Why would a payment company buy a routing hub? Stripe just spent over $7 billion to acquire OpenRouter. Back in May, OpenRouter was valued at only $1.3 billion, and in just 82 days, its value skyrocketed more than fivefold. OpenRouter’s routing hub can handle over 400 AI models, and it’s currently used by 8 million people worldwide. Why would a traditional payment processor buy a routing hub? When you think about it, it’s actually genius! Right now, most transactions are still made by people, but it’s not hard to imagine a future where agents are the ones calling models and making payments. And every time an agent calls a model, it generates a small bill. Stripe is essentially positioning itself at the crossroads of all those transactions. Think about it—just two years ago, they spent $1.1 billion to acquire the stablecoin company Bridge. Now, their blockchain, Tempo, comes with a built-in agent payment protocol. When you connect all the dots, it’s clear: they’re aiming for AI + stablecoins + payments. They want AI to do the work, and AI to make payments—all through their ecosystem. Top-tier strategies are like playing chess. Each move might not make sense on its own, but when you connect the pieces, it forms a massive industry-wide network. Maybe it’s time to take a closer look at the Tempo ecosystem and see if there are any early opportunities to get in on the action.