Clay runs second employee tender offer at a $5B valuation

Clay announced on its blog, dated January 28, 2026 in our coverage, its second employee tender offer in nine months, valuing the company at $5 billion. Employees can sell up to $55 million of vested Clay shares. The tender is led by DST Global with participation from Conviction, Avra, Operator Collective and Frontline, plus angels and customers including Claire Hughes Johnson, Sheila Vashee, Shishir Mehrotra and Lenny Rachitsky. Clay says employees should not have to wait for an IPO or acquisition for equity to have value, and that the tender also brings in new investors. The previous tender, led by Sequoia, valued Clay at $1.5 billion.

The details

• Valuation: $5 billion; maximum sale: $55 million of employee shares.
• Lead: DST Global; participants include Conviction, Avra, Operator Collective and Frontline.
• Clay says revenue grew more than 3.5x the prior year and it reached $100 million ARR in December 2025.
• The company cites 14,000 customers and enterprise net revenue retention above 200 percent.
• Clay says it raised a $100 million Series C the prior August at a $3.1 billion valuation.
• The prior tender, led by Sequoia, was at a $1.5 billion valuation.

Context

This is the earliest Clay item in our coverage. Later in 2026 Clay opened Workflows and Account Agents betas in August, made Sequencer generally available, raised a $115 million Series D at a $7.1 billion valuation on September 9, previewed agent-led building at Sculpt in October and named HG Insights its Data Partner of the Year on October 22.

Not disclosed

• How many employees participated
• Share price per unit
• Whether new investors took board seats
• Eligibility rules for selling employees