US-based digital payment technology provider Stripe increased its series G round to $850m yesterday, adding $600m from investors including GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet technology conglomerate Alphabet.
Venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst and Sequoia Capital also took part in the extension having already contributed to the $250m first close in September 2019. The extra cash was provided at the same $35bn pre-money valuation.
Stripe provides payment processing technology for online merchants, whether they operate through e-commerce platforms, on-demand marketplaces, subscription services or a crowdfunding mechanism.
The funding will support a growth in the company’s operations as it deals with large amounts of offline commerce migrating online due to the lockdown measures instituted across a wide range of countries as they attempt to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
John Collison, Stripe’s co-founder and president, said: “People who never dreamt of using the internet to see the doctor or buy groceries are now doing so out of necessity.
“And businesses that deferred moving online or had no reason to operate online have made the leap practically overnight. We believe now is not the time to pull back, but to invest even more heavily in Stripe’s platform.”
Stripe has now received $1.64bn in funding since it was founded in 2009. It took its first corporate investment in 2015, raising an undisclosed amount from payment services firms Visa and American Express, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Sequoia Capital and General Catalyst at a $5bn valuation.
Alphabet’s growth equity vehicle, CapitalG, co-led the company’s $150m series D round in 2016 with General Catalyst, investing alongside Sequoia Capital and unnamed existing investors, valuing it at $9bn pre-money, following an undisclosed sum supplied by payment services provider Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company.
Tiger Global Management led Stripe’s $245m series E round in September 2018 at a $20bn valuation, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, KPCB, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, DST Global and Thrive Capital also participating. Tiger Global provided another $100m three months later.
Thrive Capital, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures, SV Angel and assorted private investors had provided the company’s funding prior to 2015.
