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Carta, Inc.

Cap Table ManagementFounded 2012
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026
Independent Editorial Analysis
9 historical events · Editorial analysis

Carta Company Profile: Revenue, Business Model & Strategy

Research depth: 9 milestones · 10 FAQs

Carta, Inc. is a private San Francisco fintech company founded in 2012 (as eShares) by Henry Ward and Manu Kumar. It provides cap table management, 409A valuations, and fund administration. CEO Henry Ward said ARR was nearing $500 million in 2025; its last primary valuation was $7.4 billion (2021).

How Carta makes money: Carta sells annual software subscriptions plus service fees on both sides of the private market. Companies pay for cap table management, equity plan administration, and 409A valuations, with prices rising as stakeholder…

Revenue & employeesCEO historyFoundersBusiness model
Annual Revenue (unaudited) (FY2024)$442M
Employees1,900
CEOHenry Ward
Founded2012
IndustryCap Table Management
By Swet ParvadiyaLast reviewed:
Data sources: annual reports, SEC filings, methodology
Industry:Cap Table Management

Carta, Inc. key figures

Carta, Inc.'s latest revenue figure is $515M (2025). This is an annualized run-rate from Sacra, not audited fiscal-year revenue.

Source: Sacra · Last reviewed October 2026

Revenue per employee
$232,632 (unaudited)
FY2024 revenue divided by 1,900 employees; headcount may use another date
Current chief executive
Henry Ward
In the role since 2012 (14 years)
Documented transactions
5
Between 2022 and 2026
Founded
2012
14 years ago
Where was Carta founded?
Carta was founded in San Francisco, California in 2012.
When did Carta start?
Carta was founded in 2012.
How old is Carta?
Carta is 14 years old as of 2026.
In-Depth Analysis
425 words · 3 min read

Carta, Inc. (formerly eShares) is a private San Francisco software company founded in 2012 by Henry Ward and Manu Kumar. It manages cap tables, employee equity, and 409A valuations for 50,000+ companies and provides fund administration and Fund ERP software to VC, PE, and private credit firms. CEO Henry Ward said ARR was nearing $500 million in 2025; its last primary valuation was $7.4 billion (2021).

What does Carta do?

  • Cap table and equity management: electronic securities, option grants, SAFEs, scenario modeling, and an employee equity portal.
  • 409A valuations: independent valuations used to price employee stock options.
  • Fund ERP: fund administration, fund tax and K-1s, portfolio valuations, forecasting, CRM, and loan operations for private credit.
  • Carta Law: AI-assisted legal and compliance services, launched with the May 2026 Avantia acquisition.

How does Carta make money?

Carta sells subscriptions and service fees. Sacra estimates that in 2023 cap tables and 409A valuations were about 67% of ARR, fund administration about 27%, and private equity products about 5%. Revenue is estimated at $442 million in 2024 and $515 million in 2025.

Who owns Carta?

Carta is private. Its owners include the founders, employees, and investors such as Silver Lake and Lightspeed (co-leads of the $500 million Series G at $7.4 billion in August 2021), Andreessen Horowitz (Series E lead in 2019), Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures, and K9 Ventures.

Origins: from eShares to Carta

In 2011 Henry Ward met Manu Kumar while raising money for a different startup. Kumar, tired of paper stock certificates from his angel investments, suggested Ward digitize them. They founded eShares in 2012, expanded into cap tables, valuations, and compliance, and renamed the company Carta in November 2017.

The 2024 exit from secondary trading

In January 2024 Linear CEO Karri Saarinen said a Carta broker had approached his investors about selling shares without the company's knowledge. The episode raised concerns about how Carta used confidential cap table data, and Henry Ward shut down Carta's secondary trading business that month.

2025-2026: private credit, legal services, and Pulley

In October 2025 Carta acquired Sirvatus (loan operations for private credit) and Accelex (AI document extraction). In May 2026 it acquired UK firm Avantia to launch Carta Law and now describes itself as an agentic ERP for private capital. In September 2026 rival Pulley announced it would shut down on December 8, 2026 and migrate customers to Carta.

Who are Carta's competitors?

Ledgy, Cake Equity, Qapita, Eqvista, AngelList, and Shareworks by Morgan Stanley compete in equity management. SS&C and Juniper Square compete in fund administration and fund software.

Table of Contents

Carta, Inc. Key Facts

CompanyCarta, Inc.
Financials$515M (annualized run-rate, 2025)
Valuation$7.4B (private company, last reported)
Last reviewedBy Swet Parvadiya, Founder & Editor - October 2026
Founded2012
Founder(s)Henry Ward, Manu Kumar
CEOHenry Ward
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, United States
IndustryCap Table Management
Employees1,900+

Carta Company Profile: Revenue, Business Model & Strategy

"Carta began as a fix for lost paper stock certificates and now sits under more than 50,000 companies' ownership records, with ARR nearing $500 million in 2025 and a 2026 push into AI-assisted legal work for private equity firms."

Carta, Inc. is a private San Francisco fintech company founded in 2012 (as eShares) by Henry Ward and Manu Kumar. It provides cap table management, 409A valuations, and fund administration. CEO Henry Ward said ARR was nearing $500 million in 2025; its last primary valuation was $7.4 billion (2021).

Revenue

$442.0M

Founded

2012

Author: CorpDigest Research DeskCompany Research

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Explore Carta In Depth

Detailed research across every dimension of Carta — history, financials, leadership, and strategy.

Company History

Carta is the system of record for who owns what in private companies and funds. Founders use it to issue options and model funding rounds, employees use it to see and exercise their equity, and VC, PE, and private…

Full Carta history →

Revenue & Financials

Carta had $442M (unaudited) in revenue for fiscal year 2024. Data covers 2 fiscal years.

Carta financials →

Founders

Carta was founded by Henry Ward, Manu Kumar in 2012. Explore each founder's background, motivations, and their role in building the company.

Carta founders →

CEO & Leadership

Carta is currently led by Henry Ward. Explore the full CEO history — leadership transitions, tenures, and the strategic decisions of each chief executive.

Carta CEO history →

Business Model

Carta sells annual software subscriptions plus service fees on both sides of the private market. Companies pay for cap table management, equity plan administration, and 409A valuations, with prices rising as stakeholder…

How Carta makes money →

Acquisitions

Carta has completed 6 documented acquisitions. Explore the full acquisition history and strategic rationale behind each deal.

Carta acquisitions →

Competitive Strategy

Carta grows by selling more products to the firms already on its ledger. The playbook is to take a professional service (409A valuations, fund accounting, legal work), automate it, and tie the output to Carta's system…

Carta strategy →

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 Research Profile

Our analysts compile business strategy profiles from public financial filings, press releases, and analyst reports. Each profile is reviewed for accuracy before publication by our editorial desk and updated on a rolling basis.

About the Author →Our Methodology →

Sources & References

All data point citations [1], [2], etc. in the tables above refer to these primary sources.

Financial data on this page is sourced from SEC EDGAR filings, official earnings releases, and verified press statements. Revenue figures are reviewed and updated periodically. Read our full data methodology ->

Editorial Methodology

Company Research

We use company filings, annual reports, company statements and press reports, with primary sources preferred where available. Each financial row shows its recorded source. Full-year figures are separated from annualized run-rates, partial periods and forecasts; unaudited figures carry a label. Source detail varies by company, so check the linked material when the reporting basis matters.

1. Primary Sources

Public companies may provide filings and annual reports. Private-company figures may come from statements or press coverage. A missing figure stays missing, and a source link should identify where its number came from.

2. Expert Curation

We organize company records and review claims for strategic context, source quality and clarity. Pages show a review date where one is recorded.

3. Multi-Pass Audit

Technical checks flag inconsistent figures and missing links. Editorial review of the underlying source remains necessary for claims those checks cannot verify.

Swet Parvadiya
SEC filings & public records methodology
Sourced from public financial records

Frequently Asked Questions About Carta

What is Carta and what does it do?

Carta is a private San Francisco software company that manages cap tables, employee equity, and 409A valuations for private companies, and provides fund administration, fund tax, valuations, CRM, loan operations, and legal services for VC, PE, and private credit firms.

Who is the CEO of Carta?

Henry Ward, who co-founded the company as eShares with Manu Kumar in 2012, is Carta's CEO.

Who owns Carta?

Carta is privately held by its founders, employees, and venture investors including Silver Lake, Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures, Meritech, Tribe Capital, and K9 Ventures. It is not publicly traded.

How does Carta make money?

Carta charges subscriptions for cap table management and 409A valuations (about two-thirds of 2023 ARR, per Sacra) and fees for fund administration and fund software (about a quarter). Newer revenue comes from private equity and private credit products and, since 2026, Carta Law.

What is Carta's revenue?

Carta does not publish revenue. Henry Ward said ARR was approaching $500 million in 2025, and Sacra estimates revenue of about $515 million in 2025, up from $442 million in 2024.

What is Carta's valuation?

Carta was valued at $7.4 billion in its $500 million Series G led by Silver Lake and Lightspeed in August 2021, its last announced primary round. A January 2022 employee secondary sale reportedly valued it at $8.5 billion.

Who are Carta's competitors?

In equity management: Ledgy, Cake Equity, Qapita, Eqvista, AngelList, and Shareworks by Morgan Stanley. In fund administration: SS&C, Juniper Square, and other administrators. Pulley, a US rival, is shutting down on December 8, 2026.

Why did Carta exit secondary trading?

In January 2024 Linear CEO Karri Saarinen said a Carta broker had contacted his investors about selling shares without the company's knowledge. Henry Ward responded by shutting down Carta's secondary trading business to avoid conflicts with its role as a trusted record keeper.

Is Carta going public?

Carta has not filed for an IPO as of October 2026. Henry Ward has discussed IPO readiness publicly, but no timeline has been announced.

What was Carta originally called?

Carta was originally founded under the name eShares before rebranding.

Strategic Face-Off

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.