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Carta sells software that helps startups and investors keep track of who owns what, from employee stock options to investor records.
Carta is the record keeper for startup ownership. When a young company gives shares to founders, hands stock options to employees, or sells equity to investors, someone has to track exactly who owns what and at what price. That messy job used to live in spreadsheets and lawyers' filing cabinets. Carta turned it into software — a digital cap table that stays accurate as shares get issued, options vest, and money changes hands.
The company makes money by charging for that software, typically on a subscription tied to how many shareholders and stakeholders a company has. It also runs a fund administration business for venture capital and private equity firms, keeping the books for the funds that invest in startups. And it operates a platform where employees can sell vested shares and where companies can raise money, taking a cut when deals happen. The pitch to customers is simple: stay compliant, avoid costly ownership mistakes, and keep everyone — founders, employees, investors — looking at the same trustworthy numbers. Carta's grip on the market is strong because switching cap-table providers is painful; your ownership history lives there. But that grip has been tested. In early 2024, a public spat erupted when Carta was accused of using its position to approach startup shareholders about selling shares without the company's consent. The backlash was fierce, and Carta exited the secondary trading business, selling that unit. The episode was a sharp reminder that trust is the whole product for a company sitting on everyone's ownership secrets.
The business has grown into one of the most valuable private software companies in the United States, backed by venture investors and last valued in the billions. It is based in San Francisco, the heart of the startup world it serves. Its main competition comes from other cap-table and fund-administration software, plus the eternal rival: a well-organized spreadsheet. Carta's bet is that as companies stay private longer and employee equity gets more complicated, nobody wants to be the person who loses track of who owns the company.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026