Stripe now most valuable US startup

Stripe Inc. is the most valuable U.S. startup after securing a $600 million round of funding.

The San Francisco and Dublin-based online payments technology provider is now valued at $95 billion, nearly three times the $36 billion valuation that it was awarded in April 2020.

Stripe plans to use the funds to invest in its European operations, in particular its Dublin headquarters, to support growing demand from the region and to expand its global payments and treasury network. Nearly 75% of the 42 countries that use Stripe are located in Europe, including many of the continent’s fastest-growing companies.

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Primary investors in the funding round include Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency, insurers Allianz and AXA SA, investment managers Baillie Gifford and Fidelity Investments, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.

Stripe now trails only China’s Bytedance ($140 billion) as the world’s most valuable startup, according to CB Insights. It is ahead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX ($74 billion) and Instacart Inc. ($39 billion) as the largest U.S. startup.

Stripe has experienced tremendous growth over the past year as many of its customers benefitted from the online shopping boom that occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers include Amazon Inc., Wayfair Inc. and Shopify Inc.

Stripe will soon be available in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The company says its mission is to grow the GDP of the internet, which accounts for 14% of commerce.

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“The pandemic taught us many things about society, including how much can be achieved — and paid for — online, but the internet still isn’t the engine for global economic progress that it could be,” CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said in a statement.