Stripe OpenRouter deal talks point to $10 billion AI push

Stripe is in talks to acquire OpenRouter, an artificial intelligence startup, in a transaction that could value the company at about $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. A Stripe OpenRouter deal at that level would move the internet payments company deeper into AI infrastructure while it also considers next steps on a much larger pursuit of PayPal.

The Journal reported that an agreement could be announced soon, but said discussions may still fail or another buyer may emerge. The exact price being discussed was not known, according to the report. Several other large technology companies had considered deals for OpenRouter, the Journal said.

OpenRouter was valued at $1.3 billion in May, according to PitchBook data cited by the Journal. A sale near $10 billion would therefore imply a sharp increase in the company’s valuation over a short period. OpenRouter’s investors include Menlo Ventures and CapitalG, Alphabet’s growth investment fund.

What does OpenRouter do?

OpenRouter provides software that gives customers access to AI models from companies including OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as open weight models that users can download and run. Its platform lists hundreds of large language models and allows developers to compare them and switch between them.

The business sits between model developers and companies seeking to use AI tools. That intermediary role has gained attention as corporate customers seek access to multiple models, partly to manage costs and partly to reduce reliance on a single AI provider.

OpenRouter already uses Stripe to collect payments from its customers, according to the Journal. For Stripe, which processes payments across a large share of online commerce, the talks indicate continued interest in adjacent infrastructure businesses beyond core transaction processing.

How does this fit with Stripe’s broader expansion?

Stripe has expanded this year into areas tied to AI infrastructure and stablecoin payments, PYMNTS has reported. Stripe’s valuation reached $159 billion earlier this year, according to the Journal.

The OpenRouter talks come as Stripe and Advent International assess their position after making a joint offer for PayPal. PYMNTS reported that Stripe and Advent submitted a $60.50-a-share bid for PayPal, valuing the company at about $53 billion, with roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing and the two bidders expected to hold equal stakes.

People familiar with the matter told the Journal that the PayPal offer was viewed as too low. PYMNTS later reported that PayPal’s board considered the proposal inadequate and was reviewing factors including financing capacity, regulatory scrutiny and the likely timing of any approval process.

Stripe and PayPal together process about $3.7 trillion in payments annually, according to PYMNTS. The OpenRouter talks are far smaller in dollar terms than the PayPal proposal, but they would place Stripe more directly in the market for AI access and developer infrastructure if completed.

This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.