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eShares raises $41 million to play both sides of tech IPOs

Illustration: Sam Jayne / Axios

eShares, a Silicon Valley-based provider of equity management software, has raised $41 million in Series C funding co-led by Social Capital and Menlo Ventures.

Why it matters: Because proceeds will be used to help eShares expand beyond private company stock management. CEO Henry Ward says that the company already has deals with some VC-backed startups to manage their public stock ledgers post-IPO, with hopes someday of possibly launching its own exchange.

Context: The funding comes the same week as Solium Capital (TSX: SUM) acquired Capshare for its own cloud-based equity management platform.

Bottom line: eShares is really a byproduct of the IPO delay game, which has created bloated cap tables and liquidity frustrations for early employees. By adding public stock management, it hopes to essentially hedge against a trend-line reversal.