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Flipkart announces new ESOP liquidity worth $50 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 6m ago
Flipkart announces new ESOP liquidity worth $50 Mn
Medial

Flipkart announces new ESOP liquidity worth $50 Mn This announcement follows Flipkartโ€™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 companyโ€™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 Flipkartโ€™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 companyโ€™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.

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XYXX announces ESOP buyback program

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 1y ago
XYXX announces ESOP buyback program
Medial

Men-focused premium innerwear and lifestyle brand XYXX has announced its first Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) buyback. XYXXโ€™s ESOP programme was introduced 4 years ago, and employees who have completed their tenure are eligible for the buyback. According to the firm, the eligible employees are allowed to liquidate at a 6X premium on the allotted price with zero strike price. XYXXโ€™s ESOP buyback programme currently includes employees spanning from senior managers to heads of departments as well as executive leadership. The buyback comes within a year of XYXXโ€™s $13.5 million Series C round led by Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund. XYXX claims to have pan-India presence with over 22,000 touchpoints through top Multi Brand Outlets (MBOs), a strong modern trade presence with Shoppers Stop, and Reliance Trends, amongst others as well as Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) in multiple key cities. Its products are available on website (xyxxcrew.com) and available on e-commerce marketplaces including Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra and Ajio. On Monday, audio series platform Pocket FM announced its first ESOP buyback worth $8.3 million. As per data compiled by TheKredible, the total EOSP buyback/payout/liquidity stood at nearly $802 million in 2023. In 2021 and 2022, the buyback amount was recorded at $440 and $200 million respectively. In 2024, MyGate, Classplus and Meesho also completed their ESOP buyback scheme.

Edtech startup SpeakX announces $1 Mn ESOP buyback for 15 employees

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 1m ago
Edtech startup SpeakX announces $1 Mn ESOP buyback for 15 employees
Medial

Edtech startup SpeakX announces $1 Mn ESOP buyback for 15 employees Edtech company SpeakX (formerly Yellow Class) has launched its first ESOP buyback program worth $1 million, offering early liquidity to employees. According to the company, 15 out of its 20 employees will benefit from the buyback. The buyback comes on the heels of SpeakXโ€™s recent $16 million pre-Series B round which includes performance-linked stock grants, tenure-based allocation, and a long-term ownership structure. Employees who complete two years at the company receive ESOPs with a 10-year exercise window, and grants extend across all departments instead of being limited to senior roles. Till date, SpeakX had raised a total of $23.3 million which includes $1.3 million in seed funding led by India Quotient and then a $6 million Series A round led by Elevation Capital in 2021. SpeakX said the initiative is designed to provide liquidity earlier than typical startup exits or late-stage rounds. The company added that its 20-member team collectively holds 6% equity, and the ESOP pool will expand as it raises new rounds. Founded by Arpit Mittal, SpeakX simulates real-world conversations and provides automated speech correction and multilingual support. The platform reports high engagement, with learners spending about 15 minutes per session. SpeakX initially began as a live learning platform but later pivoted in 2023 to an AI-powered learning app to make English learning more accessible and scalable. SpeakXโ€™s app is currently available in India and select international markets, with plans to expand further across Asia and the Middle East. The firm also shared updated business metrics: CAC payback in one day, 3.7x LTV/CAC within six months, and 35% retention at Month 3.

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

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 1y 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 startupsโ€™ 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 employeesโ€™ 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.

BrowserStack launches $125 Mn ESOP buyback for employees and early backers

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 3d ago
BrowserStack launches $125 Mn ESOP buyback for employees and early backers
Medial

BrowserStack launches $125 Mn ESOP buyback for employees and early backers According to the company, the total capital returned to shareholders across three buyback cycles will reach around $275 million. Mumbai-headquartered software testing platform BrowserStack is launching a $125 million share buyback programme to provide liquidity to its employees and early backers. The buyback will allow stakeholders, including nearly 500 employees, to sell their shares back to the company. An ET report added that about half of the total buyback amount has been earmarked for employees, while the remaining portion will go to early investors such as Accel. In September 2021, BrowserStack had announced its second ESOP buyback worth $50 million, following its first ESOP buyback programme executed in February 2021. The company turned unicorn in June 2021 after raising $200 million in Series B funding at a $4 billion valuation. Founded in 2011, BrowserStack provides cloud-based software testing tools that enable developers and QA teams to test websites and mobile applications across a wide range of devices, operating systems, and browsers. The company serves customers globally from offices in Mumbai, San Francisco, New York, and Dublin. BrowserStack claims to be among the leading software testing platforms, powering over two million tests every day across 17 global data centres. In May last year, the company acquired Requestly, a tool for HTTP interception, API mocking, and debugging, for an undisclosed amount. It also acquired Berlin-based bug detection and reporting platform Bird Eats Bug for $20 million in 2024. Meanwhile, ESOP buyback activity in 2025 remained muted at a little over $75 million. In comparison, total ESOP buybacks, payouts, and liquidity stood at about $190 million in 2024, sharply lower than $802 million in 2023, $440 million in 2021, and $200 million in 2022.

Innovaccer announces Rs 600 Cr ESOP buyback

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 2d ago
Innovaccer announces Rs 600 Cr ESOP buyback
Medial

Innovaccer announces Rs 600 Cr ESOP buyback Healthtech company Innovaccer has completed an ESOP buyback worth Rs 600 crore, around $75 million, providing liquidity to current and former employees holding vested stock options. According to an Inc42 report, an undisclosed number of current and former employees holding restricted stock units benefited from the ESOP buyback. The buyback follows Innovaccerโ€™s $275 million Series F funding round, which included both primary and secondary capital and saw participation from investors such as B Capital, Kaiser Permanente, and Generation Investment Management. Founded in 2014, Innovaccer operates a healthcare data and analytics platform that enables hospitals, health systems, and insurers to unify clinical and operational data. The company has built a strong presence in the US healthcare market and works closely with provider networks and payers. For the fiscal year ended March 2025, Innovaccer reported operating revenue of Rs 387.71 crore and a profit of Rs 36.1 crore. Over the past year, the company led by Abhinav Shashank also acquired two companies, Cured and Pharmacy Quality Solutions, to strengthen its capabilities.

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