Gurugram-based higher education startup Sunstone Eduversity announced its ESOP (employee stock ownership) buyback, led by WestBridge Capital, which witnessed a total transaction of Rs 18 crore.
Twenty of Sunstone’s current and former employees, who have worked for the company since its inception, benefitted from this buyback. 57% of the vested shares the departing employees held were eligible for selling under this buyback policy.
“This first-ever ESOP buyback is one of our ways to acknowledge their hard work and efforts towards building Sunstone. The youngest member of Sunstone who benefited is 26 years of age, and we want all our employees to grow with the organisation,” Ashish Munjal, Co-founder and CEO of Sunstone, said.
“With an employee-first attitude, Sunstone wants to create wealth for its 700+ employees, and we are committed to creating more such opportunities in the future,” added Ashish.
In October 2021, Sunstone raised $28 million in Series B funding. Sunstone was founded in 2019 by Ashish Munjal and Piyush Nangru. It raised $35 million in Series C funding in August 2022, led by WestBridge Capital.
The company operates in 35 cities and 40 institutions and is developing capacities to expand into 100 cities across India.
In 2021, Indian startups bought ESOPs worth over $400 million, according to a report on startups by NASSCOM and consultancy firm Zinnov.
