Stripe Is Still Private: What Australian Wholesale Investors Should Know

As at 22 October 2026, Stripe is a private company: it does not appear in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) directory of listed companies (ASX company directory, accessed 22 Oct 2026), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) record for Stripe, Inc. lists no ticker and no stock exchange (SEC EDGAR submissions record, accessed 22 Oct 2026), and its SEC filings are Form D notices of exempt offerings and one Form D/A amendment (SEC EDGAR search results, accessed 22 Oct 2026). A February 2026 tender offer for current and former Stripe employees valued Stripe at $159B in US dollars (Stripe 24 Feb 2026). In Australia, investors with a qualified accountant's certificate certifying a prescribed net asset or gross income level can buy financial products without a regulated disclosure document such as a prospectus or Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) (Moneysmart, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

Is Stripe listed on the ASX or a US stock exchange?

No, not as at 22 October 2026 (ASX company directory, accessed 22 Oct 2026; SEC EDGAR submissions record, accessed 22 Oct 2026). In January 2026, Bloomberg News reported that Stripe has conducted several tender offers to give employees and investors a chance to cash in on their shares without a public listing (Bloomberg News via Irish Examiner 22 Jan 2026).

The SEC's EDGAR filing list for "Stripe, Inc." (CIK 0001691342) shows Form D "Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities" filings and one Form D/A amendment (SEC EDGAR search results, accessed 22 Oct 2026). The most recent Form D on the SEC's EDGAR filing list for Stripe, Inc. was filed on 12 April 2024 (SEC EDGAR search results, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

What has Stripe's president said about going public?

In January 2026, in a Bloomberg News interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, John Collison, Stripe's co-founder and president, said Stripe did not have imminent plans for a public listing and was still not in any rush (Bloomberg News via Irish Examiner 22 Jan 2026).

CNBC reported on 24 February 2026 that Collison, in an interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, said an initial public offering (IPO) would ultimately distract from Stripe's other goals (CNBC 24 Feb 2026). CNBC quoted Collison as saying: "For us right now, an IPO would be a solution in search of a problem" (CNBC 24 Feb 2026).

Collison added that Stripe had a self-funding business that was growing very well, with lots of new products the company wanted to create, so it did not need the extra capital at that time (CNBC 24 Feb 2026). Collison also said going public was not one of the company's top five, ten or twenty priorities (CNBC 24 Feb 2026).

What valuations has Stripe announced in private deals since 2021?

The valuations below come from Stripe's own announcements from 2021 onwards and are stated in US dollars (Stripe 14 Mar 2021; Stripe 15 Mar 2023; Stripe 28 Feb 2024; Stripe 27 Feb 2025; Stripe 24 Feb 2026). Valuations are historical events, not an offer price.

Date	Event	Valuation (US$)	Source
14 Mar 2021	Funding round of $600 million	$95B	Stripe 14 Mar 2021
15 Mar 2023	Series I fundraise of more than $6.5 billion	$50B	Stripe 15 Mar 2023
28 Feb 2024	Tender offer for current and former employees	$65B	Stripe 28 Feb 2024
27 Feb 2025	Tender offer for current and former employees	$91.5B	Stripe 27 Feb 2025
24 Feb 2026	Tender offer for current and former employees	$159B	Stripe 24 Feb 2026

On 14 March 2021, Stripe announced it had raised a $600 million (€500 million) funding round at a $95B (€80B) valuation (Stripe 14 Mar 2021).

On 15 March 2023, Stripe announced it had signed agreements for a Series I fundraise of more than $6.5 billion (€6.15 billion) at a $50B (€47B) valuation (Stripe 15 Mar 2023). Stripe said primary investors in the Series I fundraise included existing shareholders Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, MSD Partners and Thrive Capital, and new investors including GIC, Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management, and Temasek (Stripe 15 Mar 2023).

The Series I money was earmarked to provide liquidity to current and former employees and to address employee withholding tax obligations related to equity awards (Stripe 15 Mar 2023). In its 15 March 2023 announcement, Stripe said it did not need the Series I capital to run its business (Stripe 15 Mar 2023).

On 28 February 2024, Stripe announced it had signed agreements with investors for a tender offer at a $65B (€60B) valuation (Stripe 28 Feb 2024). Stripe said the majority of the funds for the tender offer were being provided by investors, and that it would also use a portion of its own capital to repurchase shares to offset dilution from its employee equity compensation programs (Stripe 28 Feb 2024).

On 27 February 2025, Stripe announced it had signed agreements with investors for a tender offer at a $91.5B (€87.3B) valuation, and said it would also repurchase shares itself (Stripe 27 Feb 2025).

On 24 February 2026, Stripe announced it had signed agreements with investors for a further tender offer at a $159B (€135B) valuation (Stripe 24 Feb 2026). Stripe said the majority of the funds for the tender offer were being provided by investors including Thrive Capital, Coatue, a16z and others, and that it would also use a portion of its own capital to repurchase shares (Stripe 24 Feb 2026).

How did Stripe describe its tender offers?

Stripe described its February 2024, February 2025 and February 2026 tender offers as providing liquidity to current and former Stripe employees (Stripe 28 Feb 2024; Stripe 27 Feb 2025; Stripe 24 Feb 2026). In each tender offer, Stripe said it had signed agreements with investors, and that it would also repurchase shares (Stripe 28 Feb 2024; Stripe 27 Feb 2025; Stripe 24 Feb 2026).

CNBC reported that current and former employees were eligible to sell shares in the February 2026 tender offer (CNBC 24 Feb 2026).

How big is Stripe's business?

Stripe describes itself as a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet, with dual headquarters in San Francisco and Dublin (Stripe, accessed 22 Oct 2026). Stripe's stated mission is to increase the GDP of the internet (Stripe, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

Stripe lists Patrick Collison as Co-founder and CEO and John Collison as Co-founder and President (Stripe, accessed 22 Oct 2026). Stripe supports 135+ currencies and payment methods and is available to businesses in 50+ countries (Stripe, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

Businesses on Stripe generated $1.4 trillion in total payment volume in 2024, up 38% from the prior year (Stripe 27 Feb 2025). In 2025, businesses running on Stripe generated $1.9 trillion in total volume, up 34% from 2024, which Stripe says is equivalent to roughly 1.6% of global GDP (Stripe 24 Feb 2026).

In their 2025 annual letter, the Collisons wrote that Stripe's programmable financial services power more than 5 million businesses directly or via platforms (Stripe 24 Feb 2026). The Collisons also wrote that Stripe remained robustly profitable (Stripe 24 Feb 2026).

In its 24 February 2026 announcement, Stripe said its Revenue suite, which includes Stripe Billing, Invoicing, Tax and more, was on track to hit an annual run rate of $1 billion in 2026 (Stripe 24 Feb 2026).

Who counts as a wholesale client in Australia?

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) says that under the Corporations Act, a person who holds a current certificate from a qualified accountant, certifying a prescribed net asset or gross income level, is a 'sophisticated investor' for Chapter 6D when offered debt or shares, or a 'wholesale client' for Chapter 7 when offered a financial product other than insurance, superannuation or a retirement savings account product or service, where the financial product is not used in connection with a business (ASIC certificates page, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

To be eligible for a qualified accountant's certificate, a person must have a gross income of $250,000 or more per annum in each of the previous two years, or net assets of at least $2.5 million (ASIC certificates page, accessed 22 Oct 2026). The gross income and net asset thresholds sit in reg 6D.2.03 and reg 7.1.28 (ASIC certificates page, accessed 22 Oct 2026). Under Chapters 6D and 7, qualified accountants' certificates are valid for up to two years after they were issued (ASIC certificates page, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

Moneysmart explains that the certificate gives an exemption under the Corporations Act 2001, which means the person can buy financial products without a regulated disclosure document such as a prospectus or product disclosure statement (Moneysmart, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

ASIC's May 2024 submission to a parliamentary inquiry described a product value test, under which a person is a wholesale client if the price of the financial product, or the value of the financial product to which a financial service relates, is AUD500,000 or more (ASIC May 2024). ASIC's May 2024 submission also described a sophisticated investor test under s761GA, which focuses on the investor's experience in relation to financial products or financial services generally (ASIC May 2024).

