SAN FRANCISCO — Stripe is in discussions to acquire OpenRouter, an artificial intelligence startup, for about $10 billion—a price tag that would value the company at nearly eight times what it fetched just months ago.
OpenRouter was valued at $1.3 billion in May, according to PitchBook data. A sale near $10 billion would mark a sharp jump in valuation over a matter of months.
The startup makes software that lets customers route workloads across AI models from providers including OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as open-weight alternatives. That positions OpenRouter as an intermediary that lets companies compare models, manage costs and avoid dependence on a single vendor.
Stripe already has a working relationship with OpenRouter: the startup uses Stripe to collect payments from its own customers.
The proposed deal has drawn attention to the AI routing sector. Requesty, a competing startup, said it received inquiries from at least 25 companies in recent weeks regarding potential investments, acquisitions or partnerships.
The OpenRouter pursuit fits Stripe's broader push into AI infrastructure. The payments firm has also moved into stablecoin payments, extending beyond its core transaction-processing business.
Separately, Stripe is pursuing a far larger target: PayPal. Stripe and partner Advent International have submitted a joint offer valuing PayPal at about $53 billion, or $60.50 a share, backed by roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing. The two bidders would hold equal stakes under the proposal.
PayPal's board has said the $53 billion bid is inadequate and is weighing factors including financing capabilities, regulatory review and deal timeline.
Together, Stripe and PayPal process about $3.7 trillion in transactions annually.
An agreement on OpenRouter could be announced soon, though the talks may still collapse. Other large technology companies had also considered deals for the startup. Stripe and Advent International are weighing next steps on the PayPal bid following the board's rejection.
