announced a fresh ESOP (Employee Stock Option Plan) liquidity opportunity for its employees, according to an internal note from the company’s chief executive officer Kalyan Krishnamurthy. As per the note, eligible employees will be allowed to liquidate up to 5% of their vested ESOPs as of July 5, 2025, at a buyback price of $174.32 per option. Payouts will be made in August 2025 under the Flipkart Stock Option Plan 2012. An ET report estimates the size of the ESOP buyback at $50 million, with 7,000 to 7,500 employees expected to benefit from the liquidity program. Flipkart is currently valued at around $36 billion. Krishnamurthy also added that if key performance goals are met by the end of 2025, another 5% liquidity window could open in early 2026. A Flipkart spokesperson confirmed the development to Entrackr. This announcement follows Flipkart’s record $700 million payout to employees in 2023, one of the largest ESOP buyback events in Indian startup history. Media reports indicate the firm plans to launch its IPO with a valuation of $60-$70 billion. The company’s board has already approved the process to shift its holding structure from Singapore to India. In 2025, a clutch of startups including Darwinbox, Rapido, Univest, Deserve, and Even Healthcare have implemented ESOP buyback, liquidity, and payout programs worth around $67 million. In 2024, more than 20 startups implemented $200 million. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the ESOP buyback or liquidity amount stood at $802 million in 2023, $440 million in 2021, and $200 million in 2022.

Indian startup employees cash out $1.7 Bn through ESOPs since 2020

EntrackrEntrackr · 12m ago
Indian startup employees cash out $1.7 Bn through ESOPs since 2020
Medial

The Indian startup ecosystem has witnessed an exponential rise in employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buybacks since 2020. According to data compiled by TheKredible, over 100 startups have implemented ESOP buyback, liquidity, and payout programs worth around $1.7 billion in the past five years, starting from January 2020. This trend reflects startups’ commitment to rewarding talent, providing employees with financial benefits, and boosting workplace morale. As reported in our previous edition, 80% of the total buybacks were conducted by 20% of the startups. Year-on-year data highlights the evolution of ESOP buybacks. In 2020, only 11 startups participated, totaling a modest $50 million. However, the trend accelerated rapidly, with 40 startups completing buybacks worth $440 million in 2021. This was followed by 26 startups with $200 million in buybacks in 2022. The upward trend continued in 2023, with 14 startups generating an impressive $802 million through buybacks or liquidity events. As of October 8, 2024, as many as 17 startups have contributed $188 million to this growing total. Among the leading players in ESOP buybacks, Flipkart, Razorpay, Swiggy, Whatfix, and BrowserStack stand out as the top five. Sectors most actively participating include e-commerce, fintech, SaaS, edtech, and logistics. Notably, 28 unicorns have joined this trend, reflecting a commitment to their employees’ financial well-being even among highly successful startups. [2024 vs 2023] The IPO-bound foodtech firm Swiggy led the 2024 ESOP liquidity chart with $65 million. It was closely followed by SaaS company Whatfix, which recently announced $58 million in ESOP liquidity for employees and investors. Urban Company and Meesho ranked next, with $24.4 million and $24 million, marking their largest ESOP buybacks to date. Titan Capital co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal saw strong returns on their investment in Urban Company. Other notable buybacks include Pocket FM, Purplle, and Dehaat, while nearly 50% of startups did not disclose buyback amounts. Check the complete data at TheKredible. In 2023, Flipkart accounted for $700 million in ESOP liquidity as compensation for value lost in the PhonePe spin-off, while the remaining startups totaled $102 million in buybacks. [2022 vs 2021] In 2022, fintech unicorn Razorpay led as the largest wealth creator with a $75 million ESOP liquidation program. Similarly, Swiggy, after reaching decacorn status, announced a $23 million ESOP program. The year 2021 marked a high for buyback events, with companies like Flipkart, Swiggy, PhonePe, Udaan, and others announcing ESOP liquidity totaling over $440 million. However, recent budget proposals may impact ESOPs, as the Union Budget suggests treating share buybacks as dividend income starting October 1, potentially affecting employee retention strategies. [Conclusion] One thing that is quite clear is that ESOPs are a well accepted and integral part of startup compensation and reward plans today. Employees are no longer averse to or unfamiliar with the concept, and enough examples and data is available out there for them to make an informed decision on the fairness, and relevance of their firms ESOP plans, if any. Boosting it further is the recent string of IPOs, besides upcoming ones that will provide the kind of liquidity events few imagined even in 2022. If anything, we believe firms will be scrutinised more closely by markets and the media on the size and application of their ESOP plans going forward. ESOPs can look very disproportionate in retrospect at times, and firms will have to think through generous grants and the rules governing them for senior and board level grants especially.