What is a wholesale managed investment scheme?

ASIC's submission says additional protections apply under Chapter 5C when a managed investment scheme, also known as a managed fund, has retail clients as members, and that these protections do not apply to schemes where the members are wholesale clients, referred to generally as 'wholesale schemes' (ASIC May 2024).

ASIC says a managed investment scheme must generally be registered if it has more than 20 members or is promoted by a person in the business of promoting managed investment schemes, under s601ED (ASIC scheme registration page, accessed 22 Oct 2026). Some managed investment schemes may be exempt from registration, for example where all of the interests in the scheme are issued to wholesale clients only, under s601ED(2) (ASIC scheme registration page, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

ASIC refers to managed investment schemes that are not registered as unregistered schemes (ASIC scheme registration page, accessed 22 Oct 2026). Operators of unregistered schemes must generally hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence to issue, vary and dispose of interests in the scheme to wholesale investors (ASIC scheme registration page, accessed 22 Oct 2026).

What protections do wholesale clients give up?

ASIC told the parliamentary inquiry that retail clients have the benefit of important statutory protections in Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act (ASIC May 2024). The protections ASIC listed include the design and distribution obligations, ASIC's product intervention powers and access to external dispute resolution (ASIC May 2024).

ASIC's submission said that, prior to the sale or issue of a financial product, retail clients are required to receive financial product information disclosure, including detailed information about fees and costs, in a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) (ASIC May 2024). ASIC's May 2024 submission stated that wholesale clients do not have the benefit of these significant additional investor protections, which it had listed for retail clients (ASIC May 2024).

Sources

1. Stripe — Stripe publishes 2025 annual letter and announces tender offer to provide liquidity to current and former employees (24 Feb 2026) — https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/stripe-2025-update
2. Stripe — Stripe announces tender offer to provide liquidity to current and former employees (27 Feb 2025) — https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/employee-liquidity-feb-2025
3. Stripe — Stripe announces tender offer to provide employee liquidity (28 Feb 2024) — https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/employee-liquidity-feb-2024
4. Stripe — Stripe announces new round of funding and plan to provide employee liquidity (15 Mar 2023) — https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/stripe-series-i-employee-liquidity
5. Stripe — Stripe has raised a new round of funding to accelerate momentum in Europe and reinforce enterprise leadership (14 Mar 2021) — https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/stripe-series-h
6. Stripe — Stripe Newsroom | Information and assets (accessed 22 Oct 2026) — https://stripe.com/newsroom/information
7. CNBC — Stripe valued at $159 billion after tender offer for employees, shareholders (24 Feb 2026) — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/24/stripe-value-stock-sale-tender-offer.html
8. Irish Examiner (Bloomberg) — Payment firm Stripe in no rush to go public, Collison says (22 Jan 2026) — https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/companies/arid-41780486.html
9. ASX — Company directory (accessed 22 Oct 2026) — https://www.asx.com.au/markets/trade-our-cash-market/directory
10. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — EDGAR submissions record: Stripe, Inc. (accessed 22 Oct 2026) — https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK0001691342.json
11. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — EDGAR Search Results: Stripe, Inc. (accessed 22 Oct 2026) — https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001691342&type=&dateb=&owner=include&count=40
12. ASIC — Certificates issued by a qualified accountant (accessed 22 Oct 2026) — https://www.asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/financial-services/financial-product-disclosure/certificates-issued-by-a-qualified-accountant
13. Moneysmart — sophisticated investor (glossary definition) (accessed 22 Oct 2026) — https://moneysmart.gov.au/glossary/sophisticated-investor
14. ASIC — Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services inquiry into the wholesale investor and wholesale client tests: Submission by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (May 2024) — https://download.asic.gov.au/media/hxrizoei/202405-submission-no-62-wholesale-investor-and-wholesale-client-tests.pdf
15. ASIC — Register a managed investment scheme (accessed 22 Oct 2026) — https://www.asic.gov.au/for-finance-professionals/fund-operators/register-a-managed-investment-scheme