Stripe tells investors that “the singularity” has begun, per Axios

Stripe on Wednesday told investors that January 1st marked the “beginning of the singularity,” which it refers to as a major inflection point in longterm trends, according to a letter obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The payments giant believes that being privately held is the best structure for such a consequential moment, which suggests that any IPO remains on indefinite hold.

By the numbers: The company said that first-half revenue rose 41% year-over-year and that free cashflow rose 43%.

• Stripe says 88% of the Forbes AI 50, including OpenAI and Anthropic, are building on its platform, while the share of its revenue from AI and crypto companies has more than doubled year over year.

Zoom in: Stripe today also confirmed its acquisition of OpenRouter. No sale price was disclosed, including in the investor letter, but Axios has learned that it was for more than $8 billion (mostly in stock).

https://www.axios.com/2026/08/19/stripe-payments-openrouter-singularity