[DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang] Stripe has released a preview feature that automates billing for AI startups’ token costs, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday.

The feature is designed to let startups automatically bill customers by adding a set margin to token usage. For example, it supports charging customers by adding 30 percent on top of the token costs a startup pays to large language model (LLM) providers.

Stripe said, “If you are developing an AI app, you will want to keep a consistent 30 percent margin on top of token costs by model provider,” adding that the billing feature it introduced automates the process.

The company said the feature tracks the application programming interface (API) pricing of a selected AI model, records customer token usage and then automatically reflects the margin.

AI startups are currently charging service fees in various ways. Most are based on monthly subscriptions with usage caps. If customers exceed the cap, they are billed additional fees.

Stripe also introduced its own AI gateway. The Stripe gateway supports access to multiple models so users can choose a model suited to their needs. The billing feature also integrates with third-party gateways such as Vercel and OpenRouter, the company said.