Yellow.ai, an enterprise-grade conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform, has rolled out an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) program for its global workforce worth $43 million. It seeks to create wealth for employees in line with the business growth, irrespective of their tenure in the company or designations. 

Along with the ESOP plan, Yellow.ai provides flexibility to its employees by extending quarterly vesting post a one-year cliff period. The focus is to promote collective success by ensuring that employees think about long-term value and wealth creation for themselves, their customers, and the company. 

Commenting on the ESOP rollout, Raghu Ravinutala, chief executive officer and co-founder of Yellow.ai, said, "Yellow.ai is witnessing exponential growth globally and our employees have played a pivotal role in achieving this. Taking our commitment to being an employee-first organisation further, we are democratising wealth creation for our employees to recognise their valuable contribution to this upward journey. At the same time, we aim to empower our employees to achieve their personal goals and contribute to the company's business goals. We are confident that this will help drive further accountability, hire the right talent, create wealth for our employees, and implement our long-term vision more effectively."

The ESOP program is a part of the organisation's initiative that holistically focuses on wellness, learning and development, rewards and recognition and employee wealth creation options. Recently, it partnered with Cult.fit for a year-long membership for its employees across the fitness start-up's offline centres and online classes across India. 

Neeru Mehta, chief human resource officer at Yellow.ai added, "In the face of complex global shifts such as the Great Resignation and the Great Reshuffle, adopting a people-first approach is crucial today. We are proud to launch an employee-centric programme that accelerates growth and makes it easier for employees to be part of the journey too." 

Apoorva Shrivastava, a product manager at Yellow.ai, said, "I was asked if I wanted more salary or equivalent ESOPs, and I went with the latter, of course. I truly believe in the product and want to participate in the company's growth. I have always felt like Yellow.ai is my company, and this ESOPs initiative strengthens this belief."

With a 900-strong global workforce, Yellow.ai hopes to touch the 1000-employee mark by the end of this year. It has raised more than $102 million from blue-chip investors and has offices across six countries.