Decagon, an AI-powered customer support startup, is preparing to announce the completion of its first tender offer, enabling over 300 employees to sell some of their vested shares at a valuation of $4.5 billion.
This under-three-year-old company’s employee secondary is led by investors from its $250 million Series D two months ago, including Coatue, Index, a16z, Definition, Forerunner, and Ribbit.
As competition for AI talent grows, young, fast-growing startups find that letting employees convert equity into cash through such transactions is highly effective for attracting and retaining top talent.
Recently, other AI startups that have held employee tender offers include ElevenLabs, Linear, and Clay, which conducted two in nine months.
These startups can offer employee liquidity because investors seek to expand their ownership in rapidly growing firms.
Jesse Zhang, Decagon CEO and co-founder, told TechCrunch, “We had the opportunity to bring together the recent investment demand and growth milestones with rewarding the team’s hard work.”
Though Decagon hasn’t disclosed revenue since 2024—when ARR surpassed eight figures—its $4.5 billion valuation, up from $1.5 billion in June, indicates strong growth.
Decagon creates AI ‘concierge’ agents for large companies, autonomously handling customer inquiries using chat, email, and voice. Its 100+ large clients include Avis Budget Group, 1-800-Flowers, Quince, Oura Health, and Away Travel.
While companies like Sierra, Intercom, and Parloa are also developing AI agents to automate customer support roles traditionally held by humans, the market opportunity is significant. Gartner estimates there are 17 million contact center agents worldwide, a workforce these AI companies aim to automate.