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According to reports, Thrive Capital is in charge of a new multi-billion dollar investment in Stripe

Stripe, a payments giant, is rumoured to have received a $1 billion investment commitment from Thrive Capital, valuing the fintech company at $55 billion to $60 billion.

According to reports in The New York Times and The Information, Stripe may have to raise closer to $2.5–$3 billion instead of the $2 billion it had hoped to. According to The Information, Stripe is reportedly trying to raise new capital to “address the issue of expiring restricted stock units for some of its veteran employees—and a massive employee tax bill that will likely come with it.”

The new investment in Stripe is rumoured to be led by Thrive Capital. In 2014, when the company was valued at $3.5 billion, the New York City firm founded by Joshua Kushner led the company’s $70 million Series C round of funding.

After raising $600 million at a $95 billion valuation in 2021, Stripe would become the privately held company with the highest valuation in history. Unfortunately, the global economic downturn has also affected Stripe, which in November had to lay off about 14% of its workforce, or about 1,120 people. Furthermore, the company’s internal valuation has been reduced multiple times in the past year. Stripe had lowered its internal valuation to $63 billion. The company’s value had already been lowered by an internal adjustment that put it at $74 billion before the 11% reduction.

In a memo to employees last week, Stripe reportedly stated that the company has 12 months to go public through a direct listing or a private market transaction like a fundraising event or tender offer. However, industry experts are unanimous in their belief that raising capital is the company’s most likely future path.

An analyst in the financial technology industry, as saying that Stripe may be pushing for an exit because the company “may have been hanging on to some really talented early employees by promising them a big ‘exit’ on their equity.”