🚀 Stripe to Acquire OpenRouter: a16z Calls It the "Intelligence Network" for AI's Token Economy
Stripe has signed a deal to acquire OpenRouter, the neutral routing layer that lets AI apps switch between models and providers — a16z's Martin Casado calls the combined company the trusted network where AI businesses exchange intelligence.
• Thesis: tokens are the new dollars — a universal medium AI companies now use to trade value, the way currency underpins the rest of the economy.
• "We just want to make sure that moving between tokens and dollars is as seamless and safe as moving between dollars and euros," said Stripe's Will Gaybrick.
• a16z backed OpenRouter from seed through its Series A, drawn in by founder Alex Atallah's earlier run building OpenSea.
• Next up: tools like Ori Eval that dynamically route prompts to the best model and provider in real time.
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