Ramp and Stripe build competing AI model routing infrastructure; Stripe acquires OpenRouter

According to TechCrunch, Ramp launched Router, an API for switching between large language models from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Moonshot, Minimax, Nvidia, xAI, and Z.ai, free through 2026 in the United States. Stripe acquired OpenRouter in what TechCrunch characterizes as a consolidation move in AI infrastructure, offering similar model routing capabilities with more model options. Both services address inference cost optimization through centralized model selection.