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Carta, Inc.

Cap Table ManagementFounded 2012
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded Carta?

Henry Ward, Manu Kumar · Founded 2012 · HQ today: San Francisco, California, United States

Who founded Carta?

Carta was founded by Henry Ward, Manu Kumar in 2012. It is now led by Henry Ward.

Founders
Henry Ward, Manu Kumar
Founded
2012
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, United States
Number of founders
2
Current CEO
Henry Ward (since 2012)
Where was Carta founded?
Carta was founded in San Francisco, California in 2012.
When was Carta founded?
Carta was founded in 2012.
Who started Carta?
Carta was founded by Henry Ward and Manu Kumar.
How old is Carta?
Carta is 14 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

In 2011 Henry Ward was trying to raise a seed round for Secondsight, an algorithmic fixed-income trading startup, when he met investor Manu Kumar of K9 Ventures. Kumar, frustrated by the paper stock certificates his portfolio companies mailed him, suggested Ward build a way to manage them electronically. In 2012 the pair co-founded eShares. The product moved from digital certificates to cap tables, 409A valuations, and compliance, and in November 2017 the company rebranded as Carta, a word meaning a charter or founding document.

Henry Ward

Background

Henry Ward studied at the University of Michigan and worked in software and finance before attempting to launch Secondsight, an algorithmic fixed-income trading startup, in 2011. While raising for Secondsight he met Manu Kumar, which led to the founding of eShares in 2012.

Role at Carta, Inc.

Henry Ward is the co-founder and CEO of Carta. He has led the company since founding it as eShares in 2012, through its 2017 rebrand, a $7.4 billion Series G in 2021, and expansion into fund administration, private equity, private credit, and legal services. In January 2024 he shut down Carta's secondary trading business after a customer publicly accused a Carta broker of misusing cap table data. Ward said Carta was approaching $500 million in ARR in 2025. Henry Ward was born in 1975.

Manu Kumar

Background

Manu Kumar holds a PhD in computer science from Stanford University. He is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of seed firm K9 Ventures, an early investor in companies including Twilio and Lyft.

Role at Carta, Inc.

Manu Kumar co-founded eShares (now Carta) with Henry Ward in 2012 after suggesting Ward build software to replace the paper stock certificates Kumar received as an angel investor. K9 Ventures led Carta's earliest funding, and Kumar served as an early board member and advisor. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).

Carta, Inc.: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Henry Ward

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

2012 – Present

Co-founded eShares in 2012 and has served as CEO since; led the 2017 rebrand, the 2021 Series G at $7.4B, the 2024 exit from secondary trading, and the 2025-2026 expansion into private credit and legal services.

Manu Kumar

Co-Founder

2012 – Present

As Co-Founder, he recognized that the entire Silicon Valley ecosystem was running on broken, manual Excel spreadsheets, heavily guiding Henry Ward's early product strategy before stepping back.

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Keep researching Carta

Who Founded Carta? FAQ

Who founded Carta and in what year was the company launched?

Carta was founded in 2012 by Henry Ward and Manu Kumar in San Francisco, California, originally incorporating and launching under the name eShares, Inc.

What initial problem did the founders set out to solve with eShares?

The founders identified that private startups were still tracking billions of dollars in equity ownership using manual Excel spreadsheets and mailing paper stock certificates, leading to expensive legal errors, lost records, and compliance failures.

What was Manu Kumar's contribution as co-founder and seed investor?

Manu Kumar, founder of K9 Ventures and early investor in Twilio and Lyft, incubated eShares, co-designed the initial product architecture for electronic share issuance, and served on Carta's board of directors during its foundational hyper-growth years.

How did Henry Ward and Manu Kumar meet?

Ward met Kumar in 2011 while trying to raise money for Secondsight, a fixed-income trading startup. Kumar suggested Ward build software to manage stock certificates instead, which became eShares.

Who founded Carta?

It was founded by Henry Ward and Manu Kumar (a prominent seed investor). Kumar had the original idea for electronic shares, and recruited Ward to actually build the company.

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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.