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The Sleep Company rolls out second tranche of ESOP buyback for 105 employees

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
The Sleep Company rolls out second tranche of ESOP buyback for 105 employees
Medial

Comfort-tech brand The Sleep Company has announced the second tranche of ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) buyback for its employees. The current buyback will benefit a total of 105 employees, including 50% of women employees. After securing Rs 13.4 crore in pre-Series A, and Rs 177 crore in a Series B round led by Premji Invest and Fireside Ventures, the company recently secured Rs 184 crore in Series C Funding. The Sleep Company has rolled out the second tranche of the programme in just four years since its inception, which is set to benefit employees irrespective of their seniority. The company rolled out its first ESOP buyback programme in 2023 worth Rs 83.47 lakh. Founded by Priyanka and Harshil Salot, The Sleep Company offers premium products with technology rooted in developments in material science and sleep science. In June 2022, the platform marked its foray into offline retail with the launch of its first store in Bengaluru, to open over 150 stores by end of 2024. The firm claims to have achieved significant growth with its revenue growing 2.6 times over the last 12 months, reaching Rs 130 crore in sales in 2023. Through its omnichannel model, the company has over 70 stores across the country and is well on its way to opening 150 stores by the end of 2024. Last month, 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.

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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.

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

EntrackrEntrackr · 24d 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.

Leverage Edu announces second ESOP buyback

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Leverage Edu announces second ESOP buyback
Medial

Leverage.biz, which runs study abroad platform Leverage Edu, Fly.Finance and Fly Homes, today announced that it has completed its second ESOP buyback exercise. Over 50 employees of the company across functions were able to benefit from this exercise. However, the company did not disclose the amount of the stock buyback. Seven-year-old Leverage Edu provides full-stack services including counseling, application-admission support, and financing to students pursuing international education. It assists students from India, Nigeria and Nepal, among others. The company raised $40 million a mix of debt and equity led by Educational Testing Service (ETS) in July last year. It has raised around $70 million across rounds and was last valued at around $140 million. As per startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Blume Ventures is the largest external stakeholder in Leverage Edu with 16.9% followed by Tomorrow Capital and DSG Consumers Partners. The company’s revenue from operations spiked 228% to Rs 69 crore in FY23 from Rs 21 crore in FY22 while its losses jumped 70% to Rs 103 crore in FY23 from Rs 47 crore in the previous year. 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, Urban Company, MyGate, Classplus, Meesho, The Sleep Company, XYXX, and Pocket FM also completed their ESOP buyback scheme.

Agritech startup DeHaat completes its first ESOP buyback

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Agritech startup DeHaat completes its first ESOP buyback
Medial

Full stack agritech platform DeHaat has completed an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback program worth Rs 10 crore ($1.2 million). This is the first ever ESOP buyback for the Patna and Gurugram-based company. “The buyback saw 153 team members spread across senior vice president rank to field teams got the opportunity of wealth creation,” said Rishu Garg, who heads the people function at DeHaat. To date, DeHaat has issued ESOPs worth over Rs 100 crore ($12 million) to more than 200 individuals. DeHaat is a marketplace for the agricultural sector which offers distribution of high-quality agrarian inputs, advisory, lending, and market linkages for selling their produce. The company recently roped in Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi as its brand endorser and onboarded agri industry veteran Dr. K V Subbarao as its first Independent Advisor. DeHaat’s gross revenue grew 54.2% to Rs 1,965 crore in FY23 from Rs 1,274 crore in FY22. The company said that its revenue from operations increased 40% to Rs 2,700 crore while losses was reduced by 50% in FY24. The firm aims to achieve full year profitability during FY25. Dehaat has raised around $230 million to date and was valued at over $705 million according to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible. Last week, study abroad platform Leverage Edu announced its second ESOP buyback program. In the ongoing calendar year, Urban Company, MyGate, Classplus, Meesho, The Sleep Company, XYXX, and Pocket FM also completed their ESOP buyback scheme.

Cashfree Payments announces ESOP buyback for over 400 employees

EntrackrEntrackr · 15d ago
Cashfree Payments announces ESOP buyback for over 400 employees
Medial

Cashfree Payments announces ESOP buyback for over 400 employees Bengaluru-based fintech firm Cashfree Payments has announced an ESOP buyback programme covering over 400 employees, including 175 former employees. The buyback provides liquidity to current and former team members holding vested stock options. Cashfree did not disclose the size of the buyback or the valuation at which the shares were repurchased. The move comes a year after Cashfree’s $53 million funding round led by Krafton. Overall, the company has raised $95 million from investors, including Y Combinator, Smilegate Investments, and State Bank of India. Founded in 2015, Cashfree Payments operates a payments and payouts infrastructure platform for businesses. The company processes more than $80 billion in annual payment volumes and serves over one million merchants, including startups and large internet companies. Cashfree has also been expanding its cross-border payments business, which currently contributes around 10% of the company’s revenue, following strong growth in transaction volumes over the past year. According to TheKredible, Cashfree reported operating revenue of Rs 640 crore in FY25, compared with Rs 643 crore in FY24. The company’s net loss widened 14% to Rs 154 crore from Rs 135 crore in the previous fiscal year. This marks the third major ESOP buyback announcement in 2026. Recently, healthtech firm Innovaccer completed an ESOP buyback worth around $75 million, while SaaS unicorn BrowserStack announced a $125 million ESOP liquidity programme. For context, ESOP buyback activity in 2025 remained muted at just over $75 million. In comparison, total ESOP buybacks, payouts, and liquidity stood at about $190 million in 2024, significantly lower than $802 million in 2023, $440 million in 2021, and $200 million in 2022.

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