Stripe, the startup that makes software so businesses can take and track digital payments, has reportedly garnered a valuation of $9.2 billion, thanks to a new round of funding.
The Wall Street Journal, citing the company, reported the new valuation includes around $150 million, vaulting Stripe’s valuation much higher than the $5 billion value it had just in July.
At a time when Stripe’s valuation is climbing, other FinTech startups are struggling to keep their valuation intact. The WSJ pointed to payment company Square, which has suffered with a stagnate value since going public last year. A person familiar with Stripe told the WSJ the startup is getting close to the payment volume of Square, but has yet to surpass it. Investors are betting Stripe is in a good position to benefit from the exploding growth of online payments as more consumers make purchases online rather than in stores.
While Stripe hasn’t eclipsed Square yet in terms of volume, it is growing faster than the 40 percent growth Square is expected to have in 2016, the same unnamed person told the WSJ. The WSJ noted the new round of funding is being co-led by CapitalG, the investing unit of Google parent Alphabet and General Catalyst Partners, which is one of the early investors in Stripe. Sequoia Capital, which invested in Stripe in the past, also took part in the round of fund raising.
Michael Mortiz of Sequoia told the WSJ that it was a good sign that Stripe was able to raise more capital given it’s a buyers’ market for Venture Capitalists. Stripe noted that in addition to the round of funding it now has a credit line from JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays. All told, Stripe has raised around $450 million and earlier this week filed paperwork for the authorization to sell new shares. The money will got to make acquisitions and to invest more in its international expansion, reported the WSJ.