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International financial technology and payments company Stripe has finalised a deal to acquire AI model management startup OpenRouter for more than $7 billion, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
The acquisition marks a sharp increase in OpenRouter’s valuation. The startup was valued at around $1.3 billion in May, meaning the reported deal value is more than five times higher within just a few months.
The ‘Stripe of AI’
OpenRouter operates as an AI gateway platform, allowing users and developers to access more than 400 AI models from a single platform based on their needs and budgets. The service reduces dependence on any single AI provider by giving customers access to multiple models through one interface.
OpenRouter CEO Alex Atallah previously described the company as the “Stripe of AI”. Like Stripe provides unified infrastructure for financial transactions, OpenRouter serves as a single gateway for accessing and managing different AI systems.
The startup currently has around 8 million users worldwide.
Strong investor backing
In May, OpenRouter announced that it had raised $113 million in a Series B funding round backed by prominent technology investors including Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures and Alphabet’s CapitalG.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Stripe and OpenRouter were in discussions over a potential acquisition. Bloomberg’s latest report said those negotiations have now resulted in a deal worth more than $7 billion.
Stripe, however, has not officially commented on the reported acquisition.
A Stripe spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company does not comment on market rumours or speculation.