Fintech giant Stripe lowers valuation by 28% amid economic meltdown

Leading fintech company Stripe has reportedly taken a huge 28 per cent valuation cut amid tough global macroeconomic conditions that have hit nearly all the sectors very hard as recession fears loom.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing sources, payments giant Stripe, last valued at $95 billion, has cut the internal value of its shares by 28 per cent.

The internal share price is now about $29, compared to $40 in the most previous internal valuation, known as a 409A valuation, the company reportedly told its employees in an email.

A 409A valuation is an independent estimate of a startup's fair market value, often used to price stock options to employees.

The development would lower Stripe's valuation to $74 billion, the report mentioned late on Thursday.

A prolonged market sell-off has hit tech companies really hard amid slowed VC funding and layoffs across the spectrum -- from Big Tech like Microsoft to startups, including crypto platforms.

In March 2021, Stripe raised $600 million from a group of investors, and was valued at $95 billion in that round.

Recently, Klarna, the Swedish buy now pay later (BNPL) platform, had its valuation cut by a massive 85 per cent to $6.7 billion from its last round.

Earlier this year, Instacart lowered down its internal valuation to $24 billion from $39 billion, to "help with retention and recruiting by giving employees more potential upside with their options".

--IANS

na/arm