2 hours ago - Business

Stripe strikes mega-deal for OpenRouter

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Stripe has agreed to acquire AI model marketplace OpenRouter for more than $8 billion in cash and stock, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Stripe's stubborn refusal to IPO hasn't dimmed its acquisition ambitions, despite its lack of a public currency, as this deal comes amidst ongoing efforts to buy PayPal.

By the numbers: OpenRouter has raised $164 million, most recently this past May at a $1.3 billion valuation. Backers include CapitalG, a16z, Menlo Ventures, NVentures, ServiceNow Ventures, MongoDB, Snowflake, and Databricks.

Catch up quick: Stripe's interest in OpenRouter first was reported last month by the WSJ, with Bloomberg reporting yesterday that the deal was signed.

An official announcement is expected this week. The companies haven't yet commented.

The bottom line: Stripe already processes payments for frontier labs. OpenRouter gives it a more direct role in how developers evaluate, select and move between their models.

Add Axios on Google

Stripe strikes mega-deal for OpenRouter

What to read next