Zepto boosts ESOP to 1.47 billion options as grants fall
Business
Zepto, the quick-commerce startup, is boosting its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) pool by 246.5 million options as it preps for its big initial public offering (IPO).
This takes the total ESOP pool to 1.47 billion options (pending shareholder approval).
But here's the twist: even with a bigger pool, fewer employees actually got stock options this year compared to last.
Employee option grants fall, Bafna 138.3 million
In FY26, only 1,725 employees received stock options, down from 2,351 in FY25, and the total number of granted options also dropped sharply.
Meanwhile, top executives like CFO Ramesh Bafna scored big allocations (138.3 million options), with other senior leaders getting notable grants too.