Startups turn to tender offers to help staff cash out

Employees at private companies increasingly hold equity that lacks a clear path to liquidity. NewView and Carta announced a partnership on Thursday designed to help startups run tender offers more easily, giving staff a way to sell shares before a public listing or acquisition occurs.

The initiative connects NewView's secondary market experience with Carta's equity management platform. The goal is to simplify the process for companies to offer employees and early investors the chance to sell a portion of their holdings at a set price to approved buyers.

Recent data from NewView Capital and Carta shows the practice is expanding rapidly. Tender offers among Series C and later-stage startups are projected to have tripled over the past three years. However, the practice remains rare on a total volume basis, with only 44 such offers executed in the first half of 2026.

Ravi Viswanathan, founder and managing partner of NewView, said the partnership aims to make it easier for CEOs to consider these programs. He described early liquidity as a "win-win-win" for employees, companies, and investors. "The hope is that this partnership will make it easier for CEOs and companies to think about tenders," he said.

Viswanathan noted that the firms using these deals are no longer limited to massive private entities like OpenAI, Databricks, or Anduril. He cited Hightouch, a marketing customization startup, which led a tender at a $1.3 billion valuation last year when the company was seven years old. Other recent participants include Decagon, Wayve, and ElevenLabs, which held two offerings in under a year.

The shift reflects a changing labor market where the promise of a future IPO holds less weight. Viswanathan said reaching unicorn status a decade ago was enough to attract talent, but the label carries less force today. He argued that tenders serve as retention tools and morale boosters in an environment where private stints are lengthening.

"A tender, in his view, 'is an opportunity to say you will also get liquidity in your journey with us,'" he said. Viswanathan believes companies will continue to stay private for 12 to 15 years. He added that liquidity for employees is necessary to prevent a talent drain from venture-backed firms to public competitors.