Stripe buys AI model router OpenRouter, reportedly $7.5bn+

This article was published on August 19, 2026 Stripe has confirmed it is buying OpenRouter, the gateway that routes company spending across hundreds of AI models. Neither side disclosed a price; the New York Times reports $7.5bn, Axios more than $8bn. OpenRouter was worth $1.3bn just months ago. Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collision Stripe has agreed to buy OpenRouter, the startup whose software helps companies route their spending across hundreds of AI models. The payments firm confirmed the deal on Wednesday, making official an acquisition the press first reported earlier this month. Neither company put a figure on the deal. Outside reporting has, and the numbers do not quite agree. The New York Times said Stripe is paying $7.5 billion, citing a person with knowledge of the terms. Of that, $1.5 billion goes to OpenRouter’s founders and $6 billion to its investors, it said. Axios, citing its own sources, put the price higher, at more than $8 billion, mostly in stock. Whatever the exact number, it is a sharp markup. Investors valued OpenRouter at about $1.3 billion in a funding round earlier this year, according to Bloomberg. Its backers include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia