Startups are reaching $10M ARR in record time

AI is reshaping the startup world, creating a new, highly visible phenomenon: young companies that seem to hit multimillion-dollar ARR (annual recurring revenue) almost immediately after launching.

There have been growing numbers of stories about founders moving from zero to $10 million — and in some cases even $100 million — in annual recurring revenue within just a few months.

Of course, rapid ARR growth on its own is not a guaranteed sign of long-term success. Venture investors often point out that durable, sustainable growth matters far more than speed alone. What matters is whether customers stay, whether churn remains low, and whether recurring revenue continues to rise steadily instead of swinging wildly or collapsing. Investors want businesses where customers keep paying because they’re genuinely satisfied and receiving consistent value.

Still, the trend appears real, and new data provide at least some evidence. In Stripe’s annual report released Tuesday, the payments company said more new businesses began using Stripe products in 2025 than in any previous year. Stripe added that more than half of those new businesses — 57% — were based outside the United States. Stripe also said the 2025 group of startups grew 50% faster than the companies that started using Stripe tools in 2024.

While Stripe did not share specific totals, it noted that in 2025, twice as many early-stage startups reached $10 million in ARR within three months as in 2024.

Stripe’s annual letter also pointed to results from Stripe Atlas, its company incorporation product. Stripe reported that Atlas saw a 41% increase in business formations last year. Among those newly created companies, 20% charged their first customer within 30 days. That figure was just 8% in 2020, highlighting how much faster this new wave of founders is moving.

For comparison, as recently as 2024, founders were still publicly celebrating reaching $10 million in ARR over three years — which, by most traditional business standards, is still a milestone worth bragging about.

So when people on social media say things like, “Bootstrapping to $10M ARR is easier and less risky than creating a VC-backed unicorn,” or claim that “AI-native startups hitting $10M ARR with just three people are rewriting the entire playbook,” Stripe’s new numbers suggest there is at least a slice of data that supports those arguments.