10. Stripe
Since its founding in 2010, Stripe has grown from a few lines of code into the largest privately valued fintech in the world.
The now ten-time Disruptor 50 company began as a developer-first solution for online credit card payments. The process for online checkout was notoriously inefficient at the time, and brothers Patrick and John Collison set out to simplify it.
Today, Stripe is a global powerhouse serving millions of businesses from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and it offers much more than its original credit card processing tools. It provides backend scaffolding for billing, fraud prevention, business startup help and in-person payment options – all part of a suite of tools meant to grow and increase profitability for businesses from fellow Disruptor OpenAI, to Amazon, Google, Shopify and Marriott, Apple, Walmart and Target.
Part of Stripe's focus this past year has been serving the artificial intelligence boom. At its Stripe Sessions conference in 2024, the company unveiled over 50 new features, including AI-powered checkout and fraud prevention.
"We are ensuring that Stripe is well-positioned to serve the next chapter of the economy," the Collision brothers wrote in their 2024 annual letter, stressing how the rapidly growing tech will change the fundamentals of online commerce. "More than 700 AI agent startups launched on Stripe last year, a figure that we expect will be substantially eclipsed by the total in 2025," they stated.
In February, Stripe took a major step into the world of cryptocurrency, acquiring Bridge Network, a stablecoin platform, for $1.1 billion. The acquisition, its largest to date, is a part of a "big bet on stablecoins" and part of a larger plan to integrate stablecoins into traditional finance.
"If you think about Stripe and what we've focused on for the past seven years — what I personally have focused on — it's been about breaking down the barriers for global commerce," Neetika Bansal, Stripe's head of money movement products, told CNBC in an interview at the time of the deal. "We've done it, to a large part, on traditional financial rails."
Stripe processes millions of cross-border transactions every day, and Bansal told CNBC stablecoins could cut costs and make transactions easier to execute.
Despite years of speculation about an IPO, the Collison brothers, who serve as president and CEO, have emphasized that going public is not a priority. Stripe has taken a hit from its headiest days during the startup boom, but was able to raise funds at a $91.5 billion valuation in early 2025, almost back to its peak valuation of $95 billion in 2021.
Cost management remains a focus. Earlier this year, the fintech company cut 300 jobs in product, engineering and operations, roughly 3.5% of its workforce. But the company said it was still expecting to increase headcount to 10,000 by the end of the year and was "not slowing down hiring."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
82-year-old CEO grew a $7.8 billion fortune from company shares—now she's selling stock to charity and signed Bill Gates' pledge to give away 99%
The 82-year-old CEO of Epic Systems, Judy Faulkner, boasts a $7.8 billion fortune from owning 43% of the tech company—yet says she's 'never cashed a single share' for herself. The Silent Generation leader, who has signed Bill Gates' Giving Pledge, instead pours the profits from selling her nonvoting shares into charity. Her unconventionality bleeds into her leadership, too, as Faulkner holds monthly 'work church' meetings, complete with grammar lessons, inside her themed office buildings. CEOs with major controlling stakes in their billion-dollar companies have the power to make themselves richer and richer, but one 82-year-old tech leader isn't cashing in for herself. Judy Faulkner, the CEO of Epic Systems, has been selling her nonvoting shares back to the company—and redirecting the profits elsewhere. 'I've never cashed a single share for myself,' Faulkner recently told CNBC. On paper, Faulkner is worth $7.8 billion, thanks to her 43% stake in Epic. The health software firm is one of the largest private tech players in the U.S., pulling in $5.7 billion in annual revenue. But the CEO, a member of the Silent Generation, isn't looking to grow her nest egg. In fact, she's trying to get rid of it. In 2015, Faulkner signed the Giving Pledge (a philanthropic organization helmed by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates) and dedicated to give away 99% of her wealth to charitable causes. The Epic leader told CNBC she is pouring the profits from her stock sales to Roots & Wings, a family foundation she launched with her husband that provides grants to nonprofits that support low-income children and families. In 2020, Roots & Wings granted $15 million to 115 organizations around the U.S. focused on the health, education, and well-being of families, and last year Faulkner's foundation estimated it would give $67 million to 305 organizations, according to Forbes. But the Epic CEO is determined to off-load more of her wealth faster, steadily increasing giving rates until Roots & Wings reaches its goal of $100 million every year as early as 2027. To manage the massive outflow of her money from selling Epic shares, Faulkner set up a trust to govern the stock sell-back process in order to not destabilize the company. Only nine of the 256 billionaires who signed the Giving Pledge are actually following through with their promise. Fortune reached out to Epic Systems for comment. Monthly 'work church' meetings and grammar lessons in themed Epic buildings While billionaire interest in signing the Giving Pledge has waned in recent years as many CEOs, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, hoard their fortunes, Faulkner is marching to the beat of her own drum. And that's not the only way she's defying conventional leadership in the tech world. The CEO described as a 'female cross between Bill Gates and Willy Wonka' by UMass Memorial Health leader Eric Dickson is bringing play and grammar lessons to her 14,000 employees. Epic Systems' massive 1,670-acre campus in Wisconsin is nothing like the futuristic or modern headquarters of other billion-dollar Silicon Valley tech companies. Each of the 28 buildings on the company's sprawling campus has a fantastical theme, ranging from The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland to the Harry Potter franchise. They're then grouped into mini campuses, including Prairie Campus, Wizards Academy, and Storybook Campus, with the offices designed by architecture business Cuningham, which also worked on the Disney theme parks. The grounds are adorned with a metal wizard standing guard of a castle, chocolate chips leading to a fake chocolate factory, and a hanging bridge that leads to a tree house. And inside, the rooms are filled with tchotchkes and paintings that Epic employees help source with Faulkner at local arts fairs. And once a month inside Epic's underground auditorium, called Deep Space, the business