YCombinator-backed fintech unicorn Razorpay has announced the allocation of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) worth Rs 1 lakh to all its current employees. The announcement comes amid with the company's 10th anniversary in which the firm has decided to reward its 3,000 plus employees—referred to internally as 'Razors'—for their role in its decade-long growth journey.
ESOPs have become a popular tool for wealth creation within the Indian startup ecosystem. Razorpay’s move ensures that even employees without prior ESOP allocations now have a stake in the company’s future success.
“The ESOP initiative is our way of ensuring every teammate shares in the success as we continue to innovate, simplify money movement, and create greater value for businesses in India and beyond,” said Harshil Mathur, Co-founder and CEO of Razorpay.
Shashank Kumar, Co-founder and Managing Director, added that the initiative reflects Razorpay’s long-term culture of value creation and acknowledgment of its team’s contributions.
Razorpay has historically leveraged ESOPs to incentivize and reward employees. The company’s first ESOP buyback in 2018 allowed 140 employees to liquidate their vested shares, and a larger $75-million buyback in 2022 benefited 650 current and former employees.
In 2024, Swiggy had an ESOP offer of nearly $65 million; Urban Company announced an ESOP for around 400 employes worth $25 million.
Also Read: Startup employees may face higher tax burden on ESOP buybacks due to Budget proposal
In 2023 too several startups announced ESOP buybacks. Fintech company PhonePe conducted a $200-million ESOP buyback as part of its employee-first approach. Similarly, brokerage firm Zerodha announced a unique profit-sharing ESOP program for employees, with plans to allocate shares annually based on company performance.
Founded in 2014, Razorpay has grown from a single-product payment gateway to a multi-product platform with an annualized total payment volume (TPV) of $180 billion. The company powers payments for 80 of India’s 100 unicorns and serves over 300 million end consumers. Its portfolio includes over 40 products addressing payments, banking, and financial technology needs.
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