Company Snapshot
OpenRouter is a AI infra company, based in New York City, New York, USA, founded 2023.
Recent changes
- Aug 20, 2026Aug 20, 2026Inside OpenRouter's Cap Table Ahead of a Sale Pulse story
- Aug 19, 2026Aug 19, 2026Stripe-OpenRouter Deal Confirmed at $7.5B, Final Terms Revealed Pulse story
- Aug 17, 2026Aug 17, 2026Stripe Pays Over $7 Billion for AI Router OpenRouter Pulse story
- Aug 17, 2026Aug 17, 2026Stripe Acquires AI Gateway OpenRouter for $7B+ Pulse story
- Aug 16, 2026Aug 16, 2026Stripe Buys OpenRouter in $7B AI Gateway Deal Pulse story
Earlier changes (3)
- Jul 24, 2026Jul 24, 2026Stripe in Talks to Buy OpenRouter for $10B Pulse story
- May 26, 2026May 26, 2026Raised $113M Series B at a $1.3B valuation Value Add Pulse enrichment
- May 2025May 2025Raised an undisclosed amount Series A at a $547M valuation Value Add Pulse enrichment
Funding History
2 events · sources dated per row| Date | Event | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2026 | Series B | $113M | $1.3B | Value Add Pulse research | |
| May 2025 | Series A | — | $547M | Value Add Pulse research |
Investors
Latest Pulse
- Sep 11, 2026Moonshot AI Targets $2B Revenue On Kimi K3China's Moonshot AI is targeting $2 billion in annualized revenue by year-end, after its open-weight Kimi K3 model pushed ARR from $300 million in June to over $1 billion in August.→
- Sep 4, 2026Microsoft's MAI-Transcribe-2 Undercuts Rivals on PriceMicrosoft AI's new speech-recognition model costs $0.10 per audio hour through year-end -- a 72% cut from its predecessor -- while claiming to beat OpenAI, Google, and ElevenLabs on both speed and accuracy.→
- Aug 29, 2026Why the AI Buildout Runs on Debt, Not VCsNvidia's pause on financing smaller AI clouds, alongside a16z's new $1.1B hardware fund, shows two separate capital markets now underwriting AI: equity chasing the model layer, debt absorbing the risk of the physical buildout.→
- Aug 28, 2026Stripe Walks Away From Its $53B PayPal BidThe Stripe-Advent consortium has dropped its pursuit of PayPal after a 40% stock rally priced the group's $60.50-a-share, roughly $53 billion offer out of reach for what would have been one of the largest leveraged buyouts ever.→
- Aug 28, 2026Open-Weight Labs Become the Valley's Acquisition TargetNvidia's reported $13 billion Hugging Face agreement, its $6 billion Poolside deal and Stripe's $7 billion-plus OpenRouter purchase have consolidated the open-model layer, even as enterprise adoption sits at 6%.→
- Aug 20, 2026Why I'd Rather Back the Acquirer Than Wait for the IPOBetween Stripe buying OpenRouter and SpaceX buying Anysphere, $67.5B moved through M&A in six weeks. Anthropic's IPO won't price until November at the earliest. As an early check-writer, I'd rather back the company doing the buying.→
- Aug 20, 2026Inside OpenRouter's Cap Table Ahead of a SaleNewcomer's deep dive into OpenRouter's cap table shows how quickly the AI model-routing startup's ownership structure evolved en route to Stripe's roughly $7.5B acquisition, with early seed investors sitting on outsized returns.→
- Aug 20, 2026What $67B in AI Buyouts Says About Where Value Is MovingStripe's $7.5B OpenRouter deal and SpaceX's $60B Anysphere buyout total $67.5B in AI M&A in six weeks, while Etched's $21B venture valuation shows the same distribution/infrastructure bet playing out in funding rounds too.→
- Aug 19, 2026Stripe-OpenRouter Deal Confirmed at $7.5B, Final Terms RevealedStripe's acquisition of AI model gateway OpenRouter is now confirmed at roughly $7.5B, with $1.5B going to founders and $6B to investors -- a 5.4x markup over its three-month-old Series B valuation.→
- Aug 17, 2026Stripe Pays Over $7 Billion for AI Router OpenRouterStripe finalized a deal to acquire OpenRouter, the AI model routing startup, for more than $7 billion -- over 5x the $1.3 billion valuation OpenRouter carried three months ago after its Series B.→
Coverage Timeline
newest first- Aug 20, 2026IPOWhy I'd Rather Back the Acquirer Than Wait for the IPO→
- Aug 20, 2026FUNDINGInside OpenRouter's Cap Table Ahead of a Sale→
- Aug 20, 2026BIG TECHWhat $67B in AI Buyouts Says About Where Value Is Moving→
- Aug 19, 2026BIG TECHStripe-OpenRouter Deal Confirmed at $7.5B, Final Terms Revealed$7.5B acquisition→
- Aug 17, 2026BIG TECHStripe Pays Over $7 Billion for AI Router OpenRouter$7B+→
- Aug 17, 2026BIG TECHStripe Acquires AI Gateway OpenRouter for $7B+$7B+ acquisition→
- Aug 17, 2026IPOAI's Best Exits Are Trades, Not Listings$7B+ largest AI trade sale→
- Aug 16, 2026BIG TECHStripe Buys OpenRouter in $7B AI Gateway Deal$7B+ acquisition→
- Jul 24, 2026AIStripe in Talks to Buy OpenRouter for $10B$10B Acquisition Talks→
All Coverage
IPO
Why I'd Rather Back the Acquirer Than Wait for the IPO
Between Stripe buying OpenRouter and SpaceX buying Anysphere, $67.5B moved through M&A in six weeks. Anthropic's IPO won't price until November at the earliest. As an early check-writer, I'd rather back the company doing the buying.
