Payment processing company Stripe has reached an agreement to acquire OpenRouter, an artificial intelligence gateway startup, in a deal valued at more than $7 billion, according to recent reporting. The acquisition represents a significant expansion of Stripe’s presence in the rapidly growing AI sector.
OpenRouter operates as an intermediary platform that allows customers to select and access different artificial intelligence models based on their specific requirements and financial constraints. The startup serves approximately 8 million users globally and provides connectivity to more than 400 different AI models. In May, OpenRouter completed a Series B funding round that valued the company at $1.3 billion, with backing from prominent investors including Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures, and Alphabet’s Capital G division.
OpenRouter’s chief executive officer previously characterized the company’s function as equivalent to Stripe’s role in the payments industry, noting that it delivers a unified access point to multiple systems while preventing vendor lock-in. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that acquisition discussions were underway between the two companies. Stripe declined to comment on the reported transaction.
Originally reported by Techcrunch →
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