Payments startup Stripe seeks funding at more than US$70b valuation

[SAN FRANCISCO] Financial technology startup Stripe is in talks to raise a new funding round valuing it higher than its last private valuation of US$36 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The valuation being discussed could be more than US$70 billion or significantly higher, at as much as US$100 billion, according to one of the people, who asked not be identified because the matter is private. That would make it one of the most valuable venture-backed startups in the US.

Talks are at an early stage and there's no guarantee the funding round will be completed.

A representative for Stripe declined to comment.

Stripe's software, which competes with Square and Paypal Holdings, is used by businesses to accept payments. The company has benefitted during the pandemic from more shoppers turning to e-commerce, which led to more digital payments to process.

It's gone on the offense during the downturn this year, starting a card-issuing service for US clients and agreeing to acquire a Nigerian startup to expand in Africa.

Irish brothers John and Patrick Collison founded Stripe in 2010. The brothers, who sold their first company for US$5 million when they were teenagers, are worth about US$4.3 billion each, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

General Motors veteran Dhivya Suryadevara joined Stripe as chief financial officer earlier this year.

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In April, the San Francisco-based company raised US$600 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital at a valuation of US$36 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups in the US, according to CB Insights.

Other backers include General Catalyst, Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures.

Stripe has more than 2,500 employees and 14 global offices, according to its website.

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