Key facts
- Stripe has reportedly agreed to acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for over $7 billion.
- OpenRouter offers a platform connecting developers to over 400 AI models.
- Stripe previously handled OpenRouter's payment processing and invoicing.
- The acquisition aims to integrate AI model routing and billing into Stripe's infrastructure.
- OpenRouter previously raised $113 million at a $1.3 billion valuation.
- Stripe has not officially confirmed the acquisition.
Stripe has reportedly finalized an agreement to acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for more than $7 billion, according to Bloomberg. OpenRouter provides a platform that allows approximately 8 million developers to access over 400 AI models through a single API key, taking a roughly 5% cut of the inference spend. Stripe already processed OpenRouter's payments, making this deal an integration of AI metering and billing into a pipeline it owns end-to-end.
This acquisition comes three months after OpenRouter raised $113 million at a reported $1.3 billion valuation. Talks were previously reported by The Wall Street Journal at a higher figure, suggesting negotiation. OpenRouter's annualized revenue was estimated around $50 million in March, placing the deal multiple at approximately 50 times revenue.
By acquiring OpenRouter, Stripe gains a strategic position between developers and AI models, offering a unified API and insights into enterprise AI spending. This move follows Stripe's previous acquisitions of Bridge, Privy, and Metronome, and its co-development of Tempo, which facilitates AI agent payments.
The acquisition could potentially impact OpenRouter's perceived neutrality, as its previous pitch was indifference to which AI model was used. With Stripe as the owner, concerns may arise about routing defaults favoring Stripe's own priorities or payment services. Geopolitically, a shift in token volume from U.S. models to Chinese models on OpenRouter's platform could be influenced by routing decisions.
For AI labs, the deal may reduce pricing power as OpenRouter's capabilities, including its Fusion API that merges answers from multiple budget models, could drive developers towards cheaper alternatives. Neither company has publicly confirmed the deal, and no regulatory review timeline has been disclosed. Stripe processed $1.9 trillion in payment volume in 2025 and was valued at $159 billion in February.