Charting a great course through acquisitions
Carta, the US-based fintech unicorn, has been on an acquisition spree over the course of the last few years, bolstering its position as a comprehensive platform for private capital management. The company’s latest move, the acquisition of Tactyc in October 2024, underscores its commitment to enhancing its offerings for fund managers and investors.
HyperExits met the Global Marketing Manager for Carta, Nicole Baer, at an event in November, hosted together with Flourish Partners in London at the Phoenix Court facility (built by the team behind Local Globe), where she mentioned:
“The acquisition of Tactyc is going to play an important role for fund CFOs and GPs under the Carta umbrella as a unified system.”
Founded in 2012, Carta has grown from a cap table management tool to a multi-faceted platform serving startups, investors, and employees in the private market ecosystem. With each acquisition, Carta has strategically expanded its capabilities, addressing various pain points in the private capital landscape.
The acquisition of Tactyc, a forecasting and planning software for private funds, is particularly noteworthy. This move aims to empower fund CFOs and GPs with real-time insights and data-driven analysis crucial for effective capital deployment and investor returns.
Strategic Acquisition of Tactyc to Enhance Private Fund Management
The integration of Tactyc into Carta’s platform is expected to provide fund managers with enhanced capabilities in fund construction, forecasting and planning, and portfolio management. This acquisition is poised to strengthen Carta’s value proposition, offering a more comprehensive solution for private capital management.
Carta’s acquisition strategy appears to focus on enhancing its core offerings and expanding into complementary areas of private capital management. A prime example of this strategy is the acquisition of Vauban in June 2022. Vauban, a London-based startup, provided venture capital fund managers with tools to raise funds and invest capital.
The acquisition was framed by Carta as a way to support investors of all sizes, from the sub-million-dollar level into the billions of dollars worth of dry powder.
Vauban’s platform allowed VCs and angel investors to raise funds, create angel syndicates, and manage fundraising and investment activities. It enabled users to set up and deploy Funds and SPVs from multiple global investment jurisdictions at a fraction of the usual time and cost.
At the time of acquisition, Vauban had created over 400 investment vehicles and managed over $1 billion in invested capital on its platform. The Vauban brand has since been sunset and Carta now fronts all the SPV activities that were a Vauban offering. Some acquirers tend to keep startup brands around, however with the “Unification” strategy this is not the case with Carta.
The integration of Vauban into Carta’s ecosystem has further strengthened Carta’s international presence, particularly in the UK and European markets. Rémy Astié, founder of Vauban, stated: “We are Carta’s home in Europe, and together, we will continue to help founders, venture capital firms, and investors experience private markets in a way befitting the digital world we live in.”
By integrating these acquired companies, Carta is positioning itself as an end-to-end platform for the private capital ecosystem, from cap table management to fund administration and now advanced portfolio analytics.
As Carta continues to evolve, these strategic acquisitions are reshaping its value proposition. The company is moving beyond its initial focus on equity management to become a comprehensive financial infrastructure provider for private markets. This shift could potentially redefine how private capital is managed, analysed, and deployed in the coming years.
Here’s a table summarising Carta’s key acquisitions:
| Company | Acquisition Date | Country | Amount | Founders | Rationale |
| Tactyc | October 2024 | N/A | N/A | Anubhav Srivastava | Enhance fund construction, forecasting, and portfolio management capabilities |
| Vauban | June 2022 | London, UK | N/A | Rémy Astié, Ulric Musset | Expand international presence, particularly in UK and European markets |
| Capdesk | September 2022 | London, UK | N/A | Christian Gabriel, Casper Arboll | Strengthen equity management solutions for startups in UK and Europe |
These acquisitions demonstrate Carta’s commitment to expanding its global reach and enhancing its suite of services for the private capital market. As the company continues to grow and integrate these new capabilities, it is well-positioned to shape the future of private market infrastructure and democratise access to venture capital.
Citations:
[1] https://www.theinformation.com/articles/carta-has-had-talks-to-acquire-vauban-a-european-angellist-like-startup
[2] https://research.contrary.com/company/carta
[3] https://techcrunch.com/podcast/heres-cartas-response-to-venture-becoming-more-global/
[4] https://www.openvc.app/blog/vauban-exit-interview
[5] https://www.ashurst.com/en/who-we-are/our-news-work-market-recognition/ashurst-advises-vauban-on-its-acquisition-by-carta/
[6] https://carta.com/uk/en/blog/carta-acquires-vauban/
[7] https://siliconcanals.com/vauban-rebranded-as-carta/
[8] https://siliconcanals.com/us-carta-acquires-london-vauban/
[9] https://www.thc-pod.com/episode/the-startup-game-changer-how-carta-is-powering-startups-to-triumph-with-peter-walker
[10] https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/25/vauban-an-angellist-like-platform-for-vcs-and-angels-to-run-and-raise-funds-closes-6-3m/
