What Koos does

Koos (legally Programmable Equity OÜ) is an Estonia-headquartered B2B SaaS company founded in 2021 that operates an API-first platform enabling companies to issue 'virtual shares' — equity-like instruments carrying rights such as information rights, dividend-like payments, milestone payments, exit proceeds, and liquidation payments — to non-employee contributors without affecting the underlying cap table. The platform consists of two primary surfaces: a Company Portal for issuers to define goals, rules, and contribution-tracking actions, distribute virtual shares via RESTful API or manual issuance, generate legally binding contracts from pre-reviewed law-firm templates (Ellex, Goodwin Procter), maintain a Virtual Shareholder Register, and run payout support; and a native iOS and Android Shareholder App that lets contributors track holdings, earn additional shares through actions, and participate in company decisions. The product is explicitly engineered to fall outside EU and UK financial instrument, e-money, and virtual currency definitions, reducing regulatory friction for issuers.

The platform is sold both self-serve (with a free trial at app.koos.io) and via direct enterprise engagement, supported by a public four-tier subscription pricing model (EUR 149 / 299 / 499 per month based on virtual shareholder count, plus a EUR 2,500 one-time setup fee) with custom pricing above 10,000 virtual shareholders. Koos targets three primary verticals — content creator platforms, work and expertise marketplaces, and resource and product supplier marketplaces — alongside startups, growth companies, and NGOs seeking community-driven, non-dilutive contributor incentive schemes. The customer base of approximately 27 includes European-scale enterprises such as Bolt, Workfree, Sunly, Motiveer, Forus Taxi, and Noice, distributed across Estonia, the UK, the Baltics, and the Nordics with an explicit carve-out excluding Russia.

Monetization is supplemented by an in-house community program for 'ethical business builders' that issues KOOS virtual shares for referrals and content, and by thought-leadership marketing across TechCrunch, Sifted, Authority Magazine, TechRound, and TechBlast. The company is privately held and has raised approximately $4.6 million in aggregate ($600K from Superangel in 2021, $4.0M led by Plural VC in September 2022 with LocalGlobe and others), and is led by founder-CEO Taavi Kotka — Estonia's first CIO, e-Estonia pioneer, and e-Residency co-founder — alongside a high-profile angel bench that includes former Wise CEO Taavet Hinrikus, Bolt founder Markus Villig, ex-Skype executive Sten Tamkivi, and Veriff founder Kaarel Kotkas.

Name

Koos

Legal name

Programmable Equity OÜ

Website

https://koos.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Koos is an Estonian B2B SaaS platform that enables companies to issue equity-like 'virtual shares' to non-employee contributors via API and a mobile shareholder app, serving creator platforms, work marketplaces, and supplier cooperatives across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallinn

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription - Setup Fee: One-time setup fee covering program initialization, including everything needed to get the virtual share program up and running. Standard pricing at 2500 EUR plus VAT.
2. Monthly Subscription - Contributor-based tiers: Tiered monthly subscription based on number of virtual shareholders. Starts at 149 EUR/month for up to 2000 virtual shareholders, increasing through 299 EUR and 499 EUR tiers, with custom pricing for 10000+ shareholders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

KOOS is a B2B SaaS platform that enables companies, platforms, and marketplaces to create and manage virtual share programs for rewarding non-employee contributors (creators, freelancers, suppliers, users). The platform defines business goals, issues virtual shares carrying equity-like financial rights (information, dividend-like, milestone, exit, and liquidation payments) via API or manual processes, and generates binding contracts—all without diluting the actual cap table or issuing traditional shares or options.

Product overview

Koos operates a B2B SaaS platform centered on virtual share programs that enable companies to reward stakeholders without issuing traditional equity. The platform consists of two primary products: the Company Portal, which allows issuers to create and manage virtual share programs including goal-setting, share distribution (via API or manually), legal template generation, contract creation, contribution tracking, and payout management; and the Shareholder App, a mobile application available on iOS and Android that enables virtual shareholders to track their holdings, earn additional shares through contributions, and receive company updates. The platform also includes a RESTful API for product integration and legal templates to reduce compliance complexity. Koos serves platforms and marketplaces across use cases including creator-powered businesses, work and expertise marketplaces, and resource/product supplier marketplaces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Company Portal Primary web-based platform for companies to create and manage virtual share programs. Provides tools for defining business goals, distributing virtual shares via API or manually, creating legal terms using templates, generating binding contracts, tracking community contributions through dashboards, and managing payout distributions. Targeted at startups, growth companies, marketplaces, NGOs, and large corporations.
• Shareholder App Native iOS and Android mobile application for virtual shareholders to track their shares, monitor progress toward company goals, earn additional shares through contributions, participate in company decisions, and receive updates and notifications about their holdings.
• Legal Templates Pre-prepared and legally-reviewed templates for virtual share terms and conditions, reviewed by professional law firms, that reduce legal complexity for issuers when establishing stakeholder reward programs under EU and UK regulations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Plan to deliver €1 billion in value back to contributors from supported businesses
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pulley: Cap table, equity, and compliance platform for startups, with strong API-first product positioning. Closely comparable to Koos on API-first architecture and product-led growth, though Pulley focuses on real equity rather than virtual shares.
• Ledgy: European cap table and equity management platform serving startups and scaleups with employee participation programs. Most direct competitor to Koos given shared European focus and overlapping stakeholder-incentive positioning, though Ledgy emphasizes real equity while Koos emphasizes virtual shares.
• Eqvista: Equity management platform offering cap table, 409A valuations, and shareholder tracking for US and international startups. Comparable stakeholder-incentive functionality, although primarily diluted-equity focused rather than virtual shares.
• Capdesk: UK-based equity management and cap table platform focused on European startups and scaleups. Directly comparable as an alternative incentive management layer for European growth companies, with similar regulatory navigation requirements.

Broad incumbents

• Morgan Stanley at Work (Shareworks): Broad equity administration platform from Morgan Stanley covering equity plans, cap table management, and financial education for employees at public and late-stage private companies. Incumbent in the broader equity/incentive administration space where Koos operates.
• Carta: Market-leading US-based cap table, equity management, and 409A valuation platform with global expansion. Operates broadly in the same equity/incentive category as Koos but does not focus on virtual (non-dilutive) shares for non-employee contributors.
• Deel: Global HR, payroll, and compliance platform that has added equity management capabilities through acquisitions and partnerships. A broad incumbent in workforce/people operations that could expand into non-employee contributor incentives similar to Koos's offering.

Emerging players

• Deed: US-based platform providing giving and engagement tools for nonprofits and businesses, with virtual share and grant-tracking features for stakeholders. Conceptually adjacent to Koos's virtual share model for non-employee contributors.
• HeyMilo: Early-stage AI-powered recruitment and talent assessment platform that touches contributor engagement and incentives for the gig economy. Thematically related to Koos's work/expertise marketplace use case around rewarding freelance contributors.
• ShareWillow: Equity management platform targeting startups with simplified cap table and stakeholder tracking. Comparable to Koos in serving early-stage European companies with incentive management, though focused on real equity instruments.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInee.linkedin.com/company/koosvirtualshares
• Xx.com/KOOStokens
• Facebookfacebook.com/koostokens

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors4 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Koos