Travel fintech startup Scapia has announced its first Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) buyback worth ₹20 crore. The move will allow eligible employees to sell a part of their vested stock options and receive cash. The announcement comes just weeks after the company raised fresh funding at a much higher valuation, showing its focus on rewarding employees while continuing its growth journey.
The ESOP buyback is an important milestone for the Bengaluru-based startup, which has overcome regulatory challenges, expanded its products, and attracted strong investor interest over the past year.
Scapia launches first ESOP buyback for employees
Under the new ESOP buyback programme, eligible employees can sell up to 10% of their vested stock options. While Scapia has confirmed the total buyback size at ₹20 crore (around $2 million), it has not shared several important details.
The company has not revealed how many employees will take part in the programme, the price at which the shares will be bought back, whether former employees are included, or when the buyback will be completed.
ESOP buybacks are becoming a common way for startups to reward employees before going public. They give employees a chance to earn money from their stock options without waiting for an IPO or company sale.
The announcement comes just two months after Scapia raised $63 million in its Series C funding round in May 2026. The round was led by new investor General Catalyst, which invested around $50 million for a 9.2% stake in the company. Existing investors Peak XV Partners and Z47 also participated by investing $8 million and $5 million, respectively.
The fresh funding increased Scapia’s valuation to more than three times what it was during its $40 million Series B round in April 2025. Since its launch, the startup has raised a total of $135 million across four funding rounds.
Scapia was founded in January 2022 by former Flipkart senior vice president Anil Goteti.
Before starting Scapia, Goteti had shut down his previous startup, Protonn, and returned nearly $9 million to investors instead of using the remaining funds. This decision helped build strong trust among investors and made it easier for him to raise funding for Scapia, even during difficult times.
How Scapia recovered from regulatory challenges
Scapia’s journey has not been easy.
In March 2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked Federal Bank to stop issuing new co-branded credit cards because of compliance issues. Since Federal Bank was Scapia’s banking partner, the decision stopped the company from adding new credit card customers.
Instead of slowing down, Scapia focused on keeping its existing users engaged.
The company introduced AI-powered visa application services for 45 countries. It also added train and bus ticket bookings and launched curated travel experiences through its “Scapia Unmapped” platform.
To reduce its dependence on one banking partner, Scapia partnered with BOBCARD as another co-branded card issuer. More recently, the RBI allowed Federal Bank to restart issuing co-branded credit cards, helping Scapia return to growth with two banking partners.
As the business expanded, the company also changed some benefits on its travel credit card.
From February 27, 2026, customers now need to spend ₹20,000 every month instead of ₹10,000 to get unlimited domestic airport lounge access. The company also stopped giving reward points on insurance premium payments and utility bill payments.
However, the card still offers its main benefits, including zero joining fee, zero annual fee, zero forex markup in more than 150 countries, 10% rewards on Visa card spending, 5% rewards on RuPay card spending, and 20% rewards on bookings made through the Scapia app.
Strong growth despite rising losses
Scapia has seen strong growth in customer activity over the past year. The company says flight bookings have grown five to six times, while hotel bookings have increased nearly eight times. Its platform now supports payments in 113 currencies across 174 countries.
Despite this growth, the company is still making losses.
For FY25, Scapia reported operating revenue of ₹29 crore, while its total revenue reached around ₹40.4 crore. During the same period, its total expenses increased to ₹123.5 crore, leading to a net loss of ₹83.1 crore.
Even though the company is not yet profitable, investors continue to support its long-term growth plans. They believe Scapia can benefit from the growing demand for travel, its expanding range of services, and new customer opportunities.
Scapia’s ESOP buyback also reflects a wider trend in India’s startup ecosystem. More startups are launching employee buyback programmes to reward early team members and retain talent.
Employees taking part in these buybacks should also be aware of the proposed Finance Bill 2026. Under the new rules, the money received from a company’s share buyback will be treated as dividend income and taxed accordingly. At the same time, the original cost of buying those shares can be claimed separately as a capital loss.
With fresh funding, improving business conditions, and a growing travel platform, Scapia is entering its next phase of growth while giving employees a chance to benefit through its first ESOP buyback.