- Nik Storonsky, the CEO of Revolut, is working on a new share award tied to the company reaching a $500 billion valuation.
- Under his current plan, Storonsky’s stake could increase from 29% to 40% if Revolut reaches a $200 billion valuation.
- These talks are happening as Revolut’s secondary share sale values the company at $115 billion, which is well below the proposed targets.
Revolut co-founder and CEO Nik Storonsky is working on a new incentive plan to boost his ownership if the company reaches a $500 billion valuation, the Financial Times reported.
Three weeks ago, Tech Funding News covered Revolut’s $115 billion valuation, which put Storonsky’s stake at over $36 billion. Reaching $500 billion would be a major jump.
What’s on the table
The new package is similar to Storonsky’s current plan, with shares unlocking in stages as Revolut’s valuation passes certain levels. This approach is similar to the one Elon Musk uses at Tesla. It’s not clear if the new award adds to his current deal or replaces it.
In December, Storonsky said that his current deal would raise his stake to about 40% at a $200 billion valuation, up from 29%. TFN has also reported that Revolut is aiming for a $200 billion valuation for a possible IPO, which Storonsky thinks is at least two years off.
In 2023, he also started QuantumLight, a quantitative venture capital firm.
Why $500 billion is a different number
If Revolut reached a $500 billion valuation, it would be on par with Visa and ahead of all European public companies except the biggest energy firms. That’s more than four times the $115 billion valuation from its recent secondary share sale, which closed last month at $2,017 per share.
Deals like this are still rare outside the United States. In the U.S., tech founders often get uncapped, valuation-linked equity awards. Musk’s Tesla deal and Arm’s $800 million promise to CEO Rene Haas at a $2 trillion valuation are often compared, but a deal this big in Europe would be a first.
Revolut has made big strides in the past year, making a $500 billion valuation seem less far-fetched. It got a full UK banking license in March and a full Australian license in July, has a pending US charter application, serves 75 million customers in 40 countries, and saw pre-tax profit rise 57% to £1.7 billion on £4.5 billion in revenue. Its investors include Index Ventures, Balderton, DST Global, Ribbit, Mubadala and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.
It’s still unclear whether Revolut deserves a valuation like Visa’s. It’s also uncertain if Storonsky’s board thinks he should get compensation similar to Elon Musk’s. These questions will only be answered when the company goes public.
