Stripe has reportedly reached a deal to acquire AI model marketplace OpenRouter for more than $7 billion, according to a Bloomberg report. OpenRouter provides customers with a platform to select and switch between hundreds of different AI models based on specific needs and budget, positioning itself as a way to avoid vendor lock-in.
The acquisition follows OpenRouter’s disclosure in May that it had raised $113 million in a Series B round at a $1.3 billion valuation, with backing from investors including Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures, and Alphabet’s CapitalG. At the time, CEO Alex Atallah compared OpenRouter’s role in the AI industry to Stripe’s function in payments, describing it as a single access point that connects customers to a wide range of AI systems. The company said it serves 8 million global users and offers access to more than 400 different AI models.
Reports of a potential deal first surfaced last month when the Wall Street Journal indicated that Stripe and OpenRouter were in acquisition talks. Bloomberg’s latest reporting suggests those discussions have now resulted in a finalized valuation exceeding $7 billion. A Stripe spokesperson declined to comment on the reported transaction, citing company policy against addressing rumors or speculation.
