AI NewsStripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+

Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+

10:55 AM IST · August 17, 2026

Stripe has finalized a deal to acquire OpenRouter,according to a new report in Bloomberg. OpenRouter helps customers to select different AI models to perform different tasks, depending on their specific needs and budget. The company announced in May that it hadraised a $113 million Series B, at a reported $1.3 billion valuation. (Investors include Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures, and Alphabet’s Capital G.) At the time, OpenRouter CEO Alex Atallahdescribed the companyas the equivalent of Stripe for AI, because it provides customers with a single access point for different systems and prevents lock-in. The startup also claimed to have 8 million global users and to provide access to more than 400 models. The Wall Street Journalreported last monththat Stripe and OpenRouter were in acquisition talks. Now, Bloomberg said those discussions have led to a deal price of more than $7 billion. A Stripe spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company does not comment on rumors or speculation.