Patrick and John Collison founded Stripe in 2010 to make it easier for internet businesses to accept payments. The company focused early on a developer-first approach, offering software tools (APIs) that reduced the time and complexity of setting up card payments.
On September 29, 2011, Stripe announced that its service was open to the public after an earlier private beta period. This launch helped Stripe spread quickly among startups because developers could add payments with relatively little code and fewer bank-side steps.
In February 2012, Stripe raised about $18 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital, widely reported at roughly a $100 million valuation. The funding supported product development and scaling as more online businesses adopted Stripe for card processing.
In July 2012, Stripe raised a $20 million Series B round led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors including Sequoia and Peter Thiel. The new capital helped Stripe hire, expand infrastructure, and support more customers as transaction volume increased.
On September 19, 2012, Stripe launched in Canada—its first expansion outside the United States. This was an early step toward building a global payments platform, letting Canadian businesses start accepting online card payments with Stripe’s tools.
On October 10, 2012, Stripe introduced Stripe Connect to help platforms and marketplaces route payments between multiple parties. This product made it easier for businesses like marketplaces, invoicing tools, and website builders to embed payments for their own users.
On March 1, 2013, Stripe opened a closed beta in the United Kingdom, supporting GBP payments and signaling a larger move beyond North America. Expanding into major financial markets required new banking relationships and regulatory work, which Stripe began building country by country.
On March 11, 2013, Stripe acquired the team behind Kickoff, a collaboration and task-management app. The deal highlighted Stripe’s focus on strong product and engineering talent while it broadened its platform beyond basic card processing.
On August 23, 2013, Stripe launched a private beta in Australia, marking its first move into the Asia-Pacific region. This expansion tested Stripe’s ability to support more local market needs while keeping its developer-focused product style.
On March 27, 2014, Stripe announced it was testing Bitcoin payments (with instant conversion so merchants did not need to hold cryptocurrency). The experiment reflected Stripe’s interest in new payment rails, even as it continued to prioritize mainstream card payments.
On February 24, 2016, Stripe introduced Atlas, a toolkit to help entrepreneurs—especially outside the U.S.—set up a U.S. company and start operating online. Atlas linked company formation with banking and payments setup, supporting Stripe’s broader goal of making internet business easier to start and run globally.
On September 19, 2016, Stripe went live in Singapore, its first official launch in Asia. The move expanded Stripe’s global footprint and built a base for later growth across Asia, while keeping its core pitch: flexible payments tools built for developers.
On October 3, 2016, Stripe officially opened in Japan, following a beta that began in 2015. Entering Japan required adapting to local financial infrastructure and supporting global selling needs, such as accepting many currencies for cross-border commerce.
On October 19, 2016, Stripe introduced Radar, a machine-learning-based fraud prevention system built into Stripe’s payments service. Fraud control became a key platform feature because as payment volume grows, losses from stolen cards and chargebacks can rise quickly.
On April 5, 2018, Stripe launched Stripe Billing to help companies manage subscriptions and recurring payments. This extended Stripe from payment acceptance into revenue operations, helping businesses handle invoices, renewals, and failed payments more systematically.
On July 26, 2018, Stripe introduced Stripe Issuing, enabling businesses to create and manage virtual or physical payment cards via an API. Issuing helped platforms and fast-growing companies control spending workflows (like expenses or delivery purchasing) using programmable rules.
On September 17, 2018, Stripe unveiled Stripe Terminal, extending its payments infrastructure from online checkout to physical point-of-sale transactions. This supported businesses that needed both online and in-person payments while keeping a single set of tools, reporting, and integrations.
On October 15, 2020, Stripe announced an agreement to acquire Paystack, a major payments company serving businesses in Nigeria and Ghana. The deal signaled a strategic shift toward expanding Stripe’s geographic reach through acquisitions, not just product development.
On March 14, 2021, Stripe announced it had raised $600 million at a $95 billion valuation. Stripe said it would use the capital to strengthen global payments infrastructure and expand further in Europe, reflecting how international scale had become central to its strategy.
On April 19, 2021, Stripe expanded Stripe Issuing to 20 countries in Europe. This capped a 2010–2021 arc in which Stripe grew from a developer-focused U.S. payments API into a multi-product, multi-region platform that supported payments, subscriptions, fraud prevention, and card programs.
Stripe's Developer-focused Payments Platform and Global Expansion (2010-2021)