Stripe declares we're living in the singularity and uses it as a reason not to IPO
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Stripe has declared that the singularity began on January 1, citing a major inflection in long-run trends such as firm creation, and says this uncertainty is why it will not pursue an IPO. The payments company argues that staying private lets it fund acquisitions and investments without diluting shareholders, and that building economic infrastructure for the internet now means building it for AI. Stripe confirmed its acquisition of OpenRouter for over $8 billion, a token-routing engine that supports major AI models, with token usage growing 9 percent weekly. The company's financial performance is strong, with first-half revenue up 41 percent and free cash flow up 43 percent, and 88 percent of the Forbes AI 50 use Stripe. A more skeptical view is that the singularity label provides a convenient excuse to remain private, avoiding regulation and disclosure while keeping founder control. The article also notes that declaring the singularity is becoming fashionable, with figures like Demis Hassabis, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk making similar claims, though there are doubts about AI self-improvement abilities.
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