TechCrunch Startup News Decagon completes first tender offer at $4.5B valuation; plus, three companies dominated the $189 billion in VC investments last month
Mar 5, 2026
A startup completed a large employee tender offer at a $4.5B valuation, letting hundreds of employees sell vested shares. The show digs into who backed that secondary and why liquidity matters for AI talent. It highlights a record $189B in one month of VC funding and how three companies captured most of that capital.
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Decagon Employee Tender Offer At $4.5B
- Decagon ran a tender offer letting 300+ employees sell vested shares at a $4.5B valuation.
- The secondary was led by recent Series D backers like KOTU, Index, Andreessen Horowitz, Definition, Forerunner, and Ribbit, rewarding staff amid hiring competition.
Secondaries As A Talent Retention Tool
- Startups use employee secondaries to attract and retain AI talent as equity alone becomes less competitive.
- Decagon's CEO Jesse Zhang framed the tender as linking investor demand and company growth to reward employees.
Rapid Valuation Growth Signals Strong Traction
- Decagon's valuation tripled from $1.5B in June to $4.5B, indicating rapid growth without recent revenue disclosure.
- The company builds AI concierge agents serving 100+ enterprise customers across chat, email, and voice.