In 2025, the median startup that incorporated through Stripe Atlas generated 39% more revenue in its first six months than the year before. And it wasn’t just the breakout names. At the 10th percentile, 2025 companies still came in 18% ahead.

The report analyses 23,000 companies to identify three patterns behind the gain. They got paying customers sooner: 20% within 30 days of incorporation, up from 8% for startups founded in 2020. They sold across borders from day one: the top 10% reached 15 countries within their first six months. And they bet harder on AI: 42% of new C corps are building AI products, with nearly half focused on agents – up from one in nine in 2023.