Source: Stripe
Web and mobile payments startup Stripe is in the news again this week, this time announcing a $245 million funding round, reports TechCrunch. This infusion of capital brings the company’s value to $20 billion. The latest funding round was led by Tiger Global Management. Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins and DST Global also invested during this funding round. Past investors include Visa, American Express, Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.
The company said it will use the new funding to expand internationally, including the addition of an engineering hub in Singapore. Stripe originally launched in Singapore in 2016, but it will now be adding a hub there. This will be its fourth after hubs in Seattle, Dublin and San Francisco. In a September 26 blog post, Piruze Sabuncu said Stripe would hire hundreds of people to expand infrastructure, build new products and ensure that the Stripe suite of products works as well in Southeast Asia as it does in other parts of the world. The Singapore hub will include all of Stripe’s core functions and help support more than 1 million clients in 100 countries.
“We’re proud to be building this presence in Singapore,” said Sabuncu. “The country has long understood the importance of global integration and technological advancement, leading the world in everything from containerization to commodities. Singapore embodies a positive-sum economic mindset that serves as an example for the world.”
Stripe has also added several new big clients to its roster including Google and Uber, reports MarketWatch, and it is working with Spotify on a new platform for independent artists. Existing clients include Lyft, Slack, Glossier, Eero, Mindbody, Uber and Meetup.
Subscription News: Stripe Valued at $20 Billion After $245 Million Funding Round
Though Stripe is known for its online payment and billing products and services, Stripe launched Stripe Terminal last week to enable in-person payments for brick-and-mortar stores, pop-up stores, mobile points of sale at events and more. The product is in beta testing in the U.S. right now, but companies can request an invitation to participate. So far, Warby Parker, Zenoti, Universe and Glossier are among the testers.
In an interview quoted by TechCrunch, Stripe co-founder John Collison said, “We have no plans to go public. We’re fortunate to be in the position that the Stripe business is performing very well and the long-term opportunity is that we’re very optimistic to providing the richer stack to businesses. Strong businesses do not always tend to be dependent on outside funding.”
Stripe CEO and co-founder Patrick Collision said in a statement, “We believe in the contingency of progress. Better global payments infrastructure will increase economic output, encourage entrepreneurship and help upstarts compete with incumbents. By bringing Stripe into more markets and building out our capabilities for companies of all sizes, we hope to accelerate innovation and the world.”
Stripe has a number of competitors, each with their own strengths and drawbacks. Competitors include Square, Braintree Payment Solutions, Adyen, PayPal, WePay and 2CheckOut.
Insider Take:
Stripe is attracting a lot of attention these days – but more importantly, it is attracting investors. They like what they’re seeing, and they want in. This latest infusion of capital provides Stripe with some money to expand internationally, but also to continue building new products and services to serve their growing customer base. The young Irish duo who founded the company has built a payments powerhouse.
