Payments giant Stripe has highlighted an ongoing AI boom, revealing that artificial intelligence startups are scaling at an unprecedented pace—outpacing traditional SaaS companies.
In its annual letter, Stripe shared data indicating that the top 100 AI companies reached $5 million in annualized revenue in just 24 months in 2024. In contrast, SaaS companies took 37 months to hit the same milestone in 2018.
Stripe’s CEO and co-founders, Patrick and John Collison, emphasized that AI-powered startups are redefining industries. They cited examples such as Cursor, which surpassed $100 million in revenue, Lovable reaching $17 million ARR in just three months, and Bolt achieving $20 million ARR within two months.
The Collison brothers dismissed the idea that these AI startups are merely “LLM wrappers,” stating that this perspective “misses the point.” They noted that industry-specific AI solutions—such as Abridge, Nabla, and DeepScribe in healthcare or SketchPro for architecture—are proving to be transformative.
The letter also reinforced Stripe’s bullish stance on vertical SaaS, particularly in the SMB sector. It highlighted that 6.3% of small businesses using vertical SaaS on Stripe earn $1 million in revenue in their first year—nearly 60% more than in comparable benchmarks.
Additionally, Stripe reported a significant rise in payment volume, reaching $1.4 trillion in 2024—an increase of 38% from the previous year. The company also confirmed a new tender offer allowing investors to buy shares from employees at a valuation of $91.5 billion, with Stripe repurchasing shares as part of the transaction.
This data underscores how AI startups are not only scaling faster than SaaS ever did but are also reshaping entire industries with sector-specific innovation.
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