Stripe Reportedly Gets $115 Billion Valuation From Investors

Stripe is reportedly valued at $115 billion by investors in “secondary market” deals, according to a Forbes report, which noted that the amount is more than triple the $36 billion valuation the company garnered at the time of an April 2020 investment from venture firms. By comparison, a $115 billion valuation for Stripe would be approximately one-third of PayPal’s market cap as of Thursday (Feb. 18) at approximately 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Stripe has a new primary funding round in the works with a valuation of over $100 billion, according to an unnamed source in the Forbes report. As previously reported in November, Stripe was mulling a funding round to value it higher than the $36 billion it got in its last round. At the time, unnamed sources in a published report indicated that the valuation could hit as much as $70 billion or perhaps up to $100 billion.

MoffettNathanson Partner and Senior Analyst Lisa Ellis surmises that Stripe processed between $200 billion and $250 billion in transactions in 2019, according to the Forbes report, noting that Stripe, PayPal and Adyen comprise one-tenth of all payment processing worldwide.

Patrick and John Collison – two brothers – established Stripe more than a decade ago. The California business helps companies such as Shopify and Peloton take digital payments. Stripe competes with large companies such as PayPal and Square. It has benefited from the pandemic because of the increasing dependence on eCommerce, as the health crisis has kept people away from physical spaces and increased the necessity of digital payments.

Bloomberg has noted that the company has been capitalizing on the surge in online shopping, beginning its own card-issuing service for U.S. customers and making plans to buy an upstart from Nigeria to advance African growth.

Stripe revealed Stripe Treasury on Dec. 3. The new venture will work with financial institutions (FIs) to provide bank accounts, debit cards and other offerings to the online retailers and suppliers that depend on Stripe’s payment processing system. The news came as Stripe went live two days earlier with the next phase in its business lending campaign, which lets digital platforms provide financing to their business clients via Stripe Capital.


An Ode to Malls as Gen Z Craves IRL Experiences

three teenagers at mall

“The currency of now” takes on a decidedly different form in this poem about the mall’s resurgence. It celebrates the brick-and-mortar comeback fueled by Gen Z’s desire for IRL (in real life) connections and the evolving role of physical space in a digitally-driven world. Join us, with a little help from AI, as we examine this retail revolution, where the “currency” of cool reigns supreme.

Ode to the Mall’s Second Act
A rhyme for the retail renaissance

The tinsel’s gone, the carols now hushed,
New Year’s returns — cashiers mildly crushed.
A sea of sweatpants, gift cards in hand,
The mall’s a vibe unplanned.

But fear not, dear shopper, the story’s not bleak —
The mall’s plotting comebacks, not just peak weak week.

Gen Z’s in the food court, TikTokking their fries,
While swiping through Depop for vintage thigh-highs.

“IRL’s better!” they might say, “No porch pirates, no wait—
Just tag me @Aritzia, I’ll meet you at eight!”
They crave neon selfies, not screens’ pixelated glow,
So malls built a skatepark where a Sears used to go.

Shopify’s merchants now hawk leather and lace
In pop-ups by Simon — no “online-only” space.
Leap powers the kiosks, the QR code deals,
As D2C brands test if foot traffic feels.

Where Macy’s once stood, now micro-lofts bloom:
“Live above Lululemon!” they might chirp. “Bath bombs in every room!”
A dentist, a daycare, a co-working hub —
The mall’s now a Swiss Army knife, scrubbed of ’80s dud.

Mall of America’s got waterslides looping its floors,
While American Dream’s got a ski slope indoors.
“Why choose between Zara and ziplines?” they could grin,
As Nordstrom becomes Saks Fifth within.

Phones glow like fireflies in this retail ballet:
Price checks on Google, then “U up?” on Tinder (hey).

They scan, they compare, they Instagram the ‘fit—
But still buy the jeans ’cause the vibe’s so legit.

So here’s to the mall — that phoenix of bricks!
No longer a relic of cassette tape tricks.
With Gen Z as hypebeast and Shopify’s might,
It’s part TikTok backdrop, part urbanist’s right.

The future’s bright, chaotic, a bit over-leased …
But hey — at least parking’s finally decreased.