Stripe CEO Says Token Theft Affects One in Six AI Startup Signups

Patrick Collison, CEO of payment company Stripe, said token theft is so rampant that it now accounts for one in every six new customer signups at AI firms. The company reported that cybercriminals sign up for new accounts specifically to steal tokens used to purchase computing power.

These tokens are then resold or used for the thieves' own purposes. Collison made the comments on the TBPN podcast. The rise of the AI economy has created this new form of fraud. Unlike traditional software trials that cost companies almost nothing, AI signups often include tokens worth substantial amounts of compute power that can be resold on the market.

Emily Sands, head of data and AI at the company, said in an interview that token fraud often involves signing up for multiple accounts at one AI firm and across multiple companies. The stolen tokens are used for purposes unrelated to the firm's offerings or resold.

The perpetrators disappear after consuming the tokens. Sands likened the practice to people who "dine and dash" at restaurants. The problem is made worse because the thieves use automated agents that burn through the tokens in minutes. This speed prevents companies from investigating suspicious activity in time.

Many AI startups have offered token packs worth $500 as free trials to attract new customers. The theft has created a difficult choice for these firms. Some have stopped offering free trials altogether, which limits their ability to bring in new users.

The company has adapted its Radar product, which serves as a fraud detector in its credit card payment network, to help identify token fraud. The tool assigns a real-time risk score to new accounts based on factors including IP address, email domain and device fingerprint.

Voice detection service ElevenLabs and app builder Lovable are already using the service to detect and block multi-account signup attempts. Company data shows that blocking fraudulent accounts can improve the conversion rate of potential customers from one in 25 to one in three.

Another approach involves streaming payments, in which customers use stablecoins to pay for AI services as they consume them in real time. The company is backing a new blockchain called Tempo to enable such payments. Crypto exchange Coinbase has developed a similar product called x402.

Sands noted that over the last six months, free trial abuse has more than doubled. The last month showed a particularly sharp increase. Collison warned that token theft has become so widespread that many AI startups will have to stop offering free trials.