Stripe-Incubated Tempo Closes $500M Round, Reaches $5B Valuation

TLDR

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Tempo has raised $500 million in a Series A funding round.
The funding round values Tempo at approximately $5 billion.
Stripe and Paradigm incubated Tempo but did not invest in this round.
Thrive Capital and Greenoaks led the investment along with Sequoia, Ribbit, and SV Angel.
Tempo is a Layer 1 blockchain optimized for high-throughput payments.

Tempo, a Stripe-backed payments blockchain, raised $500 million in Series A funding at a $5 billion valuation. Thrive Capital and Greenoaks led the round, with Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, and SV Angel joining. Stripe and Paradigm, which incubated the project, did not participate in the latest funding round.

Stripe’s Tempo Targets Payment Optimization

Tempo is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain optimized for high-throughput payments and financial settlement. It aims to improve real-time processing for global commerce and on-chain financial services. Stripe’s CEO, Patrick Collison, described it as “the payments-oriented L1” for financial applications.

The project began gaining attention after its unveiling in September by Stripe and Paradigm. Matt Huang, co-founder of Paradigm and a member of Stripe’s board, is leading the initiative. Tempo is already working with firms like OpenAI, Shopify, Visa, Anthropic, and Deutsche Bank.

Stripe supports Tempo’s real-world applications through technical collaboration, even without investing in the latest round. The network is designed for speed, scalability, and reduced transaction costs. It complements Stripe’s broader vision for blockchain-enabled payments.

Stripe Expands Its Crypto Strategy

Stripe has intensified its crypto push through recent acquisitions and integrations across the blockchain ecosystem. It acquired stablecoin firm Bridge for $1.1 billion and crypto-wallet provider Privy in June. Stripe also integrated Coinbase’s Base Layer 2 into its payments infrastructure.

These moves align with Stripe’s efforts to support faster, blockchain-native payment rails. The company remains focused on infrastructure that supports both merchants and developers. Tempo plays a strategic role in Stripe’s long-term crypto roadmap.

Dankrad Feist, an Ethereum Foundation researcher, recently joined Tempo as a senior engineer. He said Tempo shares Ethereum’s “permissionless ideals” and targets the next generation of on-chain financial systems. Stripe continues to position itself at the center of evolving blockchain solutions.

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