INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
After a week of launching new services to bring payments giant Stripe into the areas of lending and credit, the company is announcing
fuel more international expansion, launching more products and targeting larger enterprise-sized businesses.This is a huge jump in valuation
for the company: Stripe was valued at $22.5 billion earlier this year when it raised $100 million.The startup said that General Catalyst,
Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia are all in the round already
that SoftBank is not in this round.Nor will there be any corporate strategics involved in this round
Of note, Collison today confirmed that the bank providing the financial backing for its new cash advance and corporate card services is
Celtic Bank, based in Salt Lake City
But the bank is not taking a strategic investment in the company as part of that deal.Although the round is not yet closed, Collison said
the $250 million size is unlikely to change
The round should close in the next several weeks, he added.Stripe has long been reluctant to talk about when it might consider going public,
and this round will put that prospect off even further
heels of other services that include incorporation services, fraud protection and and more
All this means not only that the company can diversify its own revenues, but it can differentiate itself from (or, in some cases, offer the
same services as) its competitors
The company last week expanded its payments out to eight more countries and that is set to expand again to total 40 in the coming
Indeed, as startups in e-commerce grow into huge businesses, they are turning from being the kinds of small companies that Stripe used to
a small part of all commerce, which is one reason brick and mortar is likely to be another target for Stripe in the long run, building on
a statement announcing the round
John Collison, the co-founder of Stripe
