Stripe valued at $115bn, seeks further funding – report

Company founded by Patrick and John Collison has seen huge growth during pandemic

Stripe’s valuation has risen threefold in less than a year with the online payments company now estimated to be worth about $115 billion (€95.3 billion), according to reports.

The company founded by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison in 2010, was previously valued at $36 billion last April after it secured a further $600 million to bring total investment to date to $1.3 billion

However, Forbes magazine claims investors are now valuing Stripe at $115 billion in "secondary market" transactions, where shares of a private company's stock are sold after first being issued.

The publication also says Stripe is planning a new funding round at a valuation of more than $100 billion.

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The claim comes months after Bloomberg reported Stripe was in talks to raise a funding round with a valuation being discussed between $70 billion to $100 billion.

Stripe declined to comment on the Forbes report.

Pandemic boost

The company has benefited from the coronavirus pandemic with more than 300,000 new businesses having got started on its platform over the past year.

Stripe’s technology handles hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions each year for its clients, which includes many well-known brands. The company employs over 3,000 people globally, including 300 in Dublin.

It has been on a spending splurge this year, leading a $102 million raise for payments company Fast and a $35 million funding round for payroll infrastructure start-up Check.

Stripe has stepped up its investments in recent years, with investments in start-ups that include Monzo, Step, Stedi and PayMongo. It has also made a number of acquisitions, including buying Nigerian start-up Paystack for more than $200 million last October, and Irish company Touchtech Payments for an undisclosed sum in 2019.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist