Carta

What Carta does

Carta is a private capital ownership management platform that serves as end-to-end infrastructure for the private markets lifecycle, originally founded in 2012 as eShares, Inc. and headquartered in San Francisco. The platform serves over 50,000 companies, 9,000+ funds and SPVs, and 1.7 million equity holders, processing $4.5 trillion in assets with $220 billion+ under administration. Customers include venture capital funds, private equity firms, private corporations ranging from first-time founders to late-stage IPO candidates, limited partners, private credit fund managers, and fund-of-funds operators. Headcount is approximately 1,500–2,000 employees across 15 global offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.

The product architecture is organized into three unified suites connected through an "AI by Carta" intelligence layer: Carta Equity Suite (cap tables, 409A valuations, SAFE financings, total compensation benchmarking, equity advisory, liquidity, and QSBS attestation), Carta Fund ERP (deal CRM, LP CRM, fund administration, fund tax, SPVs, fund forecasting, portfolio valuations, loan operations, and LP portfolio analytics), and Carta Law (an AI-native legal and compliance platform built on the proprietary Ava workflow engine). Underlying the suite is a unified data warehouse queryable via natural language through Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and an MCP connector, supplemented by a CLI for programmatic access and integrations into Slack, Excel, and CRM surfaces. Notable proprietary components include Document Intelligence for Stock Purchase Agreements (extracting 150+ structured fields with traceability) and agentic monitoring with 24/7 contextual workflows backed by 400+ in-house finance and legal professionals for human-in-the-loop verification.

The business model combines recurring SaaS subscriptions across equity management, fund administration, and portfolio analytics with professional services revenue from Carta Law (priced at flat rates rather than traditional hourly billing) and PLG-driven user acquisition via a free Carta Launch tier for early-stage founders. Disclosed ARR reached $500M in 2025, up from $373M in 2023, with the company also citing "nearly $600M in annual revenue" at its 2026 AI conference, on a $7.4 billion 2021 Series G valuation. Go-to-market combines self-serve PLG for startups with dedicated enterprise field sales targeting funds and late-stage companies, supported by a referral network effect where Carta-served portfolio companies introduce the platform to their PE/VC investors.

Name

Carta

Legal name

eShares, Inc.

Website

https://carta.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Carta operates a private capital ownership management platform serving 50,000+ companies and 9,000+ funds globally, unifying cap table management, fund administration, CRM, legal compliance, and portfolio analytics through AI-powered workflows across the entire private capital lifecycle.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Equity Management SaaS: Subscription-based software for cap table management, 409A valuations, SAFE financings, QSBS attestation, and total compensation—serving startups through late-stage companies
2. Fund Administration: Full-service fund administration for VC and PE funds including general ledger, K-1s, LP portal, capital calls, and financial reporting—priced per fund complexity and AUM
3. Carta Law: AI-native legal and compliance services for private capital including contract review, AML/KYC screening, and fund services—offered at flat rate pricing vs traditional hourly billing
4. Portfolio Analytics & Valuations: Portfolio valuations, LP portfolio analytics, and performance reporting for institutional investors and fund managers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Carta is a global ownership management platform that provides equity management (cap tables, 409A valuations, SAFE financings, total compensation, QSBS), fund administration and ERP for VC/PE/private credit funds, and AI-native legal and compliance services through Carta Law. Its products are unified by an agentic AI layer ("AI by Carta") that connects startups, investors, funds, and limited partners on a single data layer, replacing fragmented spreadsheets and disconnected service providers with end-to-end private capital workflows.

Product overview

Carta operates as a unified platform-plus-modules architecture providing end-to-end private capital infrastructure. The portfolio consists of three core product suites: Carta Equity Suite (cap table management, 409A valuations, SAFE financings, total compensation, equity advisory, liquidity, QSBS attestation), Carta Fund ERP (deal CRM, LP CRM, fund administration, fund tax, SPVs, fund forecasting, portfolio valuations, loan operations, LP portfolio analytics), and Carta Law (compliance, contracts, fund services). These are connected through AI by Carta—an intelligence layer enabling natural language interfaces via Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, with a Data Warehouse and CLI for programmatic access. The platform targets private equity, venture capital, private corporations, LLCs, private credit, and fund-of-funds segments, serving over 50,000 companies and 9,000+ funds managing $220B+ in assets under administration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carta CRM: AI-powered CRM platform for deal flow and LP relationships integrated into Carta's ERP for private capital markets
• Carta Law
• Carta Fund ERP
• Carta Equity Suite
• Carta Loan Operations
• Fund of Funds Solution
• Carta 401(k)

