Concept-of-the-week
Vesting acceleration
When a change in control reshapes the company, the original vesting timeline may no longer make sense. ‘Acceleration’ allows some or all unvested equity to vest earlier than planned.
Two common structures:
Single-trigger acceleration — Unvested equity accelerates as soon as a change in control occurs (such as an acquisition). The employee gets immediate liquidity regardless of what happens next.
Double-trigger acceleration — Acceleration requires two conditions. First, a change in control. Second, a qualifying event that directly affects the employee, most often a termination within a defined period after the transaction.
Double-trigger has become the standard for most employee equity plans. Employees are protected if their role is genuinely affected. Companies and acquirers preserve incentives for continuity during the transition.
What we’re watching
The Nvidia-Groq deal
Following its licensing deal with Nvidia, Groq's implied valuation moved from roughly $7B (its last private round in September) to about $20B.
For employees, that shift translated into:
Nearly 90% of employees joined Nvidia and received cash payouts for their vested shares
Unvested equity wasn't cancelled. Instead, it converts into Nvidia stock that continues vesting
Around 50 employees received full acceleration with immediate cash payouts
Employees with under one year of tenure had their vesting cliffs waived, allowing them to participate as well
The takeaway for founders: Well-designed stock option plans reward clean exits and protect employees when outcomes are unconventional.
This week’s highlights
TikTok finalizes US joint venture deal to avoid ban (Source)
Synthesia raises $200M at $4B valuation, backed by Nvidia and Alphabet (Source)
OpenAI in talks with Middle East investors for $50B funding round (Source)
DOJ opens criminal probe into Deel over Rippling spy allegations (Source)
Upwind hits $1.5B valuation with $250M Series B (Source)
[EquityList] What’s new?
Employees and other stakeholders can now see their equity like the real investment it is with the help of the revamped EquityList dashboard.
CEO, Kashish Sharma, gives a walkthrough in the video below:
See you next week,
Team EquityList
