// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Equitybee say to its investor? "Bee-lieve in me.
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
Area served | United States |
| Services | Employee stock option financing; private market access |
| Website | www |
Equitybee is an Israeli-American financial technology company that operates a platform for financing employee stock-option exercises in private companies. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.[1] The platform facilitates agreements between startup employees and accredited investors to finance the exercise of vested stock options prior to liquidity events such as acquisitions or initial public offerings.[2][3]
History
[edit]Equitybee was founded in 2017 by Oren Barzilai, Oded Golan, and Mody Radashkovich.[1]
In September 2018, Equitybee raised a $1.5 million seed funding round led by Adam Neumann.[4]
In 2020, the company expanded into the United States market and established operations in Silicon Valley.[5]In February 2020, Equitybee raised $6.6 million in a financing round led by Group11, with participation from Battery Ventures and LocalGlobe.[6]
In February 2021, TechCrunch reported that the company had raised $20 million in a funding round led by Group 11.[7] Later that year, TechCrunch reported that Equitybee raised $55 million in Series B financing. In March 2023, Equitybee launched a platform that enables startup employees to estimate the market value of their stock options and equity holdings.[8]
Operations
[edit]Equitybee facilitates agreements between employees of private companies and accredited investors to finance the exercise of vested stock options.[9] The platform is used in transactions involving private-company equity before liquidity events such as acquisitions or initial public offerings.
The company has also offered pooled investment vehicles linked to employee stock-option transactions.[10]
Equitybee and similar employee stock-option financing platforms were discussed in reporting by The New York Times[11] and CNBC[12] concerning difficulties startup employees face in accessing liquidity and changes in private-market financing. In 2022, EquityBee was included in Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2022.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Israeli stock options funding co EquityBee raises $55m". Globes (newspaper). 29 September 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Pimentel, Benjamin (11 February 2020). "EquityBee's 36-year-old CEO saw friends and colleagues lose access to their stock options. He launched a startup to help them and used this pitch deck to raise $6.6 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (29 September 2021). "EquityBee snaps up $55M for a marketplace that connects employees with capital to help them exercise their stock options". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Stoler, Tofi (2018-09-12). "WeWork's Adam Neumann Invests in Stock Option Marketplace EquityBee". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
- ↑ EquityBee. "EquityBee Accelerates Growth With $20M Series A Funding Led by Group 11". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2026-06-22.
- ↑ Orbach, Meir (2020-02-11). "Stock Option Marketplace EquityBee Raises $6.6 Million". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
- ↑ Azevedo, Mary Ann (22 February 2021). "EquityBee raises $20M to help startup employees actually afford their stock options". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Wrobel, Sharon (2023-03-29). "Israeli fintech startup helps tech workers crunch value of stock options". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
- ↑ Chen, Ruiqi (18 November 2021). "EquityBee Taps Former BlackRock Director Smith as Legal Boss (2)". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Equitybee Launches Innovative Fund to Open the Venture Capital Asset Class to More Investors". Yahoo Finance. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Griffith, Erin (20 July 2022). "Loans Could Burn Start-Up Workers in Downturn". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Levy, Ari; Novet, Jordan (7 July 2022). "How startups are dealing with the hardest fundraising climate in more than a decade". CNBC. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ Feldman, Amy (16 August 2022). "Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2022". Forbes. Retrieved 13 May 2026.