EV Battery Startup Log9 To Buy Back ESOPs Worth INR 1.5 Cr

EV battery startup Log9 Materials on Thursday (October 26) announced an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback plan worth INR 1.5 Cr to reward its employees. 

In a statement, Log9 said 17 employees are in line to benefit from this year’s ESOP payouts, many of whom have been instrumental in the battery startup’s growth. Some of the beneficiaries are Log9’s longest-serving employees from both core and non-core functions, the startup said. 

It must be noted that Log9 also bought back ESOPs worth nearly INR 1 Cr in 2022.

The startup said that it intends to continue the practice of ESOP liquidation in the coming years as a way of rewarding the employees and have them invested in its success. 

Founded in 2015 by Dr. Akshay Singhal, Kartik Hajela, and Pankaj Sharma, Bengaluru-based Log9 manufactures batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage. 

In the EV battery industry, Log9 competes with the likes of Hero Electric-backed Exponent Energy, Ather Energy, among others.

Earlier this year, Log9 Materials raised $40 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. and Petronas Ventures. The company also unveiled the country’s maiden commercial Li-ion cell manufacturing line in Bengaluru with an initial capacity of 50 MWh in April.

Overall, Log9 has raised a total funding of $65 Mn till date and is backed by the likes of Sequoia Capital, Amara Raja Group, and RTBI, among others.

The development comes at a time when more and more Indian startups are taking the ESOP payout to compensate employees and retain the existing workforce. As per an Inc42 analysis, driven by the funding boom of 2021, Indian startup employees made $196.5 Mn through ESOP buyback programmes in 2022.

Recently, fintech SaaS startup Perfios conducted an ESOP buyback of shares worth INR 154 Cr. Betterhalf, CaratLane, Flipkart, Zypp Electric, and Swiggy are among the other Indian startups that have conducted ESOP buybacks.