CRED to Initiate ESOP Buyback Worth $1.2 Million as Part of Series C Fundraise

CRED raises $81 million in its Series C round of funding at a post-money valuation of $806 million. Existing investor DST Global led the round along with participation from other investors including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and General Catalyst. The round also saw Sofina, Coatue and Satyan Gajwani investing in the round.

In the process, the existing and former employees have liquidated their ESOPs worth $1.2 million. The ESOP buyback was completed on January 1, 2021, which is the first ESOP liquidity program initiated by CRED, just two years into its operations. Employees with vested stocks were eligible to sell up to 50 percent of their vested ESOP shares in the company.

“As we raise funds to support our next phase of growth, it's important to acknowledge the role that employees have played in our success. We are committed to enabling wealth-creation opportunities for them and have allocated 10% of our captable allocated for ESOPs even at the Series C stage. I am grateful for their conviction, as well as that of our investors, and am focused on creating value for them as the product and business evolves,” says Kunal Shah, Founder, CRED, which is a community of individuals, brands and institutions.