Products and services

• Carta Equity Suite End-to-end equity management platform for private companies from first cap table through IPO preparation. Includes cap table management, 409A valuations, SAFE financings, total compensation benchmarking, equity advisory, tender offer/liquidity solutions, and QSBS attestation services for startups through late-stage private companies.
• Carta Fund ERP Agentic ERP platform for VC, PE, and private credit funds connecting deal CRM, LP CRM, fund administration, fund tax, SPVs, fund forecasting, portfolio valuations, loan operations, and LP portfolio analytics in a single intelligent system for front-, middle-, and back-office operations.
• Carta Law AI-native legal and compliance platform for private capital firms providing high-volume transactional legal services including AML/KYC compliance, contract review and negotiation, and end-to-end fund services, powered by attorney-led AI workflow engine Ava with flat-rate pricing as an alternative to traditional hourly legal billing.
• AI by Carta Unified agentic AI platform connecting Carta's private capital data with native interfaces to Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, plus a Data Warehouse query engine and MCP connector; provides context-aware monitoring, proactive orchestration, and process automation across cap tables, fund admin, CRM, and legal workflows.
• Carta 401(k) Retirement savings platform for high-growth private companies, built in partnership with Morgan Stanley (Institutional Consulting oversight) and Vestwell (digital-first recordkeeping), providing institutional-grade investment portfolios and automated 401(k) administration integrated into Carta's ecosystem.
• Carta CRM AI-powered CRM and relationship intelligence platform for private equity and venture capital firms, acquired from ListAlpha in March 2026; unifies deal flow, LP relationship management, and fundraising workflows with back-office fund performance data, with native integrations to Anthropic's Claude and ChatGPT.
• Fund of Funds Solution Agentic AI-powered solution for fund-of-funds managers to automate LP reporting, eliminate manual document processing, and gain real-time visibility into underlying portfolio exposure; ingests, extracts, and normalizes data from capital call notices and PCAPs into live data feeds.
• Carta Loan Operations Loan administration platform for private credit funds, acquired via Sirvatus in October 2025; integrates loan workflows with fund accounting and reporting systems for private credit fund CFOs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of cash transactions auto-reconciled
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

AI capability10 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• AnthropiccoreTechnology or Integration · 5 May 2026Carta built CLI tools and plugins using Anthropic's Claude; three Carta plugins (Cap Table, Investors, CRM) now available on Anthropic marketplace; MCP connector listed in Anthropic Connectors Directory
• Odyssey Trust CompanycoreTechnology or Integration · 28 April 2026Exclusive paying agent partnership for M&A shareholder payment workflows; digitizes and streamlines shareholder payment flows associated with liquidity events by replacing manual, lawyer-driven processes with real-time visibility and automated reminders
• VestwellcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2026Carta 401(k) platform leverages Vestwell's digital-first recordkeeping technology alongside Morgan Stanley to provide retirement savings solutions for high-growth private companies
• Morgan StanleyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2025Expanded strategic partnership bringing IPO support and wealth management to private companies; Morgan Stanley serves as exclusive equity compensation provider for late-stage private companies going public; Carta 401(k) platform launched with Morgan Stanley Institutional Consulting oversight
• FLX NetworksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 16 September 2025FLX Networks expanding member offerings with Carta Fund Administration Solutions for private capital ecosystem members
• New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 September 2025Strategic partnership supporting companies in transition to going public; provides IPO readiness tools, liquidity solutions, and network for pre- and post-IPO companies

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights9 records

Direct peers

• Pulley: Pulley is a direct competitor in cap table management, 409A valuations, and equity compensation tools for startups and growth-stage companies—overlapping directly with Carta's Equity Suite and competing for the same PLG-led startup buyer (Guide notably switched from Pulley to Carta).
• Juniper Square: Juniper Square provides investor CRM, fund accounting, and LP reporting for PE/VC fund managers—a direct competitor to Carta's Fund ERP across fund administration, LP portals, and portfolio monitoring workflows.
• AngelList Venture: AngelList operates a private markets platform covering rolling funds, SPVs, syndication, and fund administration, directly competing with Carta Fund Administration, SPVs, and LP relationship management for emerging managers.
• iCapital: iCapital is a private markets platform serving wealth advisors and institutional LPs with fund access, reporting, and portfolio analytics—closely comparable to Carta's LP Portfolio Analytics and Fund of Funds solutions and competing for similar institutional buyer segments.
• Allvue Systems: Allvue provides investment management software for private equity, private credit, and fund administration—a direct competitor in the fund ERP category targeting GPs and asset managers with similar workflows to Carta Fund ERP.

Broad incumbents

• Shareworks / Morgan Stanley at Work: Shareworks, now part of Morgan Stanley at Work, is an incumbent cap table and equity plan administration platform serving many large public and pre-IPO companies—directly overlapping with Carta's equity management suite but backed by a global wealth management franchise.
• SS&C Technologies: SS&C is a broad incumbent in fund administration, with a large established base across private capital, hedge funds, and traditional asset managers—competing with Carta at the enterprise fund administration tier and recognized alongside Carta as a Fund Administration Software Market Leader.
• FIS (Fidelity National Information Services): FIS is a global financial technology incumbent providing fund administration, custody, and capital markets software—a broad competitor for enterprise fund administration alongside Carta in industry rankings.

Emerging players

• Canoe Intelligence: Canoe Intelligence is an AI-powered data automation platform for alternative investments and institutional LPs, closely comparable to the Accelex acquisition and competing in the same LP portfolio data extraction and reporting workflow.
• Affinity: Affinity is a relationship intelligence and deal CRM platform for PE/VC and advisory firms, directly comparable to the ListAlpha-powered Carta CRM product and competing for the same front-office workflow in private capital.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carta--
• Xx.com/cartainc
• Facebookfacebook.com/cartahq

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds15 records

Investors82 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A8 records

Investments7 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carta