Startups Extend Cash Options to Staff as Private Stages Lengthen

NewView and Carta announced a partnership on October 23 to integrate equity management with secondary deal structuring. The collaboration aims to simplify the process for private companies to conduct tender offers, allowing employees to sell a portion of their stock before a public offering or acquisition.

The mechanism relies on tender offers, where staff and early investors sell shares to approved buyers at a set price. Ravi Viswanathan, founder and managing partner of NewView, stated the goal is to help CEOs manage liquidity programs more smoothly. He described early liquidity as a win for employees, companies, and investors, saying, "The hope is that this partnership will make it easier for CEOs and companies to think about tenders."

Recent data from NewView Capital and Carta indicates that tender offers among Series C and later-stage startups have grown threefold over the past three years. Viswanathan noted that these transactions are no longer restricted to top-tier private firms like OpenAI, Databricks, or Anduril. He cited Hightouch, a marketing customization startup, as an example. Last year, NewView led a tender for Hightouch at a $1.3 billion valuation when the company was seven years old.

Despite this growth, tender offers remain uncommon. Research cited in the announcement found that only 44 such offers were executed in the first half of 2026. Viswanathan characterized tenders as retention tools and morale boosters. He argued that the traditional recruiting pitch of future unicorn status has lost weight due to the increased number of billion-dollar companies. He said a tender is "an opportunity to say you will also get liquidity in your journey with us."

Recent companies to utilize tender offers include Decagon, an AI customer support firm; Wayve, a self-driving technology developer; and ElevenLabs, an AI voice generator that conducted two offerings in less than a year. Viswanathan said the trend of companies staying private is unlikely to reverse. He stated, "The companies are staying private for 12 to 15 years. That's not changing." He added that liquidity is necessary to prevent talent from moving from venture-backed startups to public companies.