holds a mandatory staff meeting. According to CNBC, some employees jokingly call the get-together 'work church,' when executives run through Epic's business news and targets. But Faulkner also likes to throw a twist in the typical boring all-hands meeting by having a grammar lesson, teaching language lessons like when to use 'who' or 'whom.' Other companies with unique offices and unconventional meeting philosophies Epic Systems isn't the only company with an office setup unlike most others. Nonprofit health care provider Wellstar Health System doesn't try to keep workers happy with Ping-Pong tables and beer on tap. The Fortune 500 company's offices include 'wellness rooms,' complete with massage chairs, relaxing music, and healthy snacks to keep its 28,000 workers happy. The offerings have proved popular with employees, as turnover fell by 10% in 2024. Understood, a nonprofit that provides resources to people and families who are neurodivergent, designed its office specifically for the employees who work there and the clients it serves. Its space has something for everyone; one side of the floor has traditional white overhead lighting, while the other side has more muted yellow lighting. The office also has different zones with designated thermal controls, so employees can work in the temperatures they prefer. Also, staffers with hearing impairments were factored into the equation, as the floor has an assistive listening system that connects to their cochlear implants. And other CEOs don't like their meetings to be so buttoned-up, just like Faulkner. Amazon founder Bezos thrives in chaos; the tech leader said he only wants 'crisp documents' and 'messy meetings' that go in all different directions. Bezos encouraged his workers to show the 'ugly bits' of decision-making in these meetings—and despised the conversations being 'rehearsed' ahead of time. 'I'm very skeptical if the meetings are not messy,' Bezos said at the 2024 New York Times DealBook Summit. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Harvard economist admits he was wrong about Bitcoin
Harvard economist admits he was wrong about Bitcoin originally appeared on TheStreet. Kenneth Rogoff, an American economist and chess grandmaster, predicted that Bitcoin was far more likely to fall to $100 in 2018. Speaking to CNBC Rogoff predicted that an increase in government regulation would cause the price to fall, adding that a decline to $100 was 'a lot more likely' than a rise to $100,000. He also made bold claims that without money laundering and tax evasion, the practical applications of Bitcoin would be almost negligible. Rogoff who previously served at the International Monetary Fund, is now the Maurits C. Boas Chair of International Economics at Harvard University. Seven years later, Bitcoin has crossed that threshold past the six-figure milestone, prompting Rogoff to explain why he believes his forecast failed. Harvard economist admits his Bitcoin prediction was wrong Rogoff expressed regret that he had underestimated the demand for Bitcoin and the reluctance of regulators to intervene, but in a sarcastic tone. 'I was far too optimistic about the US coming to its senses about sensible cryptocurrency regulation; why would policymakers want to facilitate tax evasion and illegal activities?' he wrote, adding that he did not anticipate Bitcoin becoming the 'transactions medium of choice in the twenty-trillion dollar global underground economy.' While previously he stated that the Government could hinder the asset's adoption, Bitcoin has only flourished rather than floundered. Institutional investors, corporations, and governments now have major stakes in the asset. As of August 20, the US government holds around $22.48 billion in Bitcoin, as per records. Additionally, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), launched in July 2024 to provide indirect exposure to the asset, have also fueled additional demand for Bitcoin. Over the course of 273 trading days between July 2024 and August 20, with an average of approximately $4.75 billion in transactions per day, the total trading volume comes to almost $1.35 trillion. However, Rogoff continues to argue that any demand Bitcoin has seen in the recent years, is propped up by illicit activity and regulatory blind spots rather than mainstream utility. He says: 'I did not anticipate a situation where regulators, and especially the regulator in chief, would be able to brazenly hold hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars in cryptocurrencies seemingly without consequence given the blatant conflict of interest.' Harvard economist fashes backlash from crypto community Bitcoin proponents harshly criticized his explanation. In a post on X, investor and analyst Anthony Pompliano rejected Rogoff's analysis. 'Fiat economist still doesn't understand bitcoin. Blames everyone but himself for missing it' wrote Pompliano. Moreover, in a weird twist of fate, the ivy league university, Harvard, has itself invested over $116 million in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), making it the 29th largest holder of IBIT. At press time, Bitcoin stands at $112,957.69, down nearly 2% over the last day. However, the current price is still up over 85% in a year's time. Harvard economist admits he was wrong about Bitcoin first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 20, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
GOP senator: US stake in Intel would be ‘step toward socialism'
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a libertarian-minded Republican, criticized the Trump administration's push to acquire a stake in U.S. chipmaker Intel, suggesting the move would be a 'step toward socialism.' 'If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn't the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism?' Paul said on Wednesday in a post on the social platform X. 'Terrible idea,' he added, linking to a news story about the latest effort. The Trump administration is in talks to secure a 10 percent stake in the company, which would make the U.S. government one of Intel's largest shareholders. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that the money for the stake would come from previously allocated Biden-era funding. Media reports have suggested that the stake would be in exchange for converting grants pledged to Intel under the CHIPS and Science Act. 'The president figures out that we should get, America should get the benefit of the bargain,' Lutnick told CNBC's 'Squawk Box.' 'I mean, that is exactly Donald Trump's perspective, which is, why are we giving a company worth $100 billion this kind of money?' he continued. 'What is in it for the American taxpayer? And the answer Donald Trump has is we should get an equity stake for our money.' Paul has long pushed for the federal government to play a smaller role in the daily lives of Americans and the U.S. economy. He voted against Trump's legacy-defining policy bill, citing concerns about increased spending and the national debt.
