As companies build AI products with a growing mix of models, choosing which system should handle each request is becoming a major infrastructure challenge.
Stripe has agreed to acquire OpenRouter, a platform that routes requests across competing AI models, in a deal The New York Times reports is worth $7.5 billion.
While Stripe and OpenRouter did not disclose the price, Axios placed the value above $8 billion and reported that the payment would be mostly in stock, while Bloomberg said the deal exceeded $7 billion. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close within weeks.
At the $7.5 billion figure, OpenRouter’s value has risen sharply from the $1.3 billion valuation it received in May, when it raised $113 million in a Series B round led by CapitalG.
According to reports, OpenRouter’s founders would receive $1.5 billion and investors would collect the remaining $6 billion.
How OpenRouter Manages AI Model Use
OpenRouter gives developers one interface for accessing more than 400 AI models from over 80 providers. Its platform evaluates requests and routes them according to factors such as task complexity, price, speed, and reliability. This allows companies to use different models without building a separate connection to every provider.
The company says it processes more than 10 trillion tokens a day for over 10 million developers and businesses, with Nvidia, Zoom, and Lovable being among its customers.
OpenRouter, which started in early 2023, also says its inference volume has grown at least tenfold every year.
Why Stripe Wants an AI Model Gateway
AI companies usually pay model providers based on the number of tokens their applications process. But as more models enter the market and prices change, deciding where to send each task can directly affect product performance and operating costs.
Stripe already provides payment services to OpenRouter and has developed Token Billing, which helps businesses measure and charge customers for AI usage. So, bringing OpenRouter into Stripe would connect the systems used to collect AI revenue with the tools that manage model spending.
“Tokens are the central currency for companies building with AI,” Stripe co-founder and chief executive Patrick Collison said, adding that the companies would help businesses route requests intelligently and use tokens efficiently.
OpenRouter Says Its Neutral Model Will Continue
OpenRouter says it will retain its name, product, mission, and roadmap after the acquisition. It also promised that routing decisions would continue to reflect what works best for users, regardless of the model provider or its new parent company.
If the deal closes, Stripe will combine payment processing, usage billing, and AI model routing within one company..
The reported price would also make the OpenRouter acquisition far larger than Stripe’s $1.1 billion purchase of stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge. Stripe has also acquired crypto wallet provider Privy and usage-based billing company Metronome as it expands the infrastructure behind online and AI businesses.
