OpenRouter helps businesses route and optimize token usage, and the deal represents Stripe's latest push into artificial intelligence after recently launching products like Token Billing to track AI model consumption.
OpenRouter helps businesses to dynamically evaluate each request and route it to the optimal model based on task complexity, price, speed, and reliability.
Its platform is used by Stripe, as well as NVIDIA, Zoom, and Loveable.
In a statement, Stripe said it would unite with OpenRouter to help companies manage both sides of profitability in the AI era and maximize revenue and efficacy while minimizing costs.
“Tokens are the central currency for companies building with AI, and it’s clear that the real-world economic potential will depend on making good use of scarce compute resources,” said Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe.
John Collison, Co-Founder of Stripe, speaking at the 2015 Web Summit in Dublin.
“Stripe is building the economic infrastructure for AI, and together with OpenRouter we’ll help businesses maximize profitability by routing their requests intelligently and spending their tokens efficiently.”
OpenRouter was founded in 2023 and now processes more than 10tn tokens per day from more than 400 AI models for over 10m developers and companies.
Deloitte found in March that most companies with annual revenue of at least $500m expect to consume more than 10 billion tokens per month by 2028.
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In May, OpenRouter raised $113m in a funding round led by Alphabet's independent growth fund CapitalG.
Alex Atallah, co-founder and CEO of OpenRouter, said: “Stripe has spent over a decade building trusted, neutral infrastructure for businesses, and OpenRouter was built on the same philosophy.
“We believe intelligence will be multi-model: no single model will be optimal for every task, and developers need a neutral layer to orchestrate and manage them all. Joining Stripe lets us accelerate that mission and bring the full AI ecosystem to every business.”
Earlier this year, Stripe was valued at $159bn in a tender offer, and the San Francisco- and Dublin-headquartered firm has made a joint offer with private equity firm Advent International to buy PayPal for more than $53bn.
Businesses running on Stripe generated $1.9tn in total volume last year, a 34% jump from 2024. The company employs around 10,000 people worldwide.
* This article was originally published on BusinessPlus.ie.
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