Stripe broadens AI billing push as revenue rises to $6.8 billion

Stripe is seeking a larger role in artificial intelligence commerce after revenue rose by a third to $6.8 billion last year, The Information reported on July 22. The payments company already handles transactions for AI labs and developers, taking a small share of subscription and usage-based revenue at companies including OpenAI and Anthropic, according to the report.

The strategy is aimed at reducing Stripe’s reliance on core payment processing by expanding into billing, invoicing, tax and adjacent financial software, The Information reported. Those services matter in AI because many products charge customers according to consumption, such as the number of model calls, tokens or workflow actions, rather than through flat monthly plans alone.

Usage-based billing requires metering first: a platform records how much of a service a customer consumes, prices that activity against a contract or tariff, and then turns the result into an invoice or card charge. For AI developers, that can link infrastructure costs and customer revenue more closely than a fixed subscription.

Metronome, AI Gateway and stablecoins

Stripe completed its purchase of Metronome in January, according to PYMNTS, after agreeing to the deal in December 2025. At the time of the agreement, Stripe said it planned to fold Metronome’s usage-based billing tools for software companies into its own billing platform. When the acquisition closed, Stripe said metering and billing would be central to the shift toward consumption-based models, PYMNTS reported.

The company has also introduced an AI Gateway service that lets developers access multiple models and monitor usage, The Information reported. In parallel, Stripe acquired stablecoin company Bridge and became a founding member of the consortium behind the Open USD stablecoin, according to the report.

Those moves could position Stripe for machine-to-machine payments and micropayments tied to AI agents, The Information reported. In that model, software agents could initiate small transactions automatically, while billing systems track usage and settlement rails move value between parties.

Reported PayPal approach

Stripe’s expansion plans have also included a reported approach for PayPal. PYMNTS reported on July 15 that a Stripe and PayPal combination would pair Stripe’s merchant-facing software with PayPal’s consumer payment credentials.

Separately, PYMNTS reported that Stripe and Advent International submitted a joint offer valuing PayPal at more than $53 billion. Two days later, PYMNTS reported that PayPal’s board had made a preliminary assessment that the proposal undervalued the company and did not fully reflect the value management could create through its turnaround plan.

Stripe’s private-market valuation has continued to rise. PYMNTS reported in February that the company was valued at $159 billion in a tender offer designed to provide liquidity to current and former employees. That compared with a $106.7 billion valuation in September and a $95 billion valuation in 2021, according to PYMNTS.

The combined reports show a company using AI demand to expand the products attached to each transaction, while also testing whether acquisitions can accelerate its move into broader financial infrastructure.

This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.