GIC and Temasek Participate in Series I Round in Stripe
Posted on 03/16/2023
Payments tech firm Stripe, Inc. signed agreements for a Series I fundraise of more than US$ 6.5 billion at a US$ 50 billion valuation. Primary investors include existing Stripe shareholders: Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, MSD Partners, and Thrive Capital. New investors to Stripe include GIC Private Limited, Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management, and Singapore-based Temasek Holdings.
The funds raised will be used to provide liquidity to current and former Stripe employees and address employee withholding tax obligations related to equity awards, resulting in the retirement of Stripe shares that will offset the issuance of new shares to Series I investors. Stripe says that it “does not need this capital to run its business.”
In 2021, Stripe raised capital at a valuation of US$ 95 billion. Stripe has not been immune to the global downturn and in November 2022, the payments tech company terminated 14% of its staff, or around 1,120 employees. Stripe’s revenue is primarily derived from transaction fees charged to businesses that use its payment processing services.
Advisors
Goldman Sachs served as sole placement agent on the transaction. J.P. Morgan acted as a financial advisor.
Collison Brothers
Patrick and John Collison are Irish entrepreneurs who were born and raised in Limerick, Ireland. Both brothers showed an early interest in technology and entrepreneurship, and they founded their first company, Auctomatic, while still in high school. Auctomatic, a Y Combinator company, was a startup that developed software for eBay sellers, and it was eventually acquired by Live Current Media in 2008.
After the sale of Auctomatic, the Collison brothers went on to attend college in the United States, with Patrick attending MIT and John attending Harvard University. While in college, they saw a need for a better online payment infrastructure, and they founded Stripe with the goal of simplifying the process of accepting online payments.
