Stripe has just completed its latest round of funding, raising roughly $600 million from investors. This latest cash overhaul puts the company’s value now at $95 billion, making it by far the most successful startup ever. It's also hands-down the most successful fintech startup ever.
Its fellow startup in fintech Robinhood, a stock trading firm that has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons, has only hit a maximum of $11 billion in valuation in its recent funding round. Stripe makes softwares that allows businesses to accept online and in-person card payments.
The company says that the latest capital raised will be used to fund its expansion in Europe. Stripe has two headquarters, one in San Francisco and the other in Dublin, Ireland. The money will also be used to expand Stripe’s global payments system and treasury networks.
So far, the startup has managed to attract a lot of high-profile clients including Jaguar Land Rover, Deliveroo, Maersk, and so much more. But, the company has also worked with a lot of small businesses including small-scale online vendors.
After all, Stripe has taken away the stress of accepting card payments by offering the infrastructure required at a small monthly fee. Over the last 12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic, online commerce thrived massively as people stay at home to avoid infections. As a result, companies like Stripe that facilitate the digital economy have seen their value jump massively.
According to Dhivya Suryadereva, the Chief Financial Officer at Stripe, it is clear that the pandemic has shaped the way people shop. It has also clearly demonstrated that over the coming few years, the Internet will continue to be a huge driver of global commerce all over the world.
This presents a very good opportunity for Stripe and other companies facilitating the digital economy to grow exponentially. Stripe has also confirmed that its latest round of funding has attracted a series of top-of-the-line investors including companies like Allianz X, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Axa, and others.
There was even investment by Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency. This isn’t the last time Stripe is going to be raising funds. The company is of course now on track to become one of the most dominant fintech start-ups in the card processing sector. With $600 million already in the bank, there’s so much expansion it will do moving forward.
Additionally, the $95 billion valuation will continue to get even bigger. No doubt there could be other startups in the future that will easily match that valuation. But so far it seems Stripe is heading the game. Even big-name startups like Uber are yet to match up to the valuation that Stripe has.
The great thing about the fintech company is that it has flown under the radar for quite some time and has also done so well to avoid any controversies. It seems like the future is indeed looking bright.