Whatfix rolls out $58 Mn liquidity event for employees and investors

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Whatfix rolls out $58 Mn liquidity event for employees and investors
Medial

Whatfix, a digital adoption platform (DAP), has introduced a $58 million liquidity program for its employees and investors. This marks the company’s fourth buyback of employee stock options (ESOPs). The Bengaluru-based company stated that eligible current and former employees now have the chance to sell a portion of their vested units at a premium over the earlier Series D valuation. This announcement comes on the heels of the company’s recent $125 million Series E funding round, led by Warburg Pincus, with contributions from existing investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Consequently, the firm’s valuation increased to $900 million from $600 million during Series D fundraise. It has raised over $265 million to date Whatfix introduced its first employee stock ownership plan or ESOP buyback scheme worth $4.3 million in July 2021. The firm did not announce the other two buybacks in the media. Founded by Khadim Batti and Vara Kumar, Whatfix provides in-app guidance and performance support for web applications and software products. Its tools are used by large companies to drive efficiency. The company asserts that it has been awarded five patents by the US Patent Office, with an additional 18 patents in the works. Despite facing macroeconomic challenges over the past two to three years, Whatfix claims to have kept its cash burn low while sustaining growth. The firm has doubled its workforce to over 960 employees, and has opened four new offices in Singapore, Germany, Australia, and India since its Series D funding round. This is the second largest ESOP buyback in 2024. In July, IPO-bound food delivery and quick commerce firm Swiggy announced an ESOPs liquidity programme worth $65 million. In the ongoing calendar year, Urban Company, MyGate, Classplus, Meesho, The Sleep Company, XYXX, Purplle, Dehaaat, Leverage Edu, Pocket FM and Adda247 bought back ESOPs from their employees.

8i Ventures launches $10 Mn seed program 'Origami'

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
8i Ventures launches $10 Mn seed program 'Origami'
Medial

Venture capital fund 8i Ventures today announced the launch of ‘Origami’, a seed funding program aimed at supporting early stage founders. Through this seed program, 8i Ventures targets those businesses in the pre-seed to early revenue stage, prioritizing ‘speed’ as its hallmark feature. As per the fund, the new program will ensure a streamlined process with a response within one week, a term sheet in two weeks, and deal closure in just four weeks, facilitating fundraise for founders without delays or distractions. Founded in 2019 by Vikram Chachra & Vishwanath V, the company is committed to nurturing the next generation of business leaders. By investing between $250K to $2 million in pre-seed to early revenue phase startups, 8i Ventures seeks to accelerate startup growth across industries. 8i Ventures is an early backer of companies such as Slice, M2P, Easebuzz, Transbnk, BharatX and Blue Tokai, among others. Vikram Chachra said the the firm aims to invest in 8-10 startups this year, and if this initiative is well-received, it may double its allocation to $20 million. During the funding winter (November 2022), 8i Ventures announced the first close of its $50 million second fund by raising $25 million. The firm has alloted $10 million from Fund II, to launch this initiative.

Exclusive: Perfios launches new ESOP plan worth $76 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
Exclusive: Perfios launches new ESOP plan worth $76 Mn
Medial

Exclusive: Perfios launches new ESOP plan worth $76 Mn The board of Perfios has passed a resolution approving the Perfios ESOP Plan 2025, which will consist of 2,05,764 employee stock options, as per regulatory filings accessed from the Registrar of Companies. SaaS-based B2B fintech firm Perfios has introduced a new employee stock option plan named “Perfios Employee Stock Option Plan 2025-A.” The board of Perfios has passed a resolution approving the Perfios ESOP Plan 2025, which will consist of 2,05,764 employee stock options, as per regulatory filings accessed from the Registrar of Companies. Each ESOP option will be converted into equity shares and will have a total vesting period of four years. According to Fintrackr’s estimates, the newly added ESOP plan is valued at approximately Rs 645 crore (around $76 million). According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Perfios has raised a total of Rs 3,644 crore across multiple funding rounds, including Rs 662 crore ($80 million) from Kedaara Capital in March 2024. This investment pushed Perfios’ valuation beyond $1 billion, making it India’s second unicorn of 2024. The company acquired fraud detection platform CustomerXPS this month in an undisclosed deal and had previously acquired fintech startup Karza Technologies for Rs 600 crore in March 2022. Perfios provides revenue analysis, fraud checks, verification, and automated customer onboarding services to financial institutions in various verticals, including consumer lending, SME lending, and wealth management. The company claims to have a presence in 18 countries and to have powered over 1,200 institutions with its offerings. Perfios has demonstrated strong financial growth, with revenue rising 37% year-on-year to Rs 558 crore in FY24 from Rs 407 crore in FY23. Additionally, the company’s profits surged 9.2X to Rs 72 crore in FY24.

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