The funding will be used by Stripe to increase the GDP of the internet, to expand globally and to ramp up product development
Stripe will use the funding to expand internationally and to scale product development. (Credit: Wikipedia.org/HaeB.)
American fintech firm Stripe has raised an additional $600m in Series G funding round from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, GV and Sequoia.
Founded in 2010, Stripe builds economic infrastructure for the internet, enabling individuals and businesses to make and receive payments over the internet.
Stripe stated that while the economic impact of COVID-19 remains uncertain, it also underscores the need for a reliable, easy-to-use infrastructure for internet businesses. In this context, the firm aims to ramp-up the digital economy for businesses around the world.
Stripe will pursue global expansion and strategic initiatives with the funding
The firm aims to use the funding to invest further in the growth of its platform, by hiring around the world, deepening its stack of software functionality to simplify online business, accelerate geographic expansion with upcoming launches in Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta and Romania and to pursue strategic initiatives or acquisitions.
Stripe president and co-founder John Collison 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.”
Currently, the firm has customers such as Caviar, Coupa, Just Eat, Keap, Lightspeed, Mattel, NBC and Paid and has now added Zoom to the list of the businesses that use Stripe to modernise their payments.
With more than $2bn on its balance sheet and a diversified, global user base, Stripe claims to be in a position to provide uninterrupted service to its users during such a distress period and also aims to invest in long-term improvements.
Presently, it is working with communities and customers to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic by fast-tracking support for telemedicine providers in the US, where it is working with companies such as Solv to offer physician-assisted forms of COVID-19 testing and same-day urgent care.
It has also simplified the steps involved in launching a business on Stripe. Now, individual farmers can quickly get started with Stripe and sell their produce online.
The firm claims that it will have facilitated $1bn in sales for businesses that have launched on its platform since the onset of the pandemic in the US.
Stripe is also supporting established companies to turn to the internet. In Australia, Westfield is building a platform to help retailers move online. In the US, ChowNow has launched a restaurant loyalty programme with Stripe and RungisChezVous, a French B2B farmers’ market is selling its goods directly to consumers through its platform.