OpenRouter Sellout Success: a16z and Menlo Cash Out Nearly $2 Billion in 2 Years

According to Dongcha Beating monitoring, although Stripe's acquisition of OpenRouter has not been officially announced yet, the VCs behind the scenes are already poised to make a killing. Business Insider revealed that if the deal is completed for over $8 billion, the combined holdings of a16z and Menlo Ventures would be worth close to $2 billion.

Of the two, a16z's situation is the most eye-popping. It started investing in OpenRouter from the seed round last year, having only spent about $20 million in total. Now, it holds over 17% of the company. Based on an $8 billion acquisition price, this stake would be worth nearly $1.5 billion, a gain of about 75x in less than two years.

Menlo Ventures also holds over 6%, having invested less than $50 million in total. The current value is now over $500 million, representing at least a 10x return.

When OpenRouter raised funds in May this year, its valuation was only $1.3 billion. According to the latest from Axios, the acquisition price by Stripe exceeds $8 billion, including cash and stock.