Software Testing Platform BrowserStack Announces $125 Mn ESOP and Share Buyback Programme

Mumbai-based software testing company BrowserStack has announced a USD 125 million employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and share buyback program to give liquidity to employees and early investors.

About half of the buyback funds will go to roughly 500 employees, while the rest will be given to early investors, led mainly by Accel.

The buyback will be implemented over the coming weeks, allowing employees to sell their vested stock options back to the company. With this program, BrowserStack will have returned a total of USD 275 million to shareholders through three buyback initiatives so far.

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“Seeing our team members build their lives and futures alongside the company is the most rewarding part of building together. As we scale AI-driven innovation, we want our team to feel the same ownership and pride that Nakul (Aggarwal) and I do every single day,” cofounder and chief executive Ritesh Arora said.

Following the latest buyback, BrowserStack’s total buybacks to date will exceed USD 275 million.

While the company has not disclosed which investors will exit through the buyback, The Economic Times reported that Accel is expected to be one of the beneficiaries.

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Media reports indicate that BrowserStack co-founders Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal together hold about 78% of the company’s equity. Accel owns nearly 10%, Bond Capital around 1.3%, and Insight Partners about 0.6%. Approximately 10% of the equity is set aside for the employee stock option pool.

BrowserStack is funding the buyback entirely from its own profits, rather than using secondary transactions supported by new or incoming investors.

Founded in 2011 by Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal, BrowserStack provides a platform for software testing across multiple devices and browsers. It gives developer teams instant access to a cloud platform to test websites and mobile apps for functionality, performance, and visual quality, helping them release bug-free software.

The startup says it has been profitable since its inception and offers more than 21 products in its portfolio.

BrowserStack joined the unicorn club in 2021 after raising USD 200 million in its Series B round at a valuation of USD 4 billion. In July last year, the company acquired Requestly, a Y Combinator-backed HTTP interception and mocking tool. Before that, it also acquired Bird Eats Bug, a Berlin-based enterprise tech platform.

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