TRACE'S TAKE
Inside OpenRouter's Cap Table Ahead of a Sale
FUNDING
Inside OpenRouter's Cap Table Ahead of a Sale
Newcomer's deep dive into OpenRouter's cap table shows how quickly the AI model-routing startup's ownership structure evolved en route to Stripe's roughly $7.5B acquisition, with early seed investors sitting on outsized returns.
FOLLOW-UP
What $67B in AI Buyouts Says About Where Value Is Moving
BIG TECH
What $67B in AI Buyouts Says About Where Value Is Moving
Stripe's $7.5B OpenRouter deal and SpaceX's $60B Anysphere buyout total $67.5B in AI M&A in six weeks, while Etched's $21B venture valuation shows the same distribution/infrastructure bet playing out in funding rounds too.
DEEP DIVE
Stripe-OpenRouter Deal Confirmed at $7.5B, Final Terms Revealed
BIG TECH$7.5B acquisition
Stripe-OpenRouter Deal Confirmed at $7.5B, Final Terms Revealed
Stripe's acquisition of AI model gateway OpenRouter is now confirmed at roughly $7.5B, with $1.5B going to founders and $6B to investors -- a 5.4x markup over its three-month-old Series B valuation.
FOLLOW-UP
Stripe Pays Over $7 Billion for AI Router OpenRouter
BIG TECH$7B+
Stripe Pays Over $7 Billion for AI Router OpenRouter
Stripe finalized a deal to acquire OpenRouter, the AI model routing startup, for more than $7 billion -- over 5x the $1.3 billion valuation OpenRouter carried three months ago after its Series B.
DEEP DIVE
Stripe Acquires AI Gateway OpenRouter for $7B+
BIG TECH$7B+ acquisition
Stripe Acquires AI Gateway OpenRouter for $7B+
Stripe agreed to acquire AI model gateway OpenRouter for more than $7 billion, roughly five times the $1.3 billion valuation OpenRouter carried in May, turning a payments company into the metering and billing layer for AI token consumption.
DEEP DIVE
AI's Best Exits Are Trades, Not Listings
IPO$7B+ largest AI trade sale
AI's Best Exits Are Trades, Not Listings
Stripe's $7 billion purchase of OpenRouter, SpaceX's Cursor deal and consolidation among eVTOL makers point to strategic acquisition replacing the public offering as the primary liquidity path for AI-era companies.
DEEP DIVE
Stripe Buys OpenRouter in $7B AI Gateway Deal
BIG TECH$7B+ acquisition
Stripe Buys OpenRouter in $7B AI Gateway Deal
Stripe has agreed to acquire OpenRouter, the routing layer that lets developers switch between AI models through one API, for more than $7 billion -- roughly five times the $1.3 billion valuation OpenRouter carried in May.
DEEP DIVE
Stripe in Talks to Buy OpenRouter for $10B
AI$10B Acquisition Talks
Stripe in Talks to Buy OpenRouter for $10B
Stripe is reportedly in talks to acquire AI model marketplace OpenRouter for roughly $10 billion, nearly 8x the startup's $1.3 billion valuation from a round just two months earlier.
Value Add Research
- AI & Technology · Sep 22, 2026Sam Altman's Apology for OpenAI's Messy GPT-6 Astra Launch
- AI & Technology · Aug 28, 2026Stripe OpenRouter Acquisition: $8B Price, 6x Valuation Jump
- AI & Technology · Aug 18, 20263B+ Downloads — Qwen Open-Weight Model Rankings
- AI & Technology · Jul 21, 2026How Stripe Makes Money: $159B Valuation, $1.9T Volume
- AI & Technology · Jun 15, 2026Claude vs GPT API: 12x Pricier, but 77% vs 72% on Code
- Market & Trends · Jun 10, 2026Stripe vs Adyen vs Braintree: Which Is Cheapest? (2026)
- Market & Trends · Jun 7, 2026Stripe IPO 2026: $159B Valuation and $1.9T Volume
- Market & Trends · Jun 2, 2026Big Tech Acquisitions: $10B+ Deal Frameworks
Related Companies
Shared investors
OpenRouter FAQ
Who are OpenRouter's investors?
OpenRouter's investors include Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, Databricks Ventures, Menlo Ventures, MongoDB Ventures, and 3 more (As of 2026-09-04T15:53:08Z).
Sources & methodologyshow
Where these figures come from
- Value Add Pulse researchValue Add VC data2 facts
Figures are labelled Reported (a source states it), Estimated, Derived (computed from other facts) or Rumored (in talks / unconfirmed). Rumors never replace a confirmed figure. Each figure keeps its own as-of date; history is preserved rather than overwritten.