Gramophone, an agritech firm, has announced a $2 million buyback of its ESOP
- ByStartupStory | February 24, 2022
Gramophone, an agritech business run by Agstack Technologies Pvt. Ltd, announced a $2 million employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) repurchase on Wednesday (around Rs 15 crore).
The platform stated that it will provide liquidity to its core team members and angel investors as part of this process.
Gramophone claims that its revenues have increased tenfold in the previous year, with an ARR of Rs 400 crore and a target of Rs 1,000 crore in the following 12 months. It also intends to increase the size of its product and technical teams.
Nishant Mahatre and Tauseef Khan, IIT-Kharagpur and IIM-Ahmedabad alumni, founded Gramophone in 2016 as an agronomy-led, agri-input commerce startup. Before launching Gramophone, both founders worked in agri-tech startups and venture capital funds.
Through an internet platform, the firm offers agronomy services and input and output items across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Info Edge, Asha Impact, Siana Capital, Z3 Partners, and new investors Amit Sharma from the former Sunrise Group, Sumeet Kanwar from Verity, and Chona Family Office of Havmor Group have all contributed $20 million to the platform so far.
Gramophone raised $10 million in October 2021, headed by Z3Partners. In May 2017, the firm received $1.5 million in angel capital from a group of private investors. It raised $3.4 million in December 2020, led by Siana Capital.
As they compete with more established firms for talent, Indian entrepreneurs have been exploring inventive methods to hire—and retain—staff, including extending their ESOPs. Startups have also been quicker to implement ESOP buyback programs.
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