New funding round values Stripe at $9.2bn
Online and mobile payments technology provider Stripe has landed a new investment round that values the company at a whopping $9.2 billion. Stripe raised $150 million in the Class D funding round, which was led by CapitalG—the investment arm of Google parent company Alphabet—and General Catalyst Partners. Existing Stripe investors including Sequoia Capital also participated in the round, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the funding.
San Francisco-based Stripe was valued at $5 billion during its previous funding round in July 2015—meaning its valuation nearly doubled in less than a year and a half. “The company’s valuation is a reflection on its size, scale, potential profitability and an unbounded market size,” said General Catalyst Managing Director Hemant Taneja, according to Bloomberg. The valuation also outpaces that of Square, which was last valued at $6 billion. Stripe’s payments volume reportedly is nearly at the level of Square but growing faster.
Along with the financing, Stripe also secured a revolving credit facility of up to $250 million from a group of major banks, according to Bloomberg, citing sources close to the deal. The credit line suggests the company could be eyeing a potential IPO. Startups rarely use venture capital financing to pay back debt, experts noted—so Stripe may be planning to repay its lenders with capital raised in the public markets.
Founded in 2010, Stripe makes software that enables developers to accept payment card transactions on their Websites and apps. Customers include Twitter, Kickstarter, Shopify, Salesforce and Lyft. The company currently has users in 110 countries and recently launched in Asia. The latest cash infusion will be used to fund further growth, potential acquisitions and build out its services, Stripe told the Wall Street Journal.
