Stripe, the Irish-American payments group, has described a “significant slowdown” in growth after years of rapid expansion.
Startups are facing a challenging environment that is “getting tougher,” the founders warned in their annual letter, after venture capital investment fell by two-thirds from early 2021 to late last year. Based in San Francisco and Dublin, Stripe is behind the financial installation that enables millions of companies – like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Uber – to sell products and services. It was founded in 2011 by Irish brothers Patrick, 34, and John Collison, 32.
“Together, businesses built on Stripe processed more than $817 billion in aggregate volume in 2022, up 26 percent year-on-year,” the Collisons wrote.
“This is a significant slowdown from the breakneck growth we’ve seen in 2020 and 2021.”
Stripe raised $6.5 billion in a funding round last month that was valued at $50 billion, up from $95 billion two years ago.
“While 2019 feels like a different era, it’s entirely plausible that the changes over the next four years will be greater,” the brothers write. “We’re all going to need our wits.”
Startups are trying to make money “sooner and in more diverse ways” under tightened conditions, they added.
“We’re working hard to make this easier and faster across the board.”
