(Bloomberg) – Stripe Inc.’s valuation nearly tripled in less than a year to $ 95 billion with its last round of financing, making it the most valuable startup in the United States.
The online payment processing company raised $ 600 million in its last fundraiser, Stripe said in a statement.
The valuation value is at the top of the range released by Bloomberg News in November, when Stripe was in negotiations with investors that would raise its value to more than $ 70 billion, with the possibility of raising it to as much as $ 100 billion. The assessment also surpassed billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Instacart Inc., according to data from CBInsights.
Stripe was founded in 2010 by two Irish brothers: Patrick Collison, 32, and his younger brother John, 30. Its net worth soared to $ 11.4 billion each with the latest valuation, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, $ 4.3 billion in the last round of financing.
The company’s software, which competes with Square Inc. and Paypal Holdings Inc., is used by companies to accept payments. Customers include Amazon.com Inc., Salesforce.com Inc. and Lyft Inc.
Stripe will invest in its European operations, in particular at its headquarters in Dublin, to meet growing demand and expand its global payments and treasury network. It also has a dual headquarters in San Francisco, according to its website.
Leading investors in Stripe also include the Allianz Group’s digital investment unit, Axa SA, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Co., Sequoia Capital and Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency, the company said on Sunday.
Stripe didn’t really need the money, despite fundraising, said CFO Dhivya Suryadevara. “I see it as a little more opportunistic,” she said in an interview on Sunday. The company “is highly efficient in terms of capital”.
Stripe was valued at $ 36 billion in April, when it raised $ 600 million from investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital.
“It will stay on the balance sheet,” said Mike Moritz, a partner at Sequoia Capital and a member of Stripe’s board, in an interview, emphasizing that the money will only be “a fund for rainy days – it is worth having a little more insurance.”
Stripe has benefited as some of its customers, such as Instacart, which started small, have become significant companies. For Stripe, “growth has been rapid and perhaps faster than anticipated,” said Moritz.
Moritz and Suryadevara said Stripe will continue to seek acquisitions. The company is not focusing on an initial public offering now, the CFO said, and chose investors who shared its long-term vision. “The next 10 years and beyond will be even more exciting,” she added.
Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, joined the board last month. It will help guide Stripe’s efforts to allow more companies to bring financing for emerging carbon removal technologies.
Stripe, which sells software that allows companies to accept payments online, has benefited from the e-commerce boom accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. The company recently branched out to offer checking accounts to companies through e-commerce providers, working with banks like Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Barclays Plc.
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