When the payment giant Stripe raised $600 million at a valuation of $95.000 billion in 2021, made headlines for raising capital at the highest valuation ever for a private company.
Defending that assessment seems challenging. Apparently, The fintech company has approached investors for more capital - at least $2.000 billion - at a valuation of between $55.000 billion and $60.000 billion. According to The Wall Street Journal, Stripe would not use the money for operating expenses, but rather to cover a significant annual tax bill associated with employee stock units. It is not clear if there are ongoing talks.
This information came to light the same day that Stripe told its employees that a 12-month deadline had been set to go public or complete a private market transaction.
The news comes after several months of apparent difficulties at Stripe. In November, laid off 14% of its workforce, that is, to about 1.120 people, stating that it had “overhired for the world we are in.” And the company cut its internal valuation more than once in the past year. stripes too has reduced its internal valuation to 63.000 million dollars. That 11% cut followed an internal valuation cut six months earlier that valued the company at $74.000 billion.
Raising more capital at a valuation of $55.000 billion to $60.000 billion would certainly be a round to the downside, but Stripe wouldn't be the first big fintech company to do so.. Another European and BNPL giant, Klarna, grossed 800 million last year dollars at a valuation of $6.700 billion, a drop of 85% compared to the $45.600 billion it was valued at in June 2021.
In 2021, Stripe would have posted gross revenue of $12.000 billion and profitable EBITDAAccording Forbes. The company's products, in their own words, power payments for online and in-person retailers, subscription businesses, software platforms and marketplaces, "and everything in between." It has not publicly disclosed revenue figures since 2021.
