The founder of Stripe, Patrick Collison, is collaborating with Mario Draghi to launch the Rhine Group think tank to implement the reforms of the Draghi report and strengthen European technology. The fintech, valued at $159 billion, aims to expand into the European market.
The founder of Stripe, Patrick Collison, has joined forces with former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi to establish the Rhine Group, a think tank aimed at materialising the reforms of the Draghi report and revitalising Europe’s competitiveness against China and the United States. The initiative, as reported by La Vanguardia, also has the backing of Spanish economist Luis Garicano.
The goal of this organisation is to promote the necessary reforms for Europe to regain ground in the technological field. On its website, Rhine Group warns: “Of the 50 largest tech companies in the world, only four are European. In every emerging technology that will define the coming decades, Europe is weak.”
For Collison, this alliance is not only motivated by a European agenda but also benefits his own business. Stripe is one of the largest fintechs specialising in payment gateways for businesses and could become a key infrastructure if the digital euro moves forward.
However, Collison's commitment to Europe has been questioned. The Italian economic newspaper Milano Finanza recently referred to him as “Mario Draghi’s not-so-Rhenish friend,” poking fun at the think tank's name and Stripe's dual headquarters in Dublin and San Francisco.
Despite being born in Ireland, Collison maintains close ties to the United States. He studied there, founded Stripe, married Silvana Konermann, and established his residence in San Francisco. His story is that of a precocious entrepreneur: at 16, he enrolled in Mathematics at MIT, and along with his brother John Collison, founded their first company, Auctomatic, which they sold in 2008 for $5 million. In 2010, both dropped out of school to move to Silicon Valley and create Stripe, a platform that revolutionised digital payments.
Today, Stripe is a giant in digital finance. With a valuation of $159 billion (€141 billion), it works for companies like Amazon, Google, Shopify, and Instacart. Last year, the company generated around €6 billion in revenue, a 33% increase, and recorded net profit. With the digitisation of payments as a driving force, its new growth strategy involves tackling the European market alongside Draghi.
“Of the 50 largest tech companies in the world, only four are European. In every emerging technology that will define the coming decades, Europe is weak,” writes Rhine Group on its website